Hi there.
Diving in Japan was a much bigger logistical exercise than I was used to. There was some good diving to be had but it was several hours out of town.
In terms of locations, most of the stuff was on the IZU Peninsula about 6 hours south of Tokyo.
There was a scuba park called I.O.P (Izu Ocean Park) which had good access to 25m+ water but any deeper than that meant you risked being run over by one of the many tour boats. There is basically a dedicated area set aside for SCUBA divers with access ramps, underwater ropes to navigate you, and hot tubs and showers on the shore for after the dive. You can catch a train from Toyko down South and hook up with one of the local dive shops to pick you up in their van to take you to the park. Alternatively there is a local guy who will pick you up from your hotel/apartment in his van and drive you all the way down there (a much better option is you can afford it as you can just relax and look out the window).
I also dived at Mikimoto Island (where the Ama come from) which again had some amazing dropoff locations but it was fairly commercial and you needed to get a boat ride out from the shore (about 30min). Saw a sailfish during my deco stop.
The best place I dived was out of Nara in Okinawa but this involves a flight and at least a weekend to get the most out of the trip.
Not the best news I'm sure but there is some good diving to be had (cold water) you just need to work a bit harder than normal to get to the spots.
Not really much in terms of freedivers training at the local pool (you have to hire a specific lane) but there is a club you may have some success with. Check out the link
東京フリーダイビング倶楽部
I managed to hook up with a local Japanese diver who showed me around and did a great job of acting as guide and interpreter for my weekend trips.
The only email I can find for her at the moment is
junko.kitahama@aida-international.org
She should be able to give you a pretty good run down of diving opportunities in Japan.
James
