We have no PADI Course Director to recommend in Japan but potentially by working with Instructors like the one below over the years we can build a good and trusting relationship and identify talented and professional dive centres / Course Directors to consider as or Far East Course Director of the future.
[Potential PADI IDC Guide member] We are just about to start a PADI diving business here in Japan, can I get on your guide and use your documentation to help teach my courses. I have previously taught in Thailand and think we may have met previously as I taught there the same time as yourself.
[IDC Guide] Thanks for response, with regard the photos in the IDC Document if you borrow and use them for presentations you are using materials you dont ‘own’ but I dont have a problem with that but obviously reselling or lending of the materials would not be friendly. The text and images have been created or purchased so there is copyright ownership but for powerpoint presentations I guess the risk is with you, why not buy some pics? they cost only a small amount of money each and you can be sure you own the images?
Where did you teach in Thailand as I run Dive Community in Kata (Phuket) between 2006-07 and now work with Scubacat in Patong (IDC Guide Members)
Long term we need a Japanese entry for the IDC Guide so if you become a CD perhaps you may want to be included and can contact us when established. Currently enquiries to the guide get sent to the IDC Guide Course Directors but it someone requests ‘Japan only’ we will remember you.
[Potential PADI IDC Guide member] First of all, thank you very much for not only the permission to use your material in my classroom but also creating such a clear, concise format to present a wealth of information! Clearly, you and your team worked very hard on creating this material. I didn’t notice any grammatical errors going through it, if I find any would you like me to correct it for you? I recognize there are some differences between British English and American English so, perhaps, you’d rather have someone else do it….
Second, please allow me to explain a little about myself since you surely know that I love diving, I also love being immersed in different cultures. I began living abroad through an American-government program targeting developing nations, called Peace Corps. I was chosen for the job due to my scuba diving and environmental science background. Once I had command of their local language, Cebuano, I began teaching diving to create teams of Filipinos to protect Marine Protected Areas and conduct baseline ecological surveys of their underwater assets in order to gauge the efficacy of NGO-funded programs in education and watershed conservation. It was a very rewarding experience and, as a PADI OWSI, it served me well. Over time I became a MSDT in the Philippines while teaching at a Japanese resort but more and more I felt drawn to Japan.
Third, I reside in the cosmopolitan City of Fukuoka, Japan, which is located halfway in between Hiroshima and Nagasaki cities on the southernmost mainland island of Kyushu. For business aspirations, I have thrown myself into Japanese life the past five years in order to deeply understand the culture and learn the language to an exhaustive degree, far beyond simple bar-room level conversation that most other non-native Japanese speakers are content with. During this time I have taught in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the USA. Typically by bringing customers to destinations from Japan and using another dive shops set up to train. Now, I feel I am ready and am setting up shop here in Japan. Up until this point I have never had a reason to go beyond my rating of PADI MSDT because I could administer everything I ever needed to by myself. But, with regards to your kind offer, I am interested in your proposal to be a Japan-representing member of your team. What would that entail exactly? Of course, just like any business, I need to invest in marketing and build-up resources here in Japan, which would necessitate going up to a PADI Course Directory (CD) rating. I do look forward to that challenge!