Diving Certification Courses
Taught throughout by PADI-certified instructors in small groups of up to 4 students. Confined water training takes place in a freshwater swimming pool, and the price already includes course materials, full equipment, a dive computer and transfers between Naha and Chatan (American Village) — we do not use E-learning, so there are no extra fees.
📅 Course Schedule (OW / AOW / OW+AOW)
Open Water Diver Course
- Confined water24 skills (freshwater pool)
- Open waterOpen Water Diver dives 1–3
- Open waterOpen Water Diver dive 4
- 4 open water dives2.5 days in total
💡 Note: theory sessions and exams are scheduled throughout the course.
Advanced Open Water Diver Course
- Open waterAdvanced Open Water dives 1–3
- Open waterAdvanced Open Water dives 4–5
- 5 open water dives1.5 days in total
💡 Note: theory sessions and exams are scheduled throughout the course.
Open Water Diver + Advanced Open Water Package
- Confined water24 skills (freshwater pool)
- Open waterOpen Water Diver dives 1–3
- Open waterOpen Water Diver dive 4 + Advanced Open Water dives 1–2
- Open waterAdvanced Open Water dives 3–5
- 9 open water dives4 days in total
💡 Note: theory sessions and exams are scheduled throughout the course.
💰 What’s included?
Instructor fees, course materials, PADI registration fees, full scuba equipment, a dive computer, transfers between your hotel, the shop and the dive sites, insurance, and consumption tax.
🤷 Full Scuba Equipment
Tank, snorkel, fins, mask, weights, BCD, wetsuit, dive boots, weight belt, regulator set, dive computer
📖 Course Materials
Course materials are included in the price. Because we teach in Chinese we do not use E-learning, so there is no separate E-learning fee — the price on this page is the total price.
🚕 Transfers
Pickup at hotels along the route between Naha city center and Chatan (American Village). Shared transfers; your exact pickup time is confirmed the day before.
🎒 What do I need to bring?
- Swimsuit (please wear it in advance)
- Towel, sandals and a sun hat
⚠️ Prerequisites & Age
- Age: Open Water Diver — 10 years or older. Advanced Open Water — you must already hold an Open Water Diver certification and be 12 years or older.
- Water comfort: you do not need to be a strong swimmer, but you must be comfortable in the water. PADI requires Open Water Diver students to complete a 10-minute swim or float before open water dive 2, and to be assessed on a 200 m swim or 300 m snorkel before certification. You are here to learn to dive, not to learn to swim, so please honestly assess whether you can reach these requirements with coaching.
- Risk awareness: diving carries inherent risk and calls for the mindset and maturity to accept that risk yourself. Safe diving only happens when a responsible instructor and a responsible student work together.
- Age & depth limits: divers aged 10–14 receive a Junior Open Water Diver certification. Ages 10–11: maximum depth 12 m. From age 12: maximum depth 18 m. Ages 12–14, Open Water Diver: maximum depth 18 m; Advanced Open Water: maximum depth 21 m. From age 14: maximum depth 30 m.
- Flights and holiday planning: please allow at least 18 hours between your final dive and your flight. Because wind and sea conditions can change, we recommend allowing 5 days or more for the Open Water Diver course and 4 days for Advanced Open Water. If rough seas prevent us from finishing your course, you may complete the remaining training within 6 months.
📍 Transfers & Access
📍 Shop address: 沖縄県うるま市石川伊波1553−30 (searchable on Google Maps as “Oceaner Diving”)
🚌 Public transport: from Okinawa’s Route 58, take bus No. 120 or No. 20 to the Nakadomari bus stop, then walk 14 minutes to the shop.
🚕 Transfers: transfers are included throughout your course, with pickup at hotels along the route between Naha city center and Chatan (American Village).
💡 Transfers are shared with other guests and routes are adjusted accordingly, so we will confirm your exact pickup time the day before your course.
Full Course Price List
Prices below are per person in Japanese Yen (JPY), tax included, and already cover course materials, full equipment, a dive computer and transfers. Choose your course and instruction language in the panel above to book.
🤷 PADI Scuba Diver Courses
| Course | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Open Water Diver | ¥85,000 | Entry-level certification, valid worldwide; 2.5 days, 4 open water dives; 10 years or older |
| Advanced Open Water Diver | ¥75,000 | Open Water Diver certification required; 1.5 days, 5 open water dives; 12 years or older |
| OW + AOW Combo | ¥150,000 | Saves ¥10,000 versus booking separately; 4 days, 9 open water dives; two certifications in one trip |
| Rescue Diver | ¥80,000 | Underwater rescue, emergency management and self-rescue techniques |
| Emergency First Response (EFR) | ¥15,000 | CPR and essential first aid; a prerequisite for the Rescue Diver course |
| EFR + Rescue Combo | ¥90,000 | Saves ¥5,000 versus booking separately — take both and save time and money |
| Divemaster | Contact us for a quote | PADI professional rating; contact us for scheduling and pricing |
🐟 Freediving Courses (AIDA / PADI)
| Course | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Freediving Try Dive | from ¥29,800 | The perfect way to try freediving for the very first time; 1 day |
| AIDA 1 / PADI Basic Freediver | ¥49,800 | Your first step into freediving — fundamental breathing techniques; 1 day |
| AIDA 2 / PADI Freediver | ¥79,800 | Systematic training leading to an internationally recognized certification; 3 days |
| AIDA 3 / PADI Advanced Freediver | ¥94,800 | Advanced course for those ready to master high-level technique; 3–4 days |
Why Get Certified With Oceaner
| ✅ Our strengths | ⚠️ The alternatives |
|---|---|
| Instruction fully in Chinese in small groups of 4 students or fewer, from the briefing through to in-water coaching, so nothing is lost in translation | Briefings on video or at the counter in Chinese, but led in the water by Japanese or Korean instructors who cut the dive short when anything unexpected happens |
| Confined water training takes place in a freshwater swimming pool, never in an open-ocean shallows — it costs us more, and it buys you comfort and success | Skills practised in an open-ocean shallows, where surge, cold water and poor visibility leave beginners tense and repeating the same skills over and over |
| The price already includes course materials, full equipment, a dive computer and transfers, and we do not use E-learning, so there are no extra fees | Materials, the E-learning code, equipment rental, dive computer and transfers are each billed separately, and the final total is far above the advertised price |
| Sites are chosen from the Blue Cave, Cape Manza, Sunabe and the Kerama Islands based on sea conditions and your training goals, so you experience both boat and shore diving | A single fixed site; when conditions turn bad the day is simply cancelled or the dive is rushed |
| Every instructor is a PADI instructor in active teaching status with guest liability insurance, and make-up session fees are published up front | Non-standard training, no insurance, sometimes no instructor rating at all, and extra lesson fees invented on the spot |
| We tell you up front to leave 18 hours between your last dive and your flight, and to allow 5 days for Open Water Diver and 4 days for Advanced Open Water | No guidance on surface intervals or buffer days, so you end up diving on your last day and rushing to catch a flight |
About Our Courses
From complete beginner to a PADI certification that is recognized worldwide. Every session is taught by a PADI-certified instructor in small groups of up to 4 students, so theory, skills and a real sense of safe diving are all covered properly.
Freshwater pool for confined water: for the confined water portion of the Open Water Diver course, we guarantee a freshwater swimming pool — never an open-ocean shallows. It costs us more, and it buys you comfort and success.
Course dive sites: chosen from the Blue Cave, Cape Manza, Sunabe and the Kerama Islands according to the sea conditions during your course and your training goals, so you get to experience both boat diving and shore diving.
The price is the total price: Chinese course materials, full scuba equipment, a dive computer, and transfers at hotels along the route between Naha city center and Chatan (American Village) are all included. Because we teach in Chinese, we do not use E-learning, so there is no separate E-learning fee to pay.
Planning your trip: please allow at least 18 hours between your final dive and your flight. Because wind and sea conditions can change, we recommend allowing 5 days or more for the Open Water Diver course and 4 days for Advanced Open Water.
📖 Read our teaching philosophy & full course guideThe Oceaner Philosophy
Founded in 2018, Oceaner Diving is a dive shop with 92 years to go before its centenary. Our first and only benchmark is safety, safety, and safety again. With seven years of diving experience behind us, we aim to take you into a state of relaxed, comfortable diving.
Where do safety, relaxation and comfort come from?
- 1. Every briefing and every in-water session is led by a PADI-certified, currently-registered instructor who carries public liability insurance and communicates in Chinese. Professional knowledge delivered in your own language — zero communication gaps.
- 2. To deliver on relaxed, comfortable diving, we keep one of the longest and most detailed pre-dive briefings in the industry. We tell you every problem you might meet and exactly how to handle it, weaving in plain-language explanations of the principles so that you understand it in your body, not just your head.
- 3. The two questions we hear most: “I can’t swim” and “I couldn’t get down last time”. Backed by seven years of data, our in-water success rate is 99.9% — it rarely fails, unless you give up. Give us one chance to show you the Okinawan ocean and open the door to the other 70% of the planet. And if you have already tried Discover Scuba Diving and want to go further, we would be honoured to be the instructor who signs your certification.
Three lifetimes of luck. Oceaner Diving dives with you.
📷 Photos from the Field
What’s Included
💰 Instructor & Insurance
Chinese-speaking PADI instructor fee, public liability insurance and consumption tax are all included. No hidden on-site charges.
👓 Full Equipment
All necessary diving equipment is included in the price.
📷 Free Photos
Your instructor photographs the whole trip with an OLYMPUS TG-6/7. Download from the cloud afterwards, free of charge.
🚖 Hotel Transfer
Shared pick-up and drop-off along the Naha – Chatan American Village hotel strip (advance notice required).
Equipment provided
Optional Extras
🧹 Brand-new mouthpiece
¥300 each. All shared equipment is disinfected after every use, but a sealed new mouthpiece is available if you prefer.
🎬 DJI Action 4 rental
¥3,000 per unit. Shoot your own underwater video; we sanitise the housing after every rental.
📷 Cloud photo delivery
Instructor photos are uploaded to the cloud — download them free after your activity.
🏥 Medical Restrictions
For your health and safety, please do not book if any of the following apply to you:
- Middle ear or corneal surgery within the past 6 months
- Any history of lung injury, in particular spontaneous pneumothorax
- Severe obstructive pulmonary disease, e.g. chronic emphysema or severe asthma
- Congenital alveolar diverticula or pulmonary blebs
- History of epilepsy or convulsions
- Recurrent fainting of unknown cause
- Coronary artery disease, e.g. angina or a previous myocardial infarction
- Red blood cell disorders such as sickle-cell anaemia
- Insulin-dependent diabetes
- Long-term alcoholism or drug dependency
- Any surgery within the past 6 months
- Pregnancy
Booking Notes
- Flying after diving: leave at least 12 hours after a single dive and 18 hours after multiple dives before boarding a flight.
- Site changes: the dive site may be changed on the day for sea conditions, weather or safety. Thank you for your understanding.
- Contact & sizing: please leave a reachable contact (WeChat / WhatsApp / LINE / Kakao) plus each guest’s gender, height, weight and shoe size.
- Insurance scope: instructor liability insurance covers accidents during the dive itself. It does not cover injuries caused by the guest (e.g. concealing a medical condition, or slipping while boarding). Please arrange your own travel insurance.
🌱 Eco Guidelines
- Do not use shower gel or shampoo in the on-site showers.
- Do not wear chemical sunscreen in the water — it damages coral. Use reef-safe products.
- Never touch, stand on or collect coral and marine life. Take only photos, leave only bubbles.
Cancellation Policy
| When | Fee |
|---|---|
| More than 20 days before departure | Free rebooking or cancellation — 0% |
| 20 to 7 days before departure | 50% fee |
| Within 7 days of departure | 100% fee |
- No refund is given if you cannot join for personal reasons (period, fear of water and choosing to stay on the boat, no-show, wrong time, arriving more than 10 minutes late, etc.).
- A full refund is given for force majeure (weather, sea conditions, natural disaster, political situation, government order, aviation emergency, etc.).
- Please make sure your passport is valid for at least 6 months and that you hold a valid visa. Bookings cannot be changed, cancelled or refunded if you cannot join because of passport or visa problems.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is equipment rental included in the price? Are there hidden fees?
For snorkeling, Discover Scuba Diving and courses, all necessary equipment and photography are included. For Fun Dives the price is clearly shown with and without equipment rental (¥3,000/day). There are no hidden on-site charges.
I can’t swim. Can I still join?
Absolutely. Our in-water success rate is 99.9%. Your instructor will brief you thoroughly and stay with you the whole time. You only need to be comfortable in the water, not a strong swimmer.
Can you pick us up from our hotel?
Yes — shared transfers are included for hotels along the Naha to Chatan American Village route. Please tell us your hotel when booking; we confirm the pick-up time the day before.
What is your cancellation policy?
Free cancellation more than 7 days before the activity (20 days for courses), 50% from 7 to 3 days (20 to 7 days for courses), and 100% within 3 days (7 days for courses). Full refunds for force majeure.
How old do I need to be?
Snorkeling and DSD: 10 to 59. Guests under 12 need a parent or guardian to sign a consent form. PADI Open Water: 10 and above; Advanced Open Water: 12 and above with an Open Water certification.
Will the photos really be free?
Yes. Your instructor shoots with an OLYMPUS TG-6/7 throughout the activity and you get a cloud download link afterwards, at no extra cost.