Rebreather Diving in Japan

CCRDVR · 7th October 2007, 19:31

I've just received word that I will be transferring to a ship home ported in Yokosuka, Japan. I was wondering if anyone has experience rebreather diving in Japan, as well as sources for O2 and helium.
Thanks,
CCRDVR

decoweenie · 7th October 2007, 19:34

Look up threads started by "Abbo". He lives in Tokyo and writes about of diving in Japan.

Or PM him...

paulraymaekers · 7th October 2007, 21:17

Quote: (Originally Posted by CCRDVR)

I've just received word that I will be transferring to a ship home ported in Yokosuka, Japan. I was wondering if anyone has experience rebreather diving in Japan, as well as sources for O2 and helium.
Thanks,
CCRDVR

there is a rEvo diver in Japan, did his course recently in switserland

PM me for details
paul

kiwi_diver · 7th October 2007, 23:57

You might try contacting this guy, Bob Bolland's IDA-72 Rebreather Site he is on Okinawa and dives a converted IDA-72. Below's a picture of his gas storage at his home, I don't think he uses the LPG in his rig...

but at least it looks like you can get O2 and Helium etc without any trouble.

I don't know if he's active on Rebreather World but there's an email link on his site.

Cheers, Ray.

ntokyo · 8th October 2007, 01:22

Hello,
Welcome to Japan.
We just had few dives yesterday with Abbo (Meg man). I am rEvo diver, I am still on air diluent but with the objective to be on Trimix in a near future.
You can dive in Tokyo area, the tricky thing is to find dive centers that accept you, they refuse you 90% of the time. Most of the dive happens from the beach, it is going deep very fast.

You can get hold on anything you want here (O2 & He), we can give you good addresses. You should also be able to get He on Yokosuka base. As for Extend Air cartridges, you can find them in Tokyo, but I advise you bring a small stock. It might be cheaper...
Hope to see you for a dive.
Cheers,
Nicolas

CCRDVR · 8th October 2007, 02:48

Quote: (Originally Posted by ntokyo)

Hello,
Welcome to Japan.
We just had few dives yesterday with Abbo (Meg man). I am rEvo diver, I am still on air diluent but with the objective to be on Trimix in a near future.
You can dive in Tokyo area, the tricky thing is to find dive centers that accept you, they refuse you 90% of the time. Most of the dive happens from the beach, it is going deep very fast.

You can get hold on anything you want here (O2 & He), we can give you good addresses. You should also be able to get He on Yokosuka base. As for Extend Air cartridges, you can find them in Tokyo, but I advise you bring a small stock. It might be cheaper...
Hope to see you for a dive.
Cheers,
Nicolas

Thank you to all for your replies. I wil be transferring to Yokosuka in June of next year so I've got a good bit of time to get everything lined up. I look forward to diving in Japan again soon.

Abbo · 8th October 2007, 02:59

I've been here 20 years. Japan is a great place for diving. You can take a hydrofoil out of Tokyo for 45 minutes at 40 knots to Oshima and dive there. Another quick and easy place is Atami, which you can reach in a 40 minute train ride from Tokyo. I like Atami for the 70m wreck.

Below 30m the coral is excellent and the water is suprisingly warm - still 23-24 degrees C in mid-October, as it is bathed by the warm currents from the tropics. Water temperature drops to a minimum of 14 degrees C in February. We think that's icy, but if you've dived off New York you'll think it toasty. The clash of warm currents with colder, mineral-laden currents off Tokyo means the waters are both warm and alive with fish. You might be 37 degrees North of the equator here, but the fish are tropical: not just the colourful aquarium fish, but huge tuna, hammerheads and thresher sharks.

I'm trying to get a better handle on the wreck situation. The Japanese navy and merchant marine was parked in the sand across the South Pacific at the end of the last war. Japanese people have no interest in wrecks, and very few of them dive below 30m. We know of a few good wrecks, but there are undoubtledly a lot more virgin wrecks just begging to be dived. Undoubtedly, there are public records to check and the fishermen know a lot more than they are letting on, but the US Navy probably knows at least as well as anyone where the wrecks are, because subs use them to hide behind.

Fishermen's associations are a pain in some areas. They force the dive shops to pay protection money, and you can't dive except through those dive shops. Protection money is paid as a portion of the tank fill/rental fees: that's the real reason they don't like rebreathers - they don't make much money out of us. When there is an incident, the police need somebody to hold responsible, even when the real cause of death is the diver having smoked 40-50 cigarettes a day, as was the case in a rebreather death in Izu earlier this year. Shops don't want the risk. Ohshima is a place where you're free to dive where you want, without interference from fishermen's associations, which is an attraction. West Izu is also relatively free too. One day, central government will grow the testicular fortitude to bring these gangsters under control, but that day is not now, and that fight is not our fight.

Westerners find Japanese law impossible to understand, because they are used to everything not forbidden being permitted. Japanese law has immense grey areas. Some listed businesses derive their whole income in those grey areas, where one law says a thing is forbidden but one says it is not. It would be easier to talk off-line about high pressure gas laws, but though mixing gas is forbidden to individuals, the police will turn a blind eye as long as you use a little common sense. If you cause trouble to the police, they will always be able to find some law you broke, however law-abiding you are: if you behave they will turn a blind eye to a surprising amount. Nippon Sanso (ie Japan Oxygen Co) just bought British Oxygen's helium business, so helium is now cheap and easy to obtain. I can link you up with suppliers, and so can others on this board.

The more of us here dive rebreathers, the better the conditions we can secure. PM me if you want to set up some dives, or if you need to know more.

CCRDVR · 8th October 2007, 17:48

Quote: (Originally Posted by Abbo)

I've been here 20 years. Japan is a great place for diving. You can take a hydrofoil out of Tokyo for 45 minutes at 40 knots to Oshima and dive there. Another quick and easy place is Atami, which you can reach in a 40 minute train ride from Tokyo. I like Atami for the 70m wreck.

Below 30m the coral is excellent and the water is suprisingly warm - still 23-24 degrees C in mid-October, as it is bathed by the warm currents from the tropics. Water temperature drops to a minimum of 14 degrees C in February. We think that's icy, but if you've dived off New York you'll think it toasty. The clash of warm currents with colder, mineral-laden currents off Tokyo means the waters are both warm and alive with fish. You might be 37 degrees North of the equator here, but the fish are tropical: not just the colourful aquarium fish, but huge tuna, hammerheads and thresher sharks.

I'm trying to get a better handle on the wreck situation. The Japanese navy and merchant marine was parked in the sand across the South Pacific at the end of the last war. Japanese people have no interest in wrecks, and very few of them dive below 30m. We know of a few good wrecks, but there are undoubtledly a lot more virgin wrecks just begging to be dived. Undoubtedly, there are public records to check and the fishermen know a lot more than they are letting on, but the US Navy probably knows at least as well as anyone where the wrecks are, because subs use them to hide behind.

Fishermen's associations are a pain in some areas. They force the dive shops to pay protection money, and you can't dive except through those dive shops. Protection money is paid as a portion of the tank fill/rental fees: that's the real reason they don't like rebreathers - they don't make much money out of us. When there is an incident, the police need somebody to hold responsible, even when the real cause of death is the diver having smoked 40-50 cigarettes a day, as was the case in a rebreather death in Izu earlier this year. Shops don't want the risk. Ohshima is a place where you're free to dive where you want, without interference from fishermen's associations, which is an attraction. West Izu is also relatively free too. One day, central government will grow the testicular fortitude to bring these gangsters under control, but that day is not now, and that fight is not our fight.

Westerners find Japanese law impossible to understand, because they are used to everything not forbidden being permitted. Japanese law has immense grey areas. Some listed businesses derive their whole income in those grey areas, where one law says a thing is forbidden but one says it is not. It would be easier to talk off-line about high pressure gas laws, but though mixing gas is forbidden to individuals, the police will turn a blind eye as long as you use a little common sense. If you cause trouble to the police, they will always be able to find some law you broke, however law-abiding you are: if you behave they will turn a blind eye to a surprising amount. Nippon Sanso (ie Japan Oxygen Co) just bought British Oxygen's helium business, so helium is now cheap and easy to obtain. I can link you up with suppliers, and so can others on this board.

The more of us here dive rebreathers, the better the conditions we can secure. PM me if you want to set up some dives, or if you need to know more.

Abbo,
I will definitely get in touch with you after I arrive in Japan next June and look forward to doing some wreck diving. When I was last in Japan, all of my diving was in Hyama and one trip to Izu, so I definitely want to do some more exploring.
CCRDVR

Izu · 1st December 2007, 09:34

Quote: (Originally Posted by Abbo)

I like Atami for the 70m wreck.

Hi Abbo,

Two Atami wreck questions hoping you can answer:

What is/where is the 70m (deep) wreck you mentioned above ?
I heard the Chinsen pulled down its tugs. Last time I dove it, I circled the perimeter of the hull (s) looking for mooring lines going out in the sand to the presumed tugs but found nothing except the bow chain/anchor. Do they exist and if so, how many/where ?

Thanks.

Abbo · 1st December 2007, 15:28

Quote: (Originally Posted by Izu)

Hi Abbo,

Two Atami wreck questions hoping you can answer:

What is/where is the 70m (deep) wreck you mentioned above ?
I heard the Chinsen pulled down its tugs. Last time I dove it, I circled the perimeter of the hull (s) looking for mooring lines going out in the sand to the presumed tugs but found nothing except the bow chain/anchor. Do they exist and if so, how many/where ?

Thanks.

The Atami wreck is 70m long, in total. See
ƒrƒ^ƒKª
(there must be a better map somewhere...).
There is a 70m deep wreck off Kushimoto, but getting permission to dive it, and getting a boat to get you out there, is a pain.

Sure, I've heard about the tugs too, but to be honest I've never really searched. There are some decent penetrations to keep you busy, which are a deal more fun than searching around the outside.

7th October 2007, 19:31	#1 (permalink)
CCRDVR New Member Current Rebreather/s: Optima Dolphin Other Rebreather/s: Dolphin Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Annapolis, Maryland Posts: 81	Rebreather Diving in Japan I've just received word that I will be transferring to a ship home ported in Yokosuka, Japan. I was wondering if anyone has experience rebreather diving in Japan, as well as sources for O2 and helium. Thanks, CCRDVR
(Offline)

7th October 2007, 19:34	#2 (permalink)
decoweenie Crash Test Dummy Current Rebreather/s: Other CCR Other Rebreather/s: Other CCR Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Cairo Posts: 5,510	Re: Rebreather Diving in Japan Look up threads started by "Abbo". He lives in Tokyo and writes about of diving in Japan. Or PM him...
(Offline)

7th October 2007, 21:17	#3 (permalink)
paulraymaekers rEvo's daddy Current Rebreather/s: rEvo Other CCR Home Build Other Rebreather/s: rEvo Other CCR Home Build Join Date: May 2005 Location: belgium Posts: 1,365	Re: Rebreather Diving in Japan Quote: (Originally Posted by CCRDVR) I've just received word that I will be transferring to a ship home ported in Yokosuka, Japan. I was wondering if anyone has experience rebreather diving in Japan, as well as sources for O2 and helium. Thanks, CCRDVR there is a rEvo diver in Japan, did his course recently in switserland PM me for details paul __________________ www.rEvo-rebreathers.com .... the earth is flat, Elvis is alive, and radial scrubbers give longer dwell time than axials...
(Online)

7th October 2007, 23:57	#4 (permalink)
kiwi_diver Alias - Ray Mansell Current Rebreather/s: Other SCR Other Rebreather/s: Other SCR Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 157	Re: Rebreather Diving in Japan You might try contacting this guy, Bob Bolland's IDA-72 Rebreather Site he is on Okinawa and dives a converted IDA-72. Below's a picture of his gas storage at his home, I don't think he uses the LPG in his rig... but at least it looks like you can get O2 and Helium etc without any trouble. I don't know if he's active on Rebreather World but there's an email link on his site. Cheers, Ray. __________________ Ray. == Latitude 36 South, where the deeper you dive, the warmer it gets! ==
(Offline)

8th October 2007, 01:22	#5 (permalink)
ntokyo New Member Current Rebreather/s: rEvo Other Rebreather/s: rEvo Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Tokyo, Japan Posts: 90	Re: Rebreather Diving in Japan Hello, Welcome to Japan. We just had few dives yesterday with Abbo (Meg man). I am rEvo diver, I am still on air diluent but with the objective to be on Trimix in a near future. You can dive in Tokyo area, the tricky thing is to find dive centers that accept you, they refuse you 90% of the time. Most of the dive happens from the beach, it is going deep very fast. You can get hold on anything you want here (O2 & He), we can give you good addresses. You should also be able to get He on Yokosuka base. As for Extend Air cartridges, you can find them in Tokyo, but I advise you bring a small stock. It might be cheaper... Hope to see you for a dive. Cheers, Nicolas __________________ http://tokyoeuropeandivers.over-blog.com
(Offline)

8th October 2007, 02:48	#6 (permalink)
CCRDVR New Member Current Rebreather/s: Optima Dolphin Other Rebreather/s: Dolphin Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Annapolis, Maryland Posts: 81	Re: Rebreather Diving in Japan Quote: (Originally Posted by ntokyo) Hello, Welcome to Japan. We just had few dives yesterday with Abbo (Meg man). I am rEvo diver, I am still on air diluent but with the objective to be on Trimix in a near future. You can dive in Tokyo area, the tricky thing is to find dive centers that accept you, they refuse you 90% of the time. Most of the dive happens from the beach, it is going deep very fast. You can get hold on anything you want here (O2 & He), we can give you good addresses. You should also be able to get He on Yokosuka base. As for Extend Air cartridges, you can find them in Tokyo, but I advise you bring a small stock. It might be cheaper... Hope to see you for a dive. Cheers, Nicolas Thank you to all for your replies. I wil be transferring to Yokosuka in June of next year so I've got a good bit of time to get everything lined up. I look forward to diving in Japan again soon.
(Offline)

8th October 2007, 02:59	#7 (permalink)
Abbo Going down on Meg Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Tokyo Posts: 389	Re: Rebreather Diving in Japan I've been here 20 years. Japan is a great place for diving. You can take a hydrofoil out of Tokyo for 45 minutes at 40 knots to Oshima and dive there. Another quick and easy place is Atami, which you can reach in a 40 minute train ride from Tokyo. I like Atami for the 70m wreck. Below 30m the coral is excellent and the water is suprisingly warm - still 23-24 degrees C in mid-October, as it is bathed by the warm currents from the tropics. Water temperature drops to a minimum of 14 degrees C in February. We think that's icy, but if you've dived off New York you'll think it toasty. The clash of warm currents with colder, mineral-laden currents off Tokyo means the waters are both warm and alive with fish. You might be 37 degrees North of the equator here, but the fish are tropical: not just the colourful aquarium fish, but huge tuna, hammerheads and thresher sharks. I'm trying to get a better handle on the wreck situation. The Japanese navy and merchant marine was parked in the sand across the South Pacific at the end of the last war. Japanese people have no interest in wrecks, and very few of them dive below 30m. We know of a few good wrecks, but there are undoubtledly a lot more virgin wrecks just begging to be dived. Undoubtedly, there are public records to check and the fishermen know a lot more than they are letting on, but the US Navy probably knows at least as well as anyone where the wrecks are, because subs use them to hide behind. Fishermen's associations are a pain in some areas. They force the dive shops to pay protection money, and you can't dive except through those dive shops. Protection money is paid as a portion of the tank fill/rental fees: that's the real reason they don't like rebreathers - they don't make much money out of us. When there is an incident, the police need somebody to hold responsible, even when the real cause of death is the diver having smoked 40-50 cigarettes a day, as was the case in a rebreather death in Izu earlier this year. Shops don't want the risk. Ohshima is a place where you're free to dive where you want, without interference from fishermen's associations, which is an attraction. West Izu is also relatively free too. One day, central government will grow the testicular fortitude to bring these gangsters under control, but that day is not now, and that fight is not our fight. Westerners find Japanese law impossible to understand, because they are used to everything not forbidden being permitted. Japanese law has immense grey areas. Some listed businesses derive their whole income in those grey areas, where one law says a thing is forbidden but one says it is not. It would be easier to talk off-line about high pressure gas laws, but though mixing gas is forbidden to individuals, the police will turn a blind eye as long as you use a little common sense. If you cause trouble to the police, they will always be able to find some law you broke, however law-abiding you are: if you behave they will turn a blind eye to a surprising amount. Nippon Sanso (ie Japan Oxygen Co) just bought British Oxygen's helium business, so helium is now cheap and easy to obtain. I can link you up with suppliers, and so can others on this board. The more of us here dive rebreathers, the better the conditions we can secure. PM me if you want to set up some dives, or if you need to know more.
(Offline)

8th October 2007, 17:48	#8 (permalink)
CCRDVR New Member Current Rebreather/s: Optima Dolphin Other Rebreather/s: Dolphin Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Annapolis, Maryland Posts: 81	Re: Rebreather Diving in Japan Quote: (Originally Posted by Abbo) I've been here 20 years. Japan is a great place for diving. You can take a hydrofoil out of Tokyo for 45 minutes at 40 knots to Oshima and dive there. Another quick and easy place is Atami, which you can reach in a 40 minute train ride from Tokyo. I like Atami for the 70m wreck. Below 30m the coral is excellent and the water is suprisingly warm - still 23-24 degrees C in mid-October, as it is bathed by the warm currents from the tropics. Water temperature drops to a minimum of 14 degrees C in February. We think that's icy, but if you've dived off New York you'll think it toasty. The clash of warm currents with colder, mineral-laden currents off Tokyo means the waters are both warm and alive with fish. You might be 37 degrees North of the equator here, but the fish are tropical: not just the colourful aquarium fish, but huge tuna, hammerheads and thresher sharks. I'm trying to get a better handle on the wreck situation. The Japanese navy and merchant marine was parked in the sand across the South Pacific at the end of the last war. Japanese people have no interest in wrecks, and very few of them dive below 30m. We know of a few good wrecks, but there are undoubtledly a lot more virgin wrecks just begging to be dived. Undoubtedly, there are public records to check and the fishermen know a lot more than they are letting on, but the US Navy probably knows at least as well as anyone where the wrecks are, because subs use them to hide behind. Fishermen's associations are a pain in some areas. They force the dive shops to pay protection money, and you can't dive except through those dive shops. Protection money is paid as a portion of the tank fill/rental fees: that's the real reason they don't like rebreathers - they don't make much money out of us. When there is an incident, the police need somebody to hold responsible, even when the real cause of death is the diver having smoked 40-50 cigarettes a day, as was the case in a rebreather death in Izu earlier this year. Shops don't want the risk. Ohshima is a place where you're free to dive where you want, without interference from fishermen's associations, which is an attraction. West Izu is also relatively free too. One day, central government will grow the testicular fortitude to bring these gangsters under control, but that day is not now, and that fight is not our fight. Westerners find Japanese law impossible to understand, because they are used to everything not forbidden being permitted. Japanese law has immense grey areas. Some listed businesses derive their whole income in those grey areas, where one law says a thing is forbidden but one says it is not. It would be easier to talk off-line about high pressure gas laws, but though mixing gas is forbidden to individuals, the police will turn a blind eye as long as you use a little common sense. If you cause trouble to the police, they will always be able to find some law you broke, however law-abiding you are: if you behave they will turn a blind eye to a surprising amount. Nippon Sanso (ie Japan Oxygen Co) just bought British Oxygen's helium business, so helium is now cheap and easy to obtain. I can link you up with suppliers, and so can others on this board. The more of us here dive rebreathers, the better the conditions we can secure. PM me if you want to set up some dives, or if you need to know more. Abbo, I will definitely get in touch with you after I arrive in Japan next June and look forward to doing some wreck diving. When I was last in Japan, all of my diving was in Hyama and one trip to Izu, so I definitely want to do some more exploring. CCRDVR
(Offline)

1st December 2007, 09:34	#9 (permalink)
Izu New Member Current Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet Other Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Tokyo, Japan Posts: 1	Wrecked in Atami Quote: (Originally Posted by Abbo) I like Atami for the 70m wreck. Hi Abbo, Two Atami wreck questions hoping you can answer: What is/where is the 70m (deep) wreck you mentioned above ? I heard the Chinsen pulled down its tugs. Last time I dove it, I circled the perimeter of the hull (s) looking for mooring lines going out in the sand to the presumed tugs but found nothing except the bow chain/anchor. Do they exist and if so, how many/where ? Thanks.
(Offline)

1st December 2007, 15:28	#10 (permalink)
Abbo Going down on Meg Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Tokyo Posts: 389	Re: Wrecked in Atami Quote: (Originally Posted by Izu) Hi Abbo, Two Atami wreck questions hoping you can answer: What is/where is the 70m (deep) wreck you mentioned above ? I heard the Chinsen pulled down its tugs. Last time I dove it, I circled the perimeter of the hull (s) looking for mooring lines going out in the sand to the presumed tugs but found nothing except the bow chain/anchor. Do they exist and if so, how many/where ? Thanks. The Atami wreck is 70m long, in total. See ƒrƒ^ƒKª (there must be a better map somewhere...). There is a 70m deep wreck off Kushimoto, but getting permission to dive it, and getting a boat to get you out there, is a pain. Sure, I've heard about the tugs too, but to be honest I've never really searched. There are some decent penetrations to keep you busy, which are a deal more fun than searching around the outside.
(Offline)

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