Futo
Depth is the range from the top of the site to its usual maximum; "recommended cert" is the mainstream-agency level operators usually ask for, not a legal rule. Currents and visibility change daily — treat everything here as planning ranges.
Futo is east Izu's unhurried alternative: a fishing village whose two coves offer easy, shallow profiles over cobble and low reef, with the macro register turned all the way up. Octopus den in the rock gaps, nudibranchs stud the walls in slow variety, frogfish adopt the same sponge for weeks at a time, and early summer brings bigfin reef squid to egg beds where they hover in courting pairs, indifferent to their audience. Night dives are gentle and productive. Nothing here needs adrenaline; it is a site for long dives, patient eyes, and the kind of local knowledge the village shops trade in.
The moment you come for: Squid egg beds in early summer, resident frogfish and octopus, calm long shore dives
Topography: Cobble, sand, and low rocky reef inside sheltered coves
Entry: A working harbor village with ramped entries into two coves; shops assign the day's cove by wind direction.
Know before you splash
Hazards: Harbor boat traffic near the entries and swell on exposed days.
Who you'll meet
For photographers
Wide angle: ★★☆☆☆ · Macro: ★★★★★ — editors' 1–5 rating of what this site gives each style of shooting