Cape Maeda
Cape Maeda
4.5
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4.5
499 reviews
Excellent
230
Very good
185
Average
78
Poor
5
Terrible
1
Malcolm S.
Singapore, Singapore579 contributions
Feb 2020
Viewpoint wasn’t very good in my opinion (go to Cape Hedo if you want to see a better cape) and people only come here if there were planning to swim/snorkel. Unfortunately, the swimming area was closed off during my visit in February. Parking was also paid, and payment is done at the ticketing machine at the exit point.
Written 6 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sarah T G
Okinawa Prefecture, Japan202 contributions
May 2021 • Friends
With friends we drive to Cape Maeda from Chatan for about 25 minutes on a Saturday morning after getting our dive gear. We stopped at a supermarket near by and got some delicious rice bowls and drinks for lunch. Cape Maeda apparently is always full on weekends. It was so that day but it was so worth it. We saw a lot of people snorkeling and there were a lot of divers too. Even some boats. First we checked out the west side after walking down those terrible stairs in gear. We’re only allowed to dive 69ft/18meter and we had to be careful not to go deeper, because you could. The second dive we headed north of the steps and found two caves, one on land (it was low tide) the one you had to swim inside. It was really cool. I recommend anyone, be it diver, swimmer, snorkler to go and check it out.
Written 20 May 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
deadprawn
Singapore, Singapore70 contributions
Mar 2020 • Couples
We came here for sight seeing. Nothing much if you are here for viewing at the cape. We left after 10 mins. This place seems to be the main attraction for diving and snokel! If you Want to dive come here! Carpark is not free here.
Written 10 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Payangan 1969
Brisbane, Australia2,281 contributions
Mar 2020
I walked over from the main road area so never paid for parking.
The main area of the cape has nice views. there is also a small cafe which sells noodles.
if you walk past the toilet area there is a nice walk to the west of the cape. also two or three beaches are visible and makes a nice to relax. great sun sets from here also
The main area of the cape has nice views. there is also a small cafe which sells noodles.
if you walk past the toilet area there is a nice walk to the west of the cape. also two or three beaches are visible and makes a nice to relax. great sun sets from here also
Written 27 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gwen D
Okinawa City, Japan91 contributions
July 2014 • Friends
My sister is on the island visiting and wanted to attempt snorkeling. She has been snorkeling with me at other locations but is still a novice and not always comfortable with it. We drove to Maeda Point one Sunday to look it over. She felt that she could snorkel there because it was shallow in the afternoon and she could touch the bottom. We planned a trip for three days later in the later afternoon.
Directions: To get to Cape Maeda from the Kadena area, take highway 58 North. You will pass exits for Zanpa and turn left at the stop light with a sign for Ryukyu Mura. Follow this road until it dead ends at a stop light right past a preschool. Turn left at the stop light. The turn for Cape Maeda will be on the right and it looks like with a tall blue sign. You will pass farm land on both sides of the road before the entrance. You will get a parking ticket and park in either the lot on the right or the left. The exit when you are ready to leave will be toward the right and is 100 Yen per hour.
There are some small buildings to the left that are bathrooms, showers and a little snack restaurant. To the right is a larger building with a small restaurant and gift shop area. There are covered picnic tables on both sides of the larger building. Straight ahead you will find a lookout area with amazing views. To the left of the lookout area are some trails you can follow and hike to the ocean. To the right are the stairs down to the snorkeling area. The steps can be slightly slick when wet but there are railings toward the bottom. Depending upon the tide you may leave your items up in the areas by the step landings or take them to the bottom and place on the coral rocks under the cliffs.
You will want to wear water shows of some type as you will walk across the coral rocks to snorkel. We didn't bother with wearing fins and only used our masks and snorkels. There is a trench that begins by the staircase and curves around to the left that we followed and saw some amazing fish. We found Nemo and his dad in one area. We also saw some a variety of fish in many colors and sizes. It was like swimming in an aquarium.
It is a very popular snorkeling and scuba diving spot in Okinawa!
Directions: To get to Cape Maeda from the Kadena area, take highway 58 North. You will pass exits for Zanpa and turn left at the stop light with a sign for Ryukyu Mura. Follow this road until it dead ends at a stop light right past a preschool. Turn left at the stop light. The turn for Cape Maeda will be on the right and it looks like with a tall blue sign. You will pass farm land on both sides of the road before the entrance. You will get a parking ticket and park in either the lot on the right or the left. The exit when you are ready to leave will be toward the right and is 100 Yen per hour.
There are some small buildings to the left that are bathrooms, showers and a little snack restaurant. To the right is a larger building with a small restaurant and gift shop area. There are covered picnic tables on both sides of the larger building. Straight ahead you will find a lookout area with amazing views. To the left of the lookout area are some trails you can follow and hike to the ocean. To the right are the stairs down to the snorkeling area. The steps can be slightly slick when wet but there are railings toward the bottom. Depending upon the tide you may leave your items up in the areas by the step landings or take them to the bottom and place on the coral rocks under the cliffs.
You will want to wear water shows of some type as you will walk across the coral rocks to snorkel. We didn't bother with wearing fins and only used our masks and snorkels. There is a trench that begins by the staircase and curves around to the left that we followed and saw some amazing fish. We found Nemo and his dad in one area. We also saw some a variety of fish in many colors and sizes. It was like swimming in an aquarium.
It is a very popular snorkeling and scuba diving spot in Okinawa!
Written 8 July 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
sashkello
Sydney, Australia289 contributions
June 2015 • Couples
Absolutely amazing!
Don't be scared off by a "tourist attraction" status of this place. Yes, there are plenty of people around and car parking might get full in-season, but there is enough of space for everyone to swim around and explore. If you feel it crowded, just swim into a little bay on the left or further down and you'll see all the same marine life with less crowd. Most people will concentrate around Blue Cave a couple of dozen meters to the right from the stairs. Worth coming by as well, for sure. Very few people before 10am as well, as many come all the way from Naha. We were lucky to book a hotel nearby as this is THE place to go for all the addicts of snorkelling.
Maeda Point has everything to be a perfect snorkelling spot. Corals start right near the shore, and the sea bottom is very uneven with ups and downs, which creates beautiful underwater scenery. Blue Cave is an attraction of its own, good to snorkel in or diving, whatever is your thing. Lots of fish... LOTS! Including the dangerous ones, though, so be careful, especially when going into/from water, we did see stonefish, lion fish, and sea snakes (they all are very static though, if you don't step on them or swim into them, they are just sitting in one spot and don't care about you; we saw them in all places around Ryukyus where we were snorkelling or diving, and corals were present).
All the infrastructure to change your clothes and take a shower is there as well; and of course those ever-present vending machines.
Amazing snorkelling spot! Go there!
Don't be scared off by a "tourist attraction" status of this place. Yes, there are plenty of people around and car parking might get full in-season, but there is enough of space for everyone to swim around and explore. If you feel it crowded, just swim into a little bay on the left or further down and you'll see all the same marine life with less crowd. Most people will concentrate around Blue Cave a couple of dozen meters to the right from the stairs. Worth coming by as well, for sure. Very few people before 10am as well, as many come all the way from Naha. We were lucky to book a hotel nearby as this is THE place to go for all the addicts of snorkelling.
Maeda Point has everything to be a perfect snorkelling spot. Corals start right near the shore, and the sea bottom is very uneven with ups and downs, which creates beautiful underwater scenery. Blue Cave is an attraction of its own, good to snorkel in or diving, whatever is your thing. Lots of fish... LOTS! Including the dangerous ones, though, so be careful, especially when going into/from water, we did see stonefish, lion fish, and sea snakes (they all are very static though, if you don't step on them or swim into them, they are just sitting in one spot and don't care about you; we saw them in all places around Ryukyus where we were snorkelling or diving, and corals were present).
All the infrastructure to change your clothes and take a shower is there as well; and of course those ever-present vending machines.
Amazing snorkelling spot! Go there!
Written 5 July 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
samuraisouljah
Japan31 contributions
June 2012
I worked here last year with an ocean tourist. I took tourists for an snorkeling.
Summer time is very packed even in the ocean. This is a must-go-place where you can be amazed in blue cave...this is very a breath-taking view. Also, you can just go without any tourism for snorkeling. Those snorkeling gears you can rent at the office where they serve good soba noodle around 600yen and gears(mask & fin) around 1000yen. It's not a reasonable price, but taking it as a tourist place, this is the common thing everywhere in Okinawa. On the other side of Cape for snorkeling and diving, it's a surfing spot and you will meet lots of cool local surfers especially before and after typhoon hit west coast of Okinawa.
Enjoy your journey and thanks for sharing time.
Summer time is very packed even in the ocean. This is a must-go-place where you can be amazed in blue cave...this is very a breath-taking view. Also, you can just go without any tourism for snorkeling. Those snorkeling gears you can rent at the office where they serve good soba noodle around 600yen and gears(mask & fin) around 1000yen. It's not a reasonable price, but taking it as a tourist place, this is the common thing everywhere in Okinawa. On the other side of Cape for snorkeling and diving, it's a surfing spot and you will meet lots of cool local surfers especially before and after typhoon hit west coast of Okinawa.
Enjoy your journey and thanks for sharing time.
Written 25 March 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jolinpl
Singapore546 contributions
Mar 2019 • Friends
If you are in the area , stop by to see this attraction , otherwise not worth the effort . Parking is 100 yen first hour . You will see many divers and diver suits at the entrance all preparing to dive to see the blue cave . Then you walk a small 3 minute loop on flat ground to see the views below . Total time spent including toilet break about 30 minutes .
Written 11 March 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ivan A
Frankfurt, Germany24 contributions
July 2017 • Couples
Beautiful place for sightseeing or diving activities. It is pretty much a diving station with all the infrastructure and facilities. Various shops run courses and equipment rentals in the neighborhood. The bottom goes in stages - kind of plateau, and then deep waters suddenly start.
Scenery is also very beautiful!
Recommended for a visit. But it's not an amateur beach or so...
Scenery is also very beautiful!
Recommended for a visit. But it's not an amateur beach or so...
Written 12 July 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Son
20 contributions
Sept 2016 • Couples
I went to Cape Maeda armed with the knowledge I needed to rent snorkel gear. When I arrived I spoke to a person who worked at the Mermaid truck that does snorkel tours. Unfortunately they couldn't fit anymore people into their tour for the day.
When I went down to the Cape I found it almost ridiculous that people get geared up in wet suits and practice using oxygen tanks when the water is far from deep 1.5-2meters.
The next day I went and bought myself a pair of goggles. With this alone it was easy to enjoy the light snorkelling the beach had to offer. You may want some marine shoes/shoes to wear as a lot of rocks contain sea urchins that can pierce your feet. Be warned!
Great secluded beach that was perfect for some downtime and enjoyable views. Definitely worth a day trip. Cape Manza is very close which serves as a tourist attraction in addition to your beach escape.
When I went down to the Cape I found it almost ridiculous that people get geared up in wet suits and practice using oxygen tanks when the water is far from deep 1.5-2meters.
The next day I went and bought myself a pair of goggles. With this alone it was easy to enjoy the light snorkelling the beach had to offer. You may want some marine shoes/shoes to wear as a lot of rocks contain sea urchins that can pierce your feet. Be warned!
Great secluded beach that was perfect for some downtime and enjoyable views. Definitely worth a day trip. Cape Manza is very close which serves as a tourist attraction in addition to your beach escape.
Written 27 September 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
How warm the sea in Mid-May? Should i bring our own fins, googles with us? or can we rent them from the office?
Written 1 May 2017
The water is cold so you will need a wet suit. Easy to rent all your diving supplies once you get there.
Written 6 June 2017
Me and my family are going to Okinawa in March this year & we're planning to snorkel at Cape Maeda. Does anyone has suggestions on whether we should join a guided tour to snorkel at the blue cave or just go free & easy? (We have our own masks & tube, no fins though) If a guided tour is suggested, does anyone has any recommendations for good and affordable packages to sign up with? Thank you very much!
Written 7 February 2016
This answer was for the people that are going in May.
Written 2 May 2017
How is snorkeling condition in late November? We are beginners.
Written 4 March 2015
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