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Become one in the big blue of Okinawa. Free diving with Tomoka Fukuda

Interviewer: Ranyo Tanaka

2022.12.29

Swimming freely through coral forests with sea turtles, reaching depths of up to 100 metres in the ocean, Tomoka Fukuda is based in Okinawa. We talked to her about the charms of Okinawa and freediving as a form of meditation.

Tomoka Fukuda Filmed by Carlos Coste and Islael Gil

Ranyo: Why did you move to Okinawa from your native Hokkaido?

Tomoka: I had this image of Hokkaido as a nutrient rich sea but what I saw was black. When I came to Okinawa on a trip, I experienced soda-colored seas and white sandy beaches, and I finally experienced the seas in my imagination. When I dove into the ocean, it was a truly colourful world, and I fell in love at first sight.
I started to do some free diving and gradually became obsessed with the ocean, so much so that I decided to move to Okinawa.

Ranyo: When you first encountered freediving, what was it that excited you?

Tomoka: I did a lot of free diving for fun, but around 2010, there was a world championship in Okinawa, and I participated as a safety diver. I was really impressed to see freed divers from all over the world diving. Seeing how beautifully they blended into the sea, I thought I would like to try it too, and the following year I began to dive competitively.

Ranyo: You are an instructor?

Tomoka: I have been in many oceans around the world and experienced many things, and finally I was able to return to Japan, to Okinawa.
Until now, I only wanted to break records, but I started teaching because I wanted to give back my experience to others.

Ranyo: How many years have you been doing this now, and have the number of participants increased during that time?

Tomoka: It's only been about 3 years since I came back to Japan, and the number of participants has been increasing.

Ranyo: Do you have more participants who want to free dive or snorkel as well?

Tomoka: Some people just want to try snorkelling, but we also get a lot of people who are serious about learning freediving.

Meditation in the blue ocean

TOMOKA FUKUDA CWT-100m dejablue9 Cayman2018

Tomoka: Diving in the ocean is really a deep meditation. When you dive deep, you face your mind, so you are forced to concentrate. If your mind wanders even a little, you may end up doing something strange, so you need full concentration. That state of mind is good meditation.
Humans are part of nature to begin with, but now we are pretty much out of touch. And even in society, we become isolated, but when we go into nature, we can return, or there is a moment of reconnection.
It's not something I get to experience every time, but when I do, everything is beautiful. I'm filled with gratitude, and this state lasts for a week or two, so im hooked. It really only happens once or twice a year, but I feel like I truly become one with the earth.

Ranyo: Is there a difference between diving for competitions and diving privately?

Tomoka: It's very different in competition because you have to concentrate as your life is at stake. You have to be in a meditative state of mind.

Ranyo: What kind of things happen when you meditate or unify your mind?

Tomoka: Normally, you are always thinking about something else, like what to ate today or what happened yesterday. When you are diving in the ocean, it is the only time you don’t think about anything. It is an important time for me to feel fully in the present and to create such a meditative state.
It is a world that I cannot share with anyone else and that I can see by myself alone, a truly luxurious blue. I wonder if you understand. I think, "Today's blue is the best blue.

Ranyo: In ordinary life, there is absolutely no time like that.

Tomoka: Yes, so I feel like I am travelling in one dive.

Ranyo: In normal meditation, it is difficult to erase thoughts, isn't it?

Tomoka: It's not about erasing them, it's more about focusing on something, concentrating on the five senses, feeling. I shift my focus to my senses and feeling instead of thinking.
It's like taking all the thoughts that are floating around in your head and dropping them into your stomach. Then I can concentrate on my five senses, for example, the sound of waves or the light. Also, the truth about myself.

Ranyo: I want to do it right away!

Tomoka: It would be nice to have such an experience course. I did an event with a friend of mine who is a famous yoga model named Waka-chan, and we put into words what we were experiencing as we dove together, and everyone went deeper and deeper into meditation.

Ranyo: Can you explain more?

Tomoka: I described what I was experiencing in words, and then we dove into the sea while meditating together.

Ranyo: I saw this kind of state before divers attempt deep 100 metres dives in videos, and it looked like they were breathing and concentrating very much. What kind of mindset do you bring to that moment?

Tomoka: I take normal breaths, but the time I spend for the inhalation is only a few seconds before the dive, so I enter the water in a meditative state.
I dive not with a sense of enthusiasm, but as if I am melting into the sea and becoming a part of it, as if I am being accepted by the sea.
You can't fight with the ocean, you can't win, so you have to let it accept you.

Ranyo: Wow.

The secret of Okinawa's air, freediving, and breathing

Ranyo: I would like to ask you about the richness of Okinawa itself other than the sea.

Tomoka: It’s the air that makes you feel refreshed the moment you arrive in Okinawa. Do you know what I mean? The ocean and greenery are beautiful and vivid, and the people are very warm. The energy of the people living here is incredible.
I have been all over the world, but I always really want to come back to Okinawa.

Ranyo: The people are very nice. Everyone is so kind.

Tomoka: They are kind and honest. If you need anything, they say, "Take whatever you need. Like a turtle, they tell me to eat whatever" (laughs).
(Laughs.) Nowadays, some people only see nature on the Internet or through photos. So I want people to go into the ocean and really feel it for themselves. I want people to see and feel nature with their own eyes.

Ranyo: If possible, do you want people to see the deep blue world rather than snorkelling?

Tomoka: Not at all. My first experience was snorkelling and swimming with the fish, so I think it would be nice to do that. If you are interested, I would like you to see the deep blue world too.

Ranyo: I also felt the sense of becoming a fish as the fish don't run away when you snorkel.
Scuba diving is also a great way to see all kinds of fish.

Tomoka: Scuba diving allows you to see many different kinds of fish, but what is different about freediving and scuba diving is that you can become one with the creatures in the water by snorkelling with them on your own.

Ranyo: I finally became comfortable diving after coming to Okinawa. I feel very comfortable when the fish are right in front of me while I am underwater, and I can hold my breath pretty well when I watch them.

Tomoka: The length of your breath also changes depending on how conscious you are. If you concentrate on the pain and suffering, you will really suffer. If you focus on the things I mentioned earlier, such as the cute shrimp or the beautiful light, the way you hold your breath and the amount you hold it will be completely different.

Ranyo: I think there are many people who will be inspired and helped by this type of awareness. Diving and meditation, I think we can experience the underwater world together on these two axes.
Thank you very much for your time today.

Tomoka: Thank you very much.