some questions about diving in Ishigaki?

[bearteacher.tw]

We are two Taiwanese divers and plan to have a diving holidays in Inshigaki during this early Octobor. Our planning trip could be as below,

5 Oct afternoon flight from Taipei to Okinawa
6 Oct sightseeing in Okinawa, especially for the aquarium in the Ocean Expo Park
7 Oct afternoon flight to Ishigaki
8 Oct diving in Ishigaki
9 Oct diving in Ishigaki
10 Oct morning ferry back to Keelung, Taiwan

I have some questions, may I please the friends here to give me some advices?

1. Is this draft trip plan OK?

2. Is the Okinawa aquarium worthy to visit? If it is just soso, we might choose 6 Oct's last flight to Ishigaki instead of staying one more night in Naha.

3. We don't speak fluent Japanese, so we need English-speaking dive master in Ishigaki. Are there some dive services suggested?

4. I checked some local dive service's websites and found most dive shops are in Kabira. Is it better to stay in the home stays around Kabira or in the business hotel (I chose Abiyanpana Hotel) in Ishigaki City.

5. Does every dive sevice arrange daily diving schedule to see Manta?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Mar Scuba]

What a coincidence, I once stayed at the same hotel in Ishigaki.

Unfortunately, I do not know any English speaking DMs on the island.

Perhaps some other board members could offer some advice.

Almost every dive op does Manta Scramble...

But remember, October is prime typhoon season!

Good luck!

 

[japan-diver]

The aquarium in Okinawa is definately worth the visit.
i can set you up with an English speaker in Ishigaki if you desire, have a couple guides we work with in that area not totally fluent but good. Manta Scramble is done daily. Also a morning flight to Isigaki can get you an extra day of diving. Where is the ferry leaving from on the 10th Ishigaki?

 

[ken chung ar]

5 Oct afternoon flight from Taipei to Okinawa
6 Oct sightseeing in Okinawa, especially for the aquarium in the Ocean Expo Park
7 Oct afternoon flight to Ishigaki
8 Oct diving in Ishigaki
9 Oct diving in Ishigaki
10 Oct morning ferry back to Keelung, Taiwan

晩上好 bearteacher tw,

ishigaki is my favorite place, and so i go there three or four times a year.

october is a good month to dive ishigaki in, provided that you are lucky enough to sneak in in the absence of typhoons. last year we had them almost every weekend in september and october. if you can keep your schedule flexible. buy yaeyama tickets, which are cheaper than regular ones but more expensive than discout ones. the reason is that you can easily change dates of flights if a typhoon appraches in the beginning of october.

1. Is this draft trip plan OK?
as japan-diver says, the aquarium is an excellent place to visit but can be accessed on one day. thus, i would recommend that you should drive up to nago-shi on the 5th and stay there over night. thus, you can visit the aquarium on the 6th AM and come back to naha PM. if you spend night in naha on the 6th, you can catch the earliest flight from naha to ishigaki and will get there about 9 am on the 7th. thus, you will have a whole day for diving on that day.

2. Is the Okinawa aquarium worthy to visit? If it is just soso, we might choose 6 Oct's last flight to Ishigaki instead of staying one more night in Naha.
the answer is yes.

3. We don't speak fluent Japanese, so we need English-speaking dive master in Ishigaki. Are there some dive services suggested?
as mar scuba wrote, there are no native english-speaking DMs living on ishigaki. however, there are some japanese guides who can communicate in english with cards written in english.

4. I checked some local dive service's websites and found most dive shops are in Kabira. Is it better to stay in the home stays around Kabira or in the business hotel (I chose Abiyanpana Hotel) in Ishigaki City.
what a coincidence! i usually stay at Abiyanpana in ishigaki city. it's clean, cheap, cozy, and located in a good section of the city. it's quiet and yet, very easily accessed from the airport as well as the port. there are many good local restaurants nearby, too. even if you stay in the city, you can get to ishizaki manta scramble by one and a half hour boat ride.

5. Does every dive sevice arrange daily diving schedule to see Manta?
yes, ishizaki manta scramble near kabira bay is a VERY popular diving spot. don't worry. even if you do not want to dive there, other guests will surely beg for it!

回頭見
ken chung ar
鍾　健

 

[bearteacher.tw]

Where is the ferry leaving from on the 10th Ishigaki?

I plan to take this boat from Ishigaki to Taiwan. The schedule and introdution are shown in this website, please check it,

http://www5b.biglobe.ne.jp/~hiryu21/

 

[bearteacher.tw]

i can set you up with an English speaker in Ishigaki if you desire, have a couple guides we work with in that area not totally fluent but good.

Could you send your friends' email or website for me through the private message?

Thanks.

 

[bearteacher.tw]

if you can keep your schedule flexible. buy yaeyama tickets, which are cheaper than regular ones but more expensive than discout ones. the reason is that you can easily change dates of flights if a typhoon appraches in the beginning of october.

Thanks for your suggestion about getting more flexible airticket. Could you tell me how to buy these tickets? I plan to buy the tickets through ANA's website. Is it ok?

1.as japan-diver says, the aquarium is an excellent place to visit but can be accessed on one day. thus, i would recommend that you should drive up to nago-shi on the 5th and stay there over night. thus, you can visit the aquarium on the 6th AM and come back to naha PM.

Thanks for this advice. But we will arrive in Naha airport at 18:30 PM. Is it too late to get a taxi or bus to Nago-shi? I guess most hotels in Nago-shi area are beah resort. Is there cheap business hotel there? (we don't plan to spend a lot of money for beach resorts there. In Naha city, we will stay in Toyoko-Inn near Miebashi station)

3. as mar scuba wrote, there are no native english-speaking DMs living on ishigaki. however, there are some japanese guides who can communicate in english with cards written in english.

We don't need native English speaking DM. A good Japanese DM can comminicate in English is wonderful for you. If you can suggest one, please send their email or website through private message to me. Thanks!

Could you also recommend some nice and not expensive restaurants in Ishigaki City? What can see around Ishigaki Island when we rest on the land?

 

[ken chung ar]

Could you tell me how to buy these tickets? I plan to buy the tickets through ANA's website. Is it ok?

yes, it is.

Thanks for this advice. But we will arrive in Naha airport at 18:30 PM. Is it too late to get a taxi or bus to Nago-shi? I guess most hotels in Nago-shi area are beah resort. Is there cheap business hotel there?

no, it is not too late. actually, there are a lot of tourists who get to naha airport late at night (9-10 pm) and then head towards north by taxi.

If you can suggest one, please send their email or website through private message to me. Thanks!

i would recomemnt my good old friend mr tochigi. he is a PADI instructor ahd has worked in ishigaki over ten years. he started out as an employed guide at Sea Friends (a BIG shop in kabira) but now has his own shop, office and BOAT! he takes no more than 6 divers on a given day and amenable to your requests. his web site is http://www.h5.dion.ne.jp/~ocean-b/. and his email address is ocean-blue@k6.dion.ne.jp. if you are interested, i will let him know. as a matter of fact, i am going to visit him for diving next month (Sept 16-18).

Could you also recommend some nice and not expensive restaurants in Ishigaki City? What can see around Ishigaki Island when we rest on the land?

now, this is a VERY good question but no easy one 'cause i have no idea as to what kind of food or drinks you guys like. if you like to taste local yaeyama food, i recommend TEI-DA (tel: 83-1727) next to the city office. if you like kushiyaki (it's like indonesian sate), i recommend kushiya (tel: 84-3383). if you want good wines, i can highly recommend VINO et VIN (tel: 82-1142). if you want to stick to taiwanese food, go to 龍翔園 (tel: 83-7788). they are all in walking distance from hotel Abiyanpana. the average budget without booze for one person is 2000-3000 yen, unless you eat like a horse.

hope it works.

ken chung ar
鍾　健