Tohoku's Sanriku Coast facing the Pacific Ocean is a ruggedly, dynamic landscape as well as home to world-renown offshore fishing grounds. With bitter cold winters and periodic tsunamis, life in Tohoku can be harsh and is said to have contributed to the culture and survival skills of Iwate's inhabitants. After the March 11 earthquake/tsunami disaster, establishing community become a priority and was prime in inaugurating the road to recovery. On this episode of Journeys in Japan, radio personality and diving blogger, Bonnie Waycott rides the newly reopened Minami Riasu Line to join the Sanriku Volunteer Diving Club for a marine conservation holiday.

Tohoku's Sanriku Coast faces the Pacific Ocean and runs parallel to the Kitakami Mountains. With bitter cold winters and periodic tsunamis, life in Tohoku is harsh. After the March 11 earthquake / tsunami disaster, establishing community was a priority and the people of Tohoku raced to meet the challenge of rebuilding. There is little time for ruminating about the past as they met the challenge of their future. On this episode of Journeys in Japan, radio personality and diving blogger, Bonnie Waycott visits the Kuji Ama divers before trying some hands on with Kuji Clay. Then she heads off to enjoy the cold weather and warm hearty Iwate cuisine with new friends...

Ishigaki Island-surrounded by beautiful coral reefs-is considered one of the world's best diving spots. In 2007, though, its corals were damaged to the brink of extinction due to the rise of sea temperatures caused by global warming. This became a turning point for the locals to reassess their traditional half-farming and half-fishing lifestyle, which is closely linked to the sea. Many people became involved in conserving the coral reefs. On Journeys in Japan, our camera plunges into the waters off Ishigaki and gets up close to one of the world's largest coral colonies and marine life, including courting manta rays. We also explore the lifestyle of the islanders who coexist with the ocean. Our reporter is British diver Bonnie Waycott, a resident of Japan for ten years. Bonnie works in broadcast media, and also writes for diving magazines. She gets to report from the field and from underwater!

Islands -- stringing along 3,500 kilometers, north to south, in the Pacific -- so narrow that no point is ever far from the sea. Coastlines alone spanning 35,000 kilometers… We dip under the waves to explore the Japanese archipelago's epic world of water. Tagging along with Michael Keida, and on one dive with Bonnie Waycott, we delight in tropical and temperate zone marine life, corals, 2 shark species and a friendly Asian sheepshead wrasse. Michael reminisces in the studio about his adventures with narrator Bill Sullivan.