hemi
Skilled Investigator
Most of you know that I am in the military and I am stationed in Okinawa Japan. I am seperating from the military in Septmber 2012 so I have a short time to investigate the so called "Yonaguni Underwater Ruins." For those of you who don't know what they are here is a bref rundown;
The sea off Yonaguni is a popular diving location during the winter months due to its large population of hammerhead sharks. In 1987, while looking for a good place to observe the sharks, Kihachiro Aratake, a director of the Yonaguni-Cho Tourism Association, noticed some singular seabed formations resembling architectonic structures. Shortly thereafter, a group of scientists directed by Masaaki Kimura of the University of the Ryūkyūs visited the formations. Kimura is a strong advocate of the view that the formations are artificial (manmade).
The formation has since become a relatively popular attraction for divers, in spite of the strong currents. In 1997, Japanese industrialist Yasuo Watanabe sponsored an informal expedition comprising writers John Anthony West and Graham Hancock, photographer Santha Faiia, geologist Robert Schoch, a few sport divers and instructors, and a shooting crew for British Channel 4 and Discovery Channel. Another notable visitor was freediver Jacques Mayol, who wrote a book on his dives at Yonaguni. A plaque in his honor was fixed to the undersea formations after his suicide in 2001.
I took this information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yonaguni_Monument if you would like to look for yourself but most of what I read I already know. With that said I still have not been able to find to much more about the "ruins." I plan on going on a dive trip there this spring before I seperate from the military and lose a golden oppertunity to take a peek at them. Does anyone out there know more about this or could point me in the right direction to find out more so I can do my homework before my dive? Your comments on this subject are also welcomed.
FYI: another "ok" site on the subject is http://www.morien-institute.org/yonaguni.html
The sea off Yonaguni is a popular diving location during the winter months due to its large population of hammerhead sharks. In 1987, while looking for a good place to observe the sharks, Kihachiro Aratake, a director of the Yonaguni-Cho Tourism Association, noticed some singular seabed formations resembling architectonic structures. Shortly thereafter, a group of scientists directed by Masaaki Kimura of the University of the Ryūkyūs visited the formations. Kimura is a strong advocate of the view that the formations are artificial (manmade).
The formation has since become a relatively popular attraction for divers, in spite of the strong currents. In 1997, Japanese industrialist Yasuo Watanabe sponsored an informal expedition comprising writers John Anthony West and Graham Hancock, photographer Santha Faiia, geologist Robert Schoch, a few sport divers and instructors, and a shooting crew for British Channel 4 and Discovery Channel. Another notable visitor was freediver Jacques Mayol, who wrote a book on his dives at Yonaguni. A plaque in his honor was fixed to the undersea formations after his suicide in 2001.
I took this information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yonaguni_Monument if you would like to look for yourself but most of what I read I already know. With that said I still have not been able to find to much more about the "ruins." I plan on going on a dive trip there this spring before I seperate from the military and lose a golden oppertunity to take a peek at them. Does anyone out there know more about this or could point me in the right direction to find out more so I can do my homework before my dive? Your comments on this subject are also welcomed.
FYI: another "ok" site on the subject is http://www.morien-institute.org/yonaguni.html
