Japanese Garden

Japanese Garden sits in the shallow water around Koh Nang Yuan, the small three-island cluster just off Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand. The site is a boulder-strewn reef with a maximum depth of around 10 metres, light current, and good visibility, rated a beginner dive over a reef bottom. Granite boulders create swim-throughs and channels among the coral growth, where angelfish, clownfish, damselfish, fusiliers, nudibranchs, parrotfish, and pufferfish are regularly seen. Divers have also reported bannerfish, batfish, butterflyfish, eagle rays, lionfish, humphead wrasse, sea turtles, triggerfish, and unicornfish around the site, along with the occasional titan triggerfish worth keeping an eye on near its nest. Because of its shallow depth and gentle conditions, it is a frequent choice for training and check-out dives run by operators based on Koh Tao.

Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.

• Sea turtleSea turtleReported here · unconfirmed
• ButterflyfishButterflyfishReported here · unconfirmed
• Hong Kong ButterflyfishChaetodon wiebeliReported here · unconfirmed
• Redbreast Maori WrasseCheilinus fasciatusReported here · unconfirmed
• Blue-barred ParrotfishScarus ghobbanReported here · unconfirmed
• Doublebar RabbitfishSiganus virgatusReported here · unconfirmed
• Pink Skunk AnemonefishAmphiprion perideraionReported here · unconfirmed
• Slingjaw WrasseEpibulus insidiatorReported here · unconfirmed
• Titan TriggerfishBalistoides viridescensReported here · unconfirmed
• Blackeye ThicklipHemigymnus melapterusReported here · unconfirmed
• Moon WrasseThalassoma lunareReported here · unconfirmed
• Scissortail SergeantAbudefduf sexfasciatusReported here · unconfirmed
• ClownfishClownfishConfirmed present · 4 independent sources
• AngelfishAngelfishConfirmed present · 6 independent sources
• FusilierFusilierConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
• DamselfishDamselfishConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
• ParrotfishParrotfishConfirmed present · 3 independent sources
• PufferfishPufferfishConfirmed present · 3 independent sources
• NudibranchNudibranchConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
• Napoleon (humphead) wrasseNapoleon (humphead) wrasseReported here · unconfirmed
• BannerfishBannerfishReported here · unconfirmed
• TriggerfishTriggerfishReported here · unconfirmed
• BatfishBatfishReported here · unconfirmed
• LionfishLionfishReported here · unconfirmed
• Eagle rayEagle rayReported here · unconfirmed
• UnicornfishUnicornfishReported here · unconfirmed
• Mourning DoridJorunna funebrisObserved near here · iNaturalist
• Surf ParrotfishScarus rivulatusObserved near here · iNaturalist