{"id":3535,"date":"2021-04-29T16:58:06","date_gmt":"2021-04-29T09:58:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluejapan.org\/fr\/?page_id=3535"},"modified":"2021-06-15T11:46:55","modified_gmt":"2021-06-15T04:46:55","slug":"diving-circuit","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bluejapan.org\/fr\/culture\/japanese-style\/diving-circuit\/","title":{"rendered":"The Japanese Diving Circuit"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Culture<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

The Social Side Of Japanese Diving <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

The Japanese Diving Circuit <\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Japanese diving culture is not only found in Japan itself.

Japanese divers love to travel \u2013 at least to certain places outside Japan\u2019s borders.
There is something of an circuit of either Japanese-run diving operations, or employing Japanese staff.<\/p>

These operators concentrate the majority of Japanese visitors overseas<\/strong>, mostly for practical linguistic \/ organisational reasons, since these operators not only offer on-site Japanese diving service, but will also handle your booking in Japanese and help with planning, accommodation and sometimes even flights,<\/p>

We\u2019ve encountered this situation in different areas, either working in a Japanese structure (Thailand) or being the on-site Japanese-speaking instructor-guides (Indonesia, Mexico\u2026).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Overseas dive centres showcased in Japanese diving magazines<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Booking agents<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

There are numerous exceptions, of course, including local Japanese \u201cexpatriate\u201d communities, more adventurous Japanese students or people simply comfortable enough to book in English (some divers might occasionally seek to avoid Japanese-style <\/em>service found back home) or returning customers.
And yet the vast majority of diving reservations will done through Japanese booking agents.<\/p>

This is also quite common in non-Japanese contexts as well, especially since the advent of online-booking agents such as liveaboard.com<\/a>, which now concentrate the majority of bookings from certain areas such as the USA, the diving world\u2019s answer to booking.com and other agoda.com\u2026<\/p>

Yet in Japan, this situation largely predates the Internet age<\/strong>, with dedicated travel agents specialised in diving and dive travel \u2013 which somewhat mirrors the offer of European countries like France or Germany.<\/p>

This is probably for similar linguistic and cultural reasons \u2013 though this is changing fast, French divers, for instance, were until very recently notorious for speaking only French, and wanting to dive in a French environment.<\/p>

And as in Europe, agents advertise their services in major diving publications, and also through national diving and travel fairs and events.
This situation still prevails, although most of the booking business is now done online.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Overseas dive centre \/ plans showcased in Japanese diving magazines<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

This means that a dive centre aiming to welcome Japanese divers abroad will need to work with these agents.
Agents will usually send their staff on site to inspect operations, and evaluate different the dive operator\u2019s offer before the collaboration begins.<\/p>

In some places we worked at, including Mexico, the Japanese diver market was actually divided between 2 dive operators, each working with one of the major Japanese agents, which avoided direct competition.<\/p>

It\u2019s fairly simple. Customers books through the agent, and the agent contacts the operator\u2019s booking manager, which can be someone off-site, who will then relay the information to the dive centre, or actual on-site dive staff.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

When it\u2019s the on-site dive staff handling agent bookings, it\u2019s usually more direct and smooth, as they know the operation from the inside, which usually helps anticipate problems and avoid confusion.
But it is also a heavy workload, especially if there is no dedicated Japanese-speaking office staff.
Handling agent booking means not only planning and management duties, but also long daily email exchanges with the agent and or guests, to iron out all the details, deal with changes and eventual issues – which is quite demanding, especially if one is also guiding\/teaching every day.<\/p>

In Japan, the two main agents handling Japanese diver bookings abroad are STW<\/strong>\u2019s diving branch (DiveNavi<\/a>), WTP<\/strong>‘s We World Explorer <\/a>and Club Azul<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\"\"<\/a>
STWorld \/ Divenavi<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>

Club Azul<\/a><\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\"\"<\/a>
WTP’s We Explorer<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

These agents centralise the vast majority of international Japanese diver bookings, and are involved in active collaborations with diving publications and diving events.<\/p>

As such, the agent network forms the basis of the Japanese diver circuit<\/strong>, focusing both offer and attention on certain areas, and directing bookings to collaborating dive centres offering some form of Japanese service.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a>
STW affiliated dive shop in Palau, Micronesia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

The Japanese diver circuit overseas<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Let\u2019s start with places where you\u2019ll currently rarely<\/em> encounter Japanese divers.<\/p>

Major diving destinations include the Egypt\u2019s Red Sea for instance, which has been off-limits for some years, or Central to South American destinations other than Mexico, Costa Rica and Galapagos.
Safety is a concern, as is general accessibility (reliability of connections, crucial for divers with very limited time, as is often the case with non-retired Japanese divers)<\/p>

Outside of the island of Bali (which has numerous Japanese operators and offers easy access from Japan), and a few liveaboard charters on the Komodo\/Raja Ampat route, Japanese divers are also surprisingly rare in Indonesia<\/strong> \u2013 this is most likely due to time\/practical constraints, since Indonesia is a large archipelago, implying domestic flights which are often unreliable.<\/p>

But this will most likely change in the future, given how good the diving is.
A major Japanese agent<\/a> has been centralising bookings for years, and other smaller structures<\/a> cater mostly to Jakarta-based Japanese \u201cexpat\u201d community.

We worked for a dive centre located inside a major luxury hotel on Flores Island\u2019s Labuan Bajo, that offered speedboat daytrips to Komodo National Park, and roughly 30% of customers were Japanese, tough the flight connections from Bali to LBJ-Komodo airport sometimes complicated things.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Minibus in Labuan Bajo (Komodo), Flores, Indonesia<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Major destinations catering to Japanese divers include:

<\/p>