Haisai*, We are Jan and Tomoko, the owners of Piranha Divers. I first started diving in 1999, basically as soon as I was old enough to put on a scuba tank and stay underwater. That first dive into the deep was in a chilly German quarry, but the cold experience didn’t put me off and I’ve had a passion for diving ever since. Later, I became a diving instructor and my work took me to Egypt, where I met my lovely wife, and then to Greece, Australia and Thailand. In 2007, we moved to Okinawa with a dream to establish Piranha Divers as a small family-run dive service. Although I have achieved the rating of PADI Master Instructor and SDI Instructor Trainer, Tomoko is the real hidden power behind Piranha Divers, managing daily operations. You will find us in the north of Onna, a beautiful, laidback village. It's perfect for us and our family and we would love to welcome you here too.
*Hello in Okinawa dialect.
Piranha Divers is a legit diving school. We hold the "Sensuishi" diver license required by the Japanese government to legally offer commercial diving services, and are registered as an official diving shop with the local police.
You will enjoy the benefit of small classes taught in English and German. Most of the time, our maximum class size is only two divers to one instructor so there is plenty of time to answer your questions. Our maximum class size is four divers to one instructor.
Piranha Divers is primarily an SDI dive shop. SDI offers a more updated, 21st century approach to diver education and gives us more flexibility to adapt to students needs and individual learning styles. However, we recognise PADI as one of the biggest players in the industry and therefore are very familiar with their curriculum. All certifications earned at Piranha Divers are accepted worldwide.
We are located in the northern part of Onna Village. Most of the dive sites we go to are located within a 30 min drive from our shop in Okinawa's main resort area. Diving with us will enable you to go diving and for the most part also be back in time for other afternoon/evening activities.
Piranha Divers offers a range of services, fun diving for certified divers from the shore or boat, equipment rental service for those who want to dive independently as well as annual equipment maintenance for brands such as DiveRite, Apeks and Aqualung.
Environmental friendly diving at Piranha Divers: We teach and dive neutral buoyant. We occasional organise underwater cleanups and follow the Greenfins guidlines on not touching, taking or feeding marine animals.
Staff Wanted
We are looking for staff frequently, seasonal and longterm, foreign and Japanese. If you feel like you want to work here, send us a CV with your full work history, references and a picture. Please also send a cover letter which should include the reason you want to work here as well as what you are really good at. Potential employees must have the right to live and work in Japan, speak english and have a basic understanding of the culture. We do not sponsor visas. Work schedule including off/holidays, salaries and overtime work are in line with the Japanese labor law requirements. We can assist potential long term employees to obtain the Sensuishi license in english language. Potential employees should cross over to SDI/TDI and follow their approach to diving such as teaching skills neutrally buoyant.
For those who can't work here we offer tailor made internship programs where you can be part of the team and learn on the job how to do the job. Participants pay a fee but are able to join on a tourist Visa.