How to dive the non-Japanese way?

[jagfish]

These friends who made their own club--did they do this to avoid the problem with fishermen, or a problem with the dive shop itself? Just trying to figure out how one would best pitch it to the shop....I'm still not entirely sure if the whole fishermen getting angry thing is the truth, or a load of BS so i haaaaave to pay them 14000 yen every time I want to go diving, instead of just whatever exorbitant amount they will charge me for tank rental....

We don't know where you are posting from...but the diving situation sounds bleak...Too bad you can't make it to Izu...It's not quite like the Orwellian 1984 you are dealing with...more like a kinder, gentler 1984....dive safe...

 

[Baracuda Smile]

There are also a number of places in Izu that will rent tanks to those holding OW cards, with no need for a DM. Futo, IOP, Mera (but Mera may require AOW. Not sure), & Osezaki, for example.

Maybe we should try to compile a comprehensive list of such places? Can anyone else offer up some more?

I have not compiled a comprehensive list for mainland but I have for all of the Ryukus, or Southern Japan, this includes English speaking dive centers, and the locations to decompression chambers. So I invite divers on mainland to plot their information.

Oh by the way the Kadena decompression chamber will be shut down for a year until 5 Jun 2010. American SOFA status will have to use the decompression chamber at Camp Schwab near Henko.

All of these locations to inclue dives sites, dive shops, and decompression chambers are potted with LAT LONG coordinates on the entry/exit points for shore dive and boat mooring points for boat dives. All of these locations can be found on www.hotdive.com
Hotdive is multilingual and is offered in Polish, English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Italian, and Russian

 

[jedi_diver]

Just an idea, but if you went with a local shop in Japan a few times and got to know the crews they might cut you some slack. I think that if they have seen you around and have dove with you they will accept you and rent to you.
I never had this issue so this is just a guess.

 

[moose_grunt]

Yeah, I've tried that, as well. Been diving with the same shop 10 times--they still give me the same story about the fishermen getting angry. My DM application is getting processed even as we speak, so I've asked if I showed them the card, if things would change, but that doesn't seem to matter either. So, unfortunately, here (in Shimane, to answer a previous question), there is no avoiding the Japanese way of diving..... 泣

 

[asimpkinsjr]

Hi, new diver here but I regularly travel to france for business...Im curious, what are the issues with diving there?

Wow.

Not attempting to be a social comment or disrespectful in any way. I'm well aware that different countries have different values and respect those values (I place about 8 different countries in my passport every year). And I'm glad that the folks in Okinawa are so nice.

Just placing Japan on my list of countries with...issues... when it comes to diving, like France. Thanks for the heads up.


All the best, James

 

[sea nmf]

OP, you have cleared up a strange thing I saw at a local shore dive spot last year. There was one diver standing up wading out, pulling the other two divers (who were in full gear, including fins) out. I thought that was strange; why weren't the other divers kicking their own way out?

Someone said they were visitors from Japan and the guy pulling them out was the instructor/DM and that is the way they do it in Japan.

 

[Indian Valley Scuba]

We just returned from a trip from Japan, including diving in Okinawa, and had no problems at all, doing self guided dives and renting tanks. I suppose it depends on who you ask, and how you approach them.

 

[CARHILL]

OP, you have cleared up a strange thing I saw at a local shore dive spot last year. There was one diver standing up wading out, pulling the other two divers (who were in full gear, including fins) out. I thought that was strange; why weren't the other divers kicking their own way out?

Someone said they were visitors from Japan and the guy pulling them out was the instructor/DM and that is the way they do it in Japan.

I live on Saipan lots of Japanise shops and they do the same here. They even put the fins on and off for their Japinese customers. it looks strange to the Western customers

 

[jagfish]

OP, you have cleared up a strange thing I saw at a local shore dive spot last year. There was one diver standing up wading out, pulling the other two divers (who were in full gear, including fins) out. I thought that was strange; why weren't the other divers kicking their own way out?

Someone said they were visitors from Japan and the guy pulling them out was the instructor/DM and that is the way they do it in Japan.

This is the way "trial dives" are done here, called taiken diving in Japanese. The students are not permitted to touch their BC and the instructor must keep contact with the students at all times, generally by the tank valve.

These are not certified divers...

 

[jagfish]

We just returned from a trip from Japan, including diving in Okinawa, and had no problems at all, doing self guided dives and renting tanks. I suppose it depends on who you ask, and how you approach them.

Okinawa is a totally different animal...it's much more like the states there in terms of diving access and prices...