A flock of pointed-winged swallowfish hunt sporadic plankton in shallow offshore waters in Japan's Ogasawara Islands, which are subtropical. When the sun's shadow is tilted to the west, the red light in the daylight scatters and weakens, and the water is filled with emerald-like color. Photographed by Brian Skyley
In the shallow sea near Hokkaido, octagonal fish swing their pectoral fins with stiff spines and crawl through the shiny volcanic sand under the water. This cold-water fish only females produce a distinctive long beak like a puppet's nose. Photographed by Brian Skyley
The wrought-iron-colored butterfly fish swims slowly so that a two-color split-lip fish can clean its skin. The black and white pattern of the butterfly fish resembles that of a samurai robe, which has long fascinated the Japanese. Photographed by Brian Skyley
The sand tiger shark near the Ogasawara Islands is about to give birth. During the nine-month gestation period, the two largest juveniles in the womb will eat the same-born "younger siblings" to feed on their stomachs, a cannibalism that is unique to this species. Photographed by Brian Skyley
In the waters off the Izu Peninsula, a yellow goby fish that has settled in a broken soda can looks out the window, as if to remind the viewer that there are more than 120 million people living above the water. Photographed by Brian Skyley
120 kilometers southwest of Tokyo, in the cold waters of Suruga Bay, a moray eel snakes among the branches of soft corals. The bay is deep and narrow, with the seabed falling above 2,400 meters. Photographed by Brian Skyley