Diving in Japan is #$%% frustrating...

[Antarctic-Adventurer]

Unfortunately a slight rant follows. But I feel it is very justified. (For the record I have lived in Japan for 6 years, speak good Japanese (日本語能力試験1級) and have experience dealing with the Japanese so I am not a fresh, clueless gaijin).

I have long avoiding diving in Japan because of all the negative stories I heard. But finally I took the plunge a couple of weeks ago and went diving in Wakayama Prefecture in Kansai.

Unfortunately diving in Japan is ridiculous. Somehow the Japanese have managed to kill the whole spirit of diving as only they could. Not only is it over-priced, but almost all diving shops never dive longer than 40 minutes. (If you ask why, they will tell you it is dangerous to do so.. "We don't do decompression diving, longer than 40 minutes is dangerous. Do you even have a licence?"). I eventually found a place that would let me do 50-60 minute dives after phoning over 15 dive shops. Most just said "muri" (impossible).


To make matters worse, unfortunately in my experience the Japanese make some of the worst divers I have ever seen as well. I headed out in Wakayama with a group of ten Japanese divers in two groups.
All the Japaneses divers had very little awareness. It was really sad. Clambering all over the reef, lying on it, touching it, breaking it with no clue. Even the instructor with 5000 dives wasn't much better. It really annoyed me. They had no buoyancy control whatsoever but all had DSLR cameras and cases. (many $000's worth of gear). They silted up the bottom and kicked half the things that they'd photographed when moving onto the next thing to see. It may be a cultural difference but it didn't impress me to say the least. I was saddened. Please tell me that this isn't common?? I haven't dived with that many Japanese but so far has all been this way...:shakehead: Anyone with more experience care to comment?

I should add that as individuals all these people were really friendly and nice people. Afterwards we all had a good time filling in the logs and joking around, so it was nothing personal at all. But their diving....omg.

(I have heard that Okinawa is different though and much more laid back. Don't know if it is true or not... )

I really hope my experiences are an exception rather than a rule, but I was taken aback frankly... :depressed:

It has taken the enthusiasm out of diving here for me a little. There is some good news though...
I am flying to the Philippines on Saturday for two weeks of diving. ;)

[japan-diver]

I have been diving in Japan for over 15 years along with diving all over the world. The Japanese are no worse divers than anyone else. Now some of the practices you see in Japan are a bit frustrating- shorter dives, only guided diving. You can avoid some of this by coming to Okinawa - we do longer dives, shore diving without a guide is common and for the most part we are a bit more relaxed. If your guide was unskilled then I would say that is uncommon as most of the dive guides I have dove with in Japan are highly skilled divers. Don't let one bad experience in Japan turn you off from diving here as Japan has some of the best diving in the world. Come visit us down south or I can recommend some great shops up in Tokyo area to dive with.

[Antarctic-Adventurer]

I have been diving in Japan for over 15 years along with diving all over the world. The Japanese are no worse divers than anyone else. Now some of the practices you see in Japan are a bit frustrating- shorter dives, only guided diving. You can avoid some of this by coming to Okinawa - we do longer dives, shore diving without a guide is common and for the most part we are a bit more relaxed. If your guide was unskilled then I would say that is uncommon as most of the dive guides I have dove with in Japan are highly skilled divers. Don't let one bad experience in Japan turn you off from diving here as Japan has some of the best diving in the world. Come visit us down south or I can recommend some great shops up in Tokyo area to dive with.

Thanks for your input. I will give it another try perhaps..

You say that Japan has some of the "best diving in the world". Where exactly are you referring too? That is quite a claim to make.

I do hope that the level of individual diving really is better than what I saw as you say. It was not good trust me, ;)

I will try a different group and see what I find. Still, being told by most people I have encountered that diving more than 40 minutes is "dangerous" and "decompression diving" is bizarre and sums up for me what the attitude seems to be here.
I even heard it is illegal to own your own compressor in Japan without a licence. Is that really true?

[japan-diver]

The list of spots is very long- the Keramas has some of the most diverse reefs and marine life found anywhere. Ishigaki- manta rays galore, Yonaguni- schooling hammerheads, whalesharks, awesome reefs. Okinawa main island WW II wrecks and reefs to match anywhere else the list goes on.

Owning a portable personal compressor does not require a license but for anything that is used for selling air does need a license. There are tech diving shops in Japan but it is a new thing here so decompression diving is still relatively new but it is done. The shorter dive times are not exclusive to Japan as I have run into them in other areas where shops are more concerned about money than customer satisfaction.

Up north you have more problems diving as the fishing co-ops exert a huge amount of control over access to the ocean- we do not have that problem down south.

[Antarctic-Adventurer]

The list of spots is very long- the Keramas has some of the most diverse reefs and marine life found anywhere. Ishigaki- manta rays galore, Yonaguni- schooling hammerheads, whalesharks, awesome reefs. Okinawa main island WW II wrecks and reefs to match anywhere else the list goes on.

Owning a portable personal compressor does not require a license but for anything that is used for selling air does need a license. There are tech diving shops in Japan but it is a new thing here so decompression diving is still relatively new but it is done. The shorter dive times are not exclusive to Japan as I have run into them in other areas where shops are more concerned about money than customer satisfaction.

Up north you have more problems diving as the fishing co-ops exert a huge amount of control over access to the ocean- we do not have that problem down south.

Thanks for the info. Basically what you are saying is come to Okinawa! OK, I shall put it on the list and get myself down to Ishigaki and Yonaguni. Although we are heading into winter now, is it still possible to dive between now and April next year? Which operation are you associated with? (I have snorkelled Zamami a few years ago and that was impressive I'll be honest).

Yeah the fisherman exacting a tribute out of everyone as though they are sea-pirates gets tiring real fast... Glad to hear Okinawa is a lot better.

[japan-diver]

We dive year round down here- the coldest the water temps get here in the winter is usually 21-22C in Okinawa and a bit warmer in Yonaguni. In Jan-Mar we have migrating whales off Okinawa/Kerama and schooling hammerheads in Yonaguni. Follow the link in my sig line to see the shop and info. We are based on the main island of Okinawa.

[Jax]

When we dove in Cozumel in Mar 2009, the dive crew and others in the boat echoed japan-diver. They said the Japanese were really careless with the marine environment. The guide said they give a special briefing to the Japanese, often with a translater, explaining they would have to report the tourists' carelessness if they were careless. I liked hearing it.

[Antarctic-Adventurer]

We dive year round down here- the coldest the water temps get here in the winter is usually 21-22C in Okinawa and a bit warmer in Yonaguni. In Jan-Mar we have migrating whales off Okinawa/Kerama and schooling hammerheads in Yonaguni. Follow the link in my sig line to see the shop and info. We are based on the main island of Okinawa.

OK Thanks. I will check it out. Maybe I can come diving early next year.

When we dove in Cozumel in Mar 2009, the dive crew and others in the boat echoed japan-diver. They said the Japanese were really careless with the marine environment. The guide said they give a special briefing to the Japanese, often with a translater, explaining they would have to report the tourists' carelessness if they were careless. I liked hearing it.

Don't you mean they echoed Antarctic-Adventurer? ;)

[jagfish]

Next time you're planning to be up in the Tokyo area, drop us a line...

Jim

[Kevrumbo]

Thanks for your input. I will give it another try perhaps..

You say that Japan has some of the "best diving in the world". Where exactly are you referring too? That is quite a claim to make. <snip>


The Ogasawara Islands (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/zen-divers/190145-ogasawara-trip-report.html)

[japan-diver]

Forgot to list those - amazing diving, especially when the sperm whales are in. Just a pain to get there 20+ hour ferry from Tokyo

[RikRaeder]

Japan-Diver; just curious...are you Japanese?

Antarctic-Adventurer; I usually dive with Japanese shops (here and in Saipan) and must say I'm not impressed either. I've been to Okinawa twice, and had the misfortune to get stuck with two of the worst shops I've ever dived with. I'm sure that there must be SOME good shops down there, but I won't be returning to find out.
The shop I use in Saipan gives me more leeway than they do with most of their (Japanese) clientel so no complaints about that shop. It's actually cheaper for me to fly down there for a week, stay in a hotel and dive then to do 15 dives up here.
As to deco diving, I'm fortunate enough to have a tech-oriented shop about twenty-minutes walk from my apartment. The staff are pretty on-the-ball with the exception of one non-tech guide who had to spy hop three times to get our group back to the exit point.
Overall I've been underwhelmed myself (although Jagfish's training looks pretty neat...just way too inconvenient for me down here in Nagoya with no car).

[japan-diver]

Not Japanese just lived here for 19 years.

Missing out on some good diving by skipping Okinawa- wrecks, reefs, drift dives. Lots of great stuff.

[RikRaeder]

I know, but I won't make it back down before I pull out of here and if I do I WON'T go with a J-Shop. Haven't been in the neighborhood of any non-J shops.

[moose_grunt]

I hear you about it being frustrating! I started a thread (how to dive the non japanese way) about trying to get around these frustrations, and it seems rather difficult if you're not in Tokyo (seems there are a few foreign-run shops there, including at least one tech diving outfit), or Okinawa. I'm stuck with max 25 m or max 40min dives as well, and trying to rent a tank (or get your own filled) is the same as trying to rent their grandmother for the night....

Best advice I've gotten about it all is to treat diving here as practice, and take a nice long vacation once or twice a year. I have been a lot less frustrated since--diving here has become like diving in the quarries at home...

[japan-diver]

I have dove all over Japan and in places I see your frustration and understand it. But with a little research you can find the shops that will allow you to dive the way you want. If you come down to Okinawa we are located in Chatan just a few minutes from the airport.