The Japanese Gardens — so named for the precise, ornamental arrangement of the small coral heads on the sandy bottom — are one of the most popular shore-dive and snorkelling sites in the Aqaba Marine Park. The reef begins twenty metres from the beach and slopes gradually to about 30 metres, with hard corals dominating the shallows and gorgonian fans appearing deeper down.
Fish density is high: pufferfish, parrotfish, schools of yellow goatfish, large grouper sometimes resting in cave-like overhangs. Octopus are seen regularly in the shallows. Snorkellers see most of the same animals without needing tanks. The site is accessed from one of the dive centres along the Marine Park coast road; entry includes a small reef fee.