Our Team

Jan - SDI Instructor Trainer

Jan from Dresden in Germany founded Piranha Divers in 2009 together with his wife at the age of 24 in his backyard. His passion for diving began in 1999 aged 14 in a German quarry. After school in 2003 he traveled to Egypt, Greece, Australia and Thailand mainly for learning diving and English. On his journey Jan met a lot of people who were involved in the diving industry, some where great mentors some where definitely not. All those experiences enabled him to open Piranha Divers and stay in business to this day. Jan does not dive every day, often working in the office, making sure e-mails are answered and keeping an ear open for the needs of the staff and requests of the divers visiting.

Tomoko - Manager/Owner

Tomoko from Niigata, Japan founded Piranha Divers together with her husband Jan. As a mother of three she experienced that the Japanese work culture is unfortunately not designed for mothers, which of course was never mentioned but always implied. Piranha Divers gave her the ability to raise her kids in a meaningful way but also keeping the doors open by taking care of paperwork, government stuff and the general organisation. She also happens to be a rescue diver and occasionally enjoys Okinawas underwater world.

The cat is playful hanging around the diveshop often, his name is real name is “Donut” but everyone calls him “Nutsu”. He is a free spirit not caring about anyones opinion.

Bas - SDI Instructor

Bas from the Netherlands joined Piranha Divers in 2024, his calm demeanour puts divers at ease. While still in his 20’, his experience is vast. reaching from Lionfish hunting in Curaçao to other volunteer diving activities in Holland and finally moving to Okinawa, not only for diving but also for his interest in Japanese culture. Bas is putting a lot of effort in learning Japanese, not being shy approaching new people and challenges. Good coffee can be a challenge in Okinawa but he discovered several small shops and a farm providing special coffee beans and special opening hours. You can ask Bas about coffee and diving. Currently he is learning to become a technical diver.

Minnie - SDI Instructor

Minnie from Japan joined Piranha Divers in 2025, her dedication to diving and her big smile make it fun learning diving from her. Before joining us in Okinawa she lived and worked in Australia where she learned to speak perfect English and in Mexico where she learned to be a cave diver. Minnie is an avid underwater photographer finding some amazing creatures most of us never have seen or heard of, such as a tiny nudibranch called “Shawn the sheep”. She is very patient and often is teaching diving to families and their children. Currently she is learning to become awesome at Sidemount diving.