Level: Free shore access This spot have a free shore access: you can go snorkeling there freely and without having to book a tour or pay an entrance fee.
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Last updated on August 28, 2023
The Japanese Wreck is, with the USS Liberty, one of the two most famous shallow wrecks in Bali. This Japanese patrol boat ran aground on the Balinese coast during the Second World War. Snorkeling it is child’s play: the wreck is located a few dozen meters from the beach and is freely accessible. While snorkeling above the structure, colonized by a variety of soft corals, you will spot many reef fish.
The wreck is located in the region of Amed, a famous diving and snorkeling destination on the east coast of Bali. It is located on the beach, about a 20-minute drive south of Amed Beach (8.5km) and 15 minutes from Jemeluk Bay, where the snorkeling is also very nice.
This spot has free shore access. From the road, a sign (location here) indicates the beach access, which will lead you to the shore (80m). The Japanese Wreck, which is marked by one (or two) black buoys, is just in front of Kawi Karma Beach Cottages & Restaurant.
Although the spot is freely accessible from the beach, many local guides will offer to take you there by boat. This can be a good option, especially if you don’t have transportation or if you want to enjoy the boat ride.
Enter the water from the beach, in front of the wreck. You can easily find its location by the black buoy (sometimes two) installed on-site, and to the many boats that come to moor in the area. If you reach the spot by boat, you will enter the water directly from it.
The wreck, broken into several pieces, is laid out perpendicular to the beach, with the bow pointing out to sea. The first pieces of the wreck are immersed only 15 to 20m from the shore, in a few feet of water, while the bow is about 50-60m from the shore.
The Japanese Wreck lies on a 6 to 60ft/2 to 20 meters-deep seabed but is on average 3 to 18ft/1 to 6 meters above the surface. Snorkelers will mainly enjoy its higher parts. It is around the bow, whose base can be explored mostly by scuba divers, that the depth is the most important.
The wreck and its surroundings have been colonized by some hard corals (brain coral, digitate coral), but mostly by a nice variety of soft corals, including sea pens, sea fans, gorgonians, and beautiful Dendronephthya.
This environment attracts many fishes: trumpetfish, cardinalfish, bannerfish, surgeonfish, damselfish, butterflyfish… A bit deeper (↕4-6m), hundreds of sea goldies, with red and fuchsia colors, swim along the walls.
This spot is quite exposed to waves, so don’t get into the water if the ocean is too rough. Be careful with the many boats coming and going on the spot.
There are a few hotels and restaurants on the beach and along the road.
These spots are accessible to anyone with basic snorkeling skills, and feeling comfortable in the water and with his snorkeling gear. You will enter the water from the shore (beach, pontoon, ladder, rocks) or from a boat. The water height in the sea entrance area is reasonable, but you will not necessarily be within your depth. Moderate currents can occur in the area, even when the sea conditions are good. The distance to swim to reach the most interesting snorkeling areas of the spot does not exceed 200 meters. This level only apply when the spot experiences optimal sea and/or weather conditions. It is not applicable if the sea and/or weather conditions deteriorate, in particular in the presence of rough sea, rain, strong wind, unusual current, large tides, waves and/or swell. You can find more details about the definition of our snorkeling levels on our snorkeling safety page.
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Snorkeling spots are part of a wild environment and their aspect can be significantly altered by weather, seasons, sea conditions, human impact and climate events (storms, hurricanes, seawater-warming episodes…). The consequences can be an alteration of the seabed (coral bleaching, coral destruction, and invasive seagrass), a poor underwater visibility, or a decrease of the sea life present in the area. Snorkeling Report makes every effort to ensure that all the information displayed on this website is accurate and up-to-date, but no guarantee is given that the underwater visibility and seabed aspect will be exactly as described on this page the day you will snorkel the spot. If you recently snorkeled this area and noticed some changes compared to the information contained on this page, please contact us.
The data contained in this website is for general information purposes only, and is not legal advice. It is intended to provide snorkelers with the information that will enable them to engage in safe and enjoyable snorkeling, and it is not meant as a substitute for swim level, physical condition, experience, or local knowledge. Remember that all marine activities, including snorkeling, are potentially dangerous, and that you enter the water at your own risk. You must take an individual weather, sea conditions and hazards assessment before entering the water. If snorkeling conditions are degraded, postpone your snorkeling or select an alternate site. Know and obey local laws and regulations, including regulated areas, protected species, wildlife interaction and dive flag laws.
