As any scuba diver knows, when the diving itch hits, you just gotta scratch. But what if the itch strikes in midwinter when you have neither the time nor funds to fly to a tropical resort? Not to worry. Not only is it possible to dive around mainland Japan in the winter months, it can even be done on a day trip from Tokyo. What's more, underwater visibility is better in the winter; the weather is more stable; and there are no crowds.

Last fall, in the throes of a midlife crisis, I decided to do one of those things I've always wanted to do -- learn to scuba dive. Although people tend to associate scuba diving with tropical places like Thailand and the Maldives, Japan is also a good country for diving. It's a narrow archipelago with 34,000 km of coastline and more than 2,000 diving points, which means no one has to travel very far to dive.

So, two weeks after my 46th birthday, I was certified as an open-water diver after completing a course on Ohshima, an island that is a popular diving spot less than two hours from Tokyo by high-speed boat. One of the things I learned is that it's important to dive frequently to maintain your skills. I was enthusiastic to dive often anyway, but it was already mid-September, and I didn't have much time before the cold weather set in.