WANTED: Inexpensive diving on Izu

[CanadianSushi]

Hey everyone!

I don't know if this has been discussed before, but it seems that most of the previous threads have disappeared off the forum since the big server crash. Anyway, I just got back from diving in Izu the past two weekends. Did some dives in Osezaki and then another couple in Futo, on the other side of the peninsula. We dove IOP and Wakinohama.

It seems that just about all the dive shops in the area have a pretty standard price for fun dives -- a little expensive in my books. 12,600 yen seems to be par for the course. I have a dive buddy who always goes with a small, mom & pop shop that charges a few thousand less and has really cheap accommodations to boot (2000 yen a night I believe). Unfortunately, they don't seem to be terribly receptive to new (read: foreign) clientelle :shakehead so when we tried to book with him for last weekend, we were given the cold shoulder and told "no" and "maybe next month." In addition, even if we WERE able to get in with them, there's no guarantee that they won't be busy and all booked up. It sucks to have to scrub a scuba trip because your fave LDS is all booked up. As a result, we ended up diving with Papalagi Divers, which wasn't so cheap.

My question to you all is -- do you know of any inexpensive outfits on Izu that you can recommend. My Japanese is passable enough to speak on the phone or make reservations -- so that part doesn't bother me... Although, if they have any English-speaking staff, that would be an added bonus.

But my main concerns are: getting a dive shop that:

1) costs less than 12,600 for 2 beach dives, and...
2) has access to inexpensive overnight accommodations (of any kind).

Ideally, I'd like to develop a relationship with one or two companies that would help me grow over time. I live about 3.5 hours away from Izu by car and my goal is to do at least one dive a month. I'm not a terribly experienced diver yet (got my OW card in April and have logged 14 dives to date) so it would be nice to have a DM or guide that will help out when/where needed but my ideal goal would be to get to the point where I could dive (with a buddy) but without a guide. In other words, a company that would eventually allow me to rent just the tank (as I own all my other gear). I think companies like Jester (http://www.izu.co.jp/~jester/) do allow you to do just that... But I know nothing about them. It's always good to get personal recommendations from other divers.

Anyway, please and thank you for everyone's help!
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[Geoff_H]

This is Japan... diving is not cheap

I think I want to give up my day job and become a fisherman, renting out my boat to divers in Izu.... I reckon some of them make 2 million yen a weekend in the summer, by taking 10 boatloads of 16 divers (80 indivdual divers doing two dives each) out a day at 12,000 yen/person.

If anything, I think this estimate may be a bit low in some places, often the boat does not stay with the divers but returns to dock and gets another group or two out, before returning for pickup.

Anyway, my rant over - sent you a PM with some suggestions for cheaper ways to dive.

 

[RikRaeder]

Haven:t been up there myself yet but I:m sure Jim from Discovery Divers in Tokyo will chime in. I find it cheaper to go to Saipan then pay typical J prices for diving. Try buying some gear here (chortle). I:d be up to Izu myself, but transportation from Nagoya is pretty pricey...might as well hit the tropics.

http://www.discoverydiverstokyo.com/

 

[Mar Scuba]

12,600 is for 2 beach dives, usually, boat dives are more.

The cheapest diving is in Osezaki, where individual divers (in buddy pairs) can rent tanks for 2,100 yen per tank and pay facilities fees of 1,050 to 1,575 yen plus the ocean fee of 500 yen or so. Parking is 1,000 yen during the summer. Total for that is about 6,275 for 2 beach dives.

What do you get for 12,600 yen from Mar Scuba? Full service, such as an English speaking dive guide, i.e. Divemaster or Instructor, local dive knowledge, transfers from the station to the dive site, bento lunch, plus individual, personalized advice, tips, and hints on how to improve your diving, as well as small, personalized groups. Oh, did I forget to mention the DAN O2 Oxygen kit?

This and my financial advisor is telling me that we should be charging _more_ and we actually lose money on fun dives...

I would suggest doing a dive weekend per month or every two months, your diving skills will progress much faster, as well as getting much more experience rather than only once per month.

Best of luck,

 

[CanadianSushi]

Thanks for the replies so far, everyone (both public and private)... This is proving to be a very fruitful thread to date.

Just a couple comments to some of the replies:

Rikraeder: Re: Saipan -- Yes, it's possible to do 2 boat dives for only $70 or so, and you can get a place to stay for $33 a night -- problem is, flight tickets from Japan to Saipan run 40,000 at the BEST of times, right now (I checked) you are looking at 70,000 -- which is certainly more than a trip to Izu. Do you have an inside track on cheap flights?

Mar Scuba: I realize you have a business to run and are responding to my post as such, not as an individual diver, so I will respond accordingly.

You list a lot of "benefits" to your dive shop -- which is great, unfortunately I don't really see anything that would set you apart from other local dive shops (other than the English-speaking part) that is unusual. In fact, some companies like Papalagi also offer English-speaking DMs, guides, instructors or what have you.

Further, if you raise the prices of your dives based on the advice of your financial advisor, whether you are currently taking a loss on fun dives or not, it will put you higher than anyone else. I can only then assume that all the other dive shops on Izu that charge 12,600 must be running their businesses without making any money, but still staying afloat. That's a pretty neat trick! I thought only governments were allowed to do that. ;-)

I do however appreciate the heads-up on Okazaki... Indeed, that IS the low-cost bare-bones option. In the end, when it comes to Futo, for example -- it's not even the 12,600 that kills ya (even though it's almost 3,000 more than what I'd LIKE to pay) it's the cost of accommodations. I have absolutely NO desire to be paying 7,000 yen and up for the night. Even Futo's campground charges that! Yeesh!

Please realize, that for me, all these factors make a huge difference. You may feel that you are giving your customers more than their money's worth at 12,600. This may be true -- but for me, I have not only myself to consider but my wife who also dives with me. Together, the difference between 10,000 yen for 2 beach dives and 12,600 for 2 beach dives is 5,200. That right there pays for my gas and tolls to/from Futo. Then when we factor in the cost of accommodations you can see how quickly things add up.

In any event, I thank you for your input and opinion.

Take it easy all!

BTW, I will likely be out diving in Futo next weekend (the 18th and 19th) but still haven't determined who we'll be going with yet.

 

[Mar Scuba]

Mar Scuba: I realize you have a business to run and are responding to my post as such, not as an individual diver, so I will respond accordingly.

Actually, if I were replying as a business, I would never have given you such information. And I am a diver first and foremost. Hope that you can see that from the number and breadth of the posts on this forum.

You list a lot of "benefits" to your dive shop -- which is great, unfortunately I don't really see anything that would set you apart from other local dive shops (other than the English-speaking part) that is unusual. In fact, some companies like Papalagi also offer English-speaking DMs, guides, instructors or what have you.

Well then, I would invite you to join us for some diving and see what makes Mar Scuba different. We have a totally different mindset from the Japanese shops. It is what keeps us alive. It is also what makes the Zen of Diving (tm).

Further, if you raise the prices of your dives based on the advice of your financial advisor, whether you are currently taking a loss on fun dives or not, it will put you higher than anyone else. I can only then assume that all the other dive shops on Izu that charge 12,600 must be running their businesses without making any money, but still staying afloat. That's a pretty neat trick! I thought only governments were allowed to do that. ;-)

They do it through sheer volume. When I see a dozen inexperienced divers and one dive guide, it makes me shudder. Our ratios are normally less than 6 or 4:1.

Best of luck,

 

[PoseidonSv]

What if experienced solodiver like me comes and i dont need a guide is that ok?

 

[TJO]

CanadianSushi. Some places in Izu allow you to dive by yourself assuming you are certified and have a certain amount of dives. Some places may require you use a guide the first time which always is a good idea. They show you local practices like entry/exit techniques, how to navigate the dive site etc. That is how my wife and I afforded to keep diving and learned to take care of ourselves. You will need to ask around for prices and possibilities. Why not start posting that kind of information here on this website?

PoseidonSv... I like the social part of diving and believe in a team approach to diving. It is much more fun todive together. I see some guys at divesites diving by themselves, mainly photographers, but nothing I recommend or practice. I take pictures and video and need team members as models. They also help me spot fishes to document. Bor du i Japan?

Thomas

 

[nori1841]

Hi CanadianSushi,

I think that a cheap way is a skill of diving but no one sell it as a course so far.
You seem to be a new comer here in Japan thus you are getting the skill at this particular time.

Take it easy too! but Easy come, easy go.

 

[TJO]

THAT would be a good PADI specialty course!