In previous years, the rainy season in Miyakojima has been a completely dry one, but this year it seems to be raining quite regularly. Still, with three sunny days and three rainy days, the success rate is about 50%, so I'm hoping for more sunny skies in the second half of the season!

Miyakojima has no water shortages thanks to the semi-natural underground dam. To find out why, we recommend the Miyakojima Underground Dam Museum.

So, I'm Totti, the shop owner, and I've been handing out all my work to Shin-chan. The latest one I've been handing out to him is making a new toilet door for BLENDS! It's scheduled to be completed tomorrow.

Now that we are in the middle of the rainy season in early summer, the visibility is good and the terrain is perfect, but there is another great topic that we are seeing every day. It's a big one. So please look forward to today's article lol

The biggest fish you can encounter in Miyakojima is the giant trevally

Miyakojima Giant Trevally 2

Setting aside the probability of encountering them, the main big creatures you can encounter in Miyakojima are manta rays, Napoleon fish, white tip reef sharks, turtles, spotted rays, spotted eagle rays, dogtooth tuna, etc.

And the picture shows a giant trevally!!

The Japanese name comes from the likening of the large, solitary individuals to ronin samurai. There is also a theory that the lines of the preopercle bones on the stern face resemble those of a ronin with scars.

Among scuba diving and fishing enthusiasts, it is often referred to as "Giant trevally" or, by abbreviation, "GT." Other local names include mekki (young fish, mixed name), hiraaji/eba (mixed name in various places), marueba (various places), kamaja (Okinawa), and gara (Miyakojima).

Adult fish reach a total length of 180 cm and a weight of 80 kg. The genus Carcharhinus includes large species such as bigeye trevally, blue trevally, and giant trevally.largest species-Excerpt from Wikipedia-

What a masterless samurai they say. There's a clean line on the side of his face. And on his cheeks are a number of fresh scars that make it hard to imagine how many battles he's been through. What's this? Was he bitten by a shark? Was he fighting with his own kind? Did he hit a rock?

Miyakojima Giant Trevally 3

The bigger they get, the more scars they wear as badges of honor. And just looking at their faces, they're much bigger than humans.

There are spots where you have a high chance of encountering giant trevally

If you can get to the spot where they are, you will almost certainly see them. In a sense, you may have a higher chance of seeing them than turtles.

The reason is that there are cracks and overhangs that serve as cleaning stations for the trevally, and when there is nothing else for them to do, they are always hanging around there.

  • Irabu Island: L-shaped arch (approximately 80% probability)
  • Shimoji Island: Book drop (almost 100% chance)

The giant trevally in Miyakojima is "huge!!"

Miyakojima Giant Trevally 4

I still remember the shock I felt when I saw a giant trevally the first time I went diving overseas. My first impression was, "What?! You're kidding me?! It's so small..."

Guests who dive all over the world were also astonished, but it seems that the giant trevally in Miyakojima is among the best in the world, which meant that young Totti learned for the first time just how big the giant trevally in Miyakojima are. Totti was thrilled.

The best time to go is from early summer to midsummer when the tides are high

Yes, right now!! It's limited to the "real drop" on Shimoji Island, but it started to break out after the last full moon, and at times there were more than 10 specimens in one dive!!! It calmed down after that (still only 5 specimens per dive), but it's breaking out again as we approach the new moon! And today there are 10 specimens!!

Miyakojima Giant Trevally 5

If you wait near the cleaning station, several individuals will rush in one after the other. A male will tease a female and start swimming with her, two females will run away, or five or six males will gather together and circle around in the ditch, so it's actually quite short that you don't see any giant trevally during one dive.

Tips for taking cool photos of giant trevally

Shiny objects blend in with the blue water, so it's surprisingly difficult considering their size. The most important thing is to get close. And blurring is a no-no, so I recommend setting the shutter speed fast.

Miyakojima giant trevally

If you get close enough, you can take great photos even with a blue background without a flash. This is the recommended method if you have a compact digital camera without an external flash. The built-in flash limits the distance and range of the light it can reach, and since it's weak, you should turn it off!

If you have an external strobe, we would like you to use it. In that case, please consult with us on-site as this will be a long discussion!

Summary

The situation where you can encounter big fish of this size continuously at depths of -5m to 15m is one of the best not only in the prefecture but in the whole country. The topography of Miyakojima is a must-see attraction, but for a while I'd like to mix it up with spots with a high probability of finding super-big fish.

Beauty isn't the only thing that moves you. If you feel your heart is moved, then it's surely moving.

Miyakojima Diving

To everyone coming to the island, you too will be shocked by the sharp glare of these eyes. Look forward to it.