Okinawa Shore dive, Need Help Pls...

[KuloMan]

Dear Every one,

I'm going to Okinawa with my friends End of June.

1. Any shop recommend for Tank rental near Chatan?
If nitrox would be great.
Is it possible to keep the tank overnight in case we want to do early morning dive before shop open?

2. Recommend Shore Dive site for Big fish : Sharks, Rays ?
I know only toilet bowel that have silky shark and sometime whale during migration.

3. Recommend Shore dive for macro : Pygmy sea horse? rare critters?
They say Tangen pier is nice for Nudi.

No plan for boat trip due to Limit of budget T_T

Thank u so much in advance ^^
Have a nice day!

 

[busybugs]

Dear Every one,

I'm going to Okinawa with my friends End of June.

1. Any shop recommend for Tank rental near Chatan?
If nitrox would be great.
Is it possible to keep the tank overnight in case we want to do early morning dive before shop open?

2. Recommend Shore Dive site for Big fish : Sharks, Rays ?
I know only toilet bowel that have silky shark and sometime whale during migration.

3. Recommend Shore dive for macro : Pygmy sea horse? rare critters?
They say Tangen pier is nice for Nudi.

No plan for boat trip due to Limit of budget T_T

Thank u so much in advance ^^
Have a nice day!

Location-wise, Max Air along the Sea Wall (Miyagi Coast) would be a good choice for tank rentals (1,040 yen) with aluminum 8, 10L and steel 10L tanks. If you become a member (100 yen), the cost drops to 540 yen. However, you may not be able to join because you are a tourist. Here's a link to the page: 一般向けサービス | 沖縄ダイビングでタンクのレンタルなら They do have Nitrox but it is not listed on the website.

 

[KuloMan]

Location-wise, Max Air along the Sea Wall (Miyagi Coast) would be a good choice for tank rentals (1,040 yen) with aluminum 8, 10L and steel 10L tanks. If you become a member (100 yen), the cost drops to 540 yen. However, you may not be able to join because you are a tourist. Here's a link to the page: 一般向けサービス | 沖縄ダイビングでタンクのレンタルなら They do have Nitrox but it is not listed on the website.

Thank u so much for your info,
Do u know how much does nitrox cost? And do we need to book nitrox in advance?

Is there any other shop who provide cheaper tanks? In case I can’t become member.

 

[cephalopod2]

We got tanks from here if you want to check prices http://www.hot-station.jp/index.htm. They have Nitrox and were fine with us keeping tanks overnight if we couldn't make it back to them before they closed.

In terms of dive sites for small animals, yes Tengan Pier is great for nudis, also sometimes juvenile fish (e.g. sweetlips). It had some very pretty fans out in the deeper part as well. It's shallow and a HUGE dive site - easy to do long dives and multiple dives if you like (we did 4 two hour dives there over a few days and would have done more if we hadn't run out of time).

IIRC there were supposed to be some jacks and white tip sharks at Cape Zanpa (saw the jacks, didn't go deep enough to look for the white tips). The hike to that entrance point is grueling however.

For rarer critter sightings you might want to nose around FB to see what locals have seen recently. A couple pages I found helpful were

https://www.facebook.com/groups/115283658525549/ and
Hedonic Experience

and I was very grateful for the detailed dive site info here Dive Sites .

Can't help you on whether regular pygmies (Bargabanti, etc) can be seen from Okinawa shore dives but if you have time to stop in Hachijo-jima (if you're going to be near Tokyo), that's a great spot for the endemic Japanese pygmy which is accessible from shore with a good guide.

 

[KuloMan]

We got tanks from here if you want to check prices http://www.hot-station.jp/index.htm. They have Nitrox and were fine with us keeping tanks overnight if we couldn't make it back to them before they closed.

In terms of dive sites for small animals, yes Tengan Pier is great for nudis, also sometimes juvenile fish (e.g. sweetlips). It had some very pretty fans out in the deeper part as well. It's shallow and a HUGE dive site - easy to do long dives and multiple dives if you like (we did 4 two hour dives there over a few days and would have done more if we hadn't run out of time).

IIRC there were supposed to be some jacks and white tip sharks at Cape Zanpa (saw the jacks, didn't go deep enough to look for the white tips). The hike to that entrance point is grueling however.

For rarer critter sightings you might want to nose around FB to see what locals have seen recently. A couple pages I found helpful were

https://www.facebook.com/groups/115283658525549/ and
Hedonic Experience

and I was very grateful for the detailed dive site info here Dive Sites .

Can't help you on whether regular pygmies (Bargabanti, etc) can be seen from Okinawa shore dives but if you have time to stop in Hachijo-jima (if you're going to be near Tokyo), that's a great spot for the endemic Japanese pygmy which is accessible from shore with a good guide.

Thank u so much for your info
Have a nice day! ^^

 

[busybugs]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Hot Station is no longer in business.

 

[busybugs]

Thank u so much for your info,
Do u know how much does nitrox cost? And do we need to book nitrox in advance?
I'm not sure but I can check for you. I'll likely be diving at the Sea Wall this weekend.

Is there any other shop who provide cheaper tanks? In case I can’t become member.

1000 yen (plus tax) is a pretty standard rate.

 

[cephalopod2]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Hot Station is no longer in business.

Sad news. They were really easy to get everything we needed from. They also had a great dive vending machine. Thanks for the update.

 

[KuloMan]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Hot Station is no longer in business.

Are there any other shops than Max Air, for just in case cannot get tanks from Max Air...
Can they understand simple English , or need to speak japanease with them?

 

[Jordan23]

is there also macro? how is it compare to the philipines or papua new guinea or palau? or is it diffrent