Years later and years older, women are still working hard to …
Besides the limits of breath-hold, immersion in water and exposure to high ambient pressure also have physiological effects that limit the depths and duration possible in freediving. Trek from the mountains to massive cities to the endless ocean, all in a single day.

Centuries ago women began plunging deep into the ocean without any breathing apparatus in order to forage for food. But like many of the old ways, traditional free diving is struggling to find relevance in society increasingly turning away from the traditions of the past. Ama means “sea women”. Diving in Japan A country brimming with history, Japan offers unique scuba diving in a serene setting. These are Japanese female free-divers who make a living from the ocean collecting seaweed, shellfish, sea urchins, pearls, and abalone to sell at the market. Wearing nothing but a loincloth, these fearless women free-dive up to 40 feet into the cold water, holding their breath for as long as sixty seconds at a time.
Because Japan is an archipelagic country with islands covering over 1800 miles (3,000km), there is a huge difference in water temperature between north and south. It’s not just the Ama, of course: everywhere in Japan, the ancient and the modern coexist in a fragile balance. Japan and Korea are home to groups of grandmothers who call free diving work. We’ve been dedicated to bringing you the freshest news, features, and discussions from around the underwater world since 1996. Freediving, free-diving, free diving, breath-hold diving, or skin diving is a form of underwater diving that relies on breath-holding until resurfacing rather than the use of breathing apparatus such as scuba gear.. The dive. Learn how you can get a firsthand look at these women who harvest the sea's riches. DeeperBlue.com is the World’s Largest Community dedicated to Freediving, Scuba Diving, Ocean Advocacy, and Diving Travel. General info about Japan & diving there. Northern Japan (Hokkaido) tends to be cool or cold. Japan's free-diving ama divers are the stuff of legend.