Reef Encounters - Showing Japan's Underwater Wonders to the World!

The International Staff of Reef Encounters

Reef Encounters dive staff is has thousands of hours underwater with dives being completed in all areas and types of diving.  We specialize in teaching clients how to dive and to excel at diving.  There is no kneeling or overweighting of students here.  Our staff are the best and we strive for our divers to be the best.

Doug came to Okinawa with the military in 1990 and has stayed ever since. With over 13,000 dives throughout Asia, his diving career has brought him from the Great Barrier Reef in Australia to Hainan, China, Pemba island in Tanzania and back to Okinawa. Founding Reef Encounters in 1995 as a small shop to provide quality training for dedicated divers, he has been working full time in the dive industry for more than 20 years. 
Doug holds diving certifications from NAUI, IANTD, PSI, and GUE and is certified to repair most brands of SCUBA equipment. Throughout his career Doug has introduced 1000’s of divers to the underwater world. He has also worked as the Diving Safety Officer for numerous films and documentaries.  His work includes overseeing the safety of divers for BBC, the History Channel, NHK, Paramount Pictures and many more.  Especially of interest is his participation in many television programs on the underwater structures of Yonaguni. Doug regularly leads our tours to Yonaguni to explore these structures and swim with the schooling hammerhead sharks found there in winter time.  Doug’s latest adventure including helping the BBC shoot video of the mysterious underwater circles in Amami Ojima island, and diving with Monty Hall exploring the ruins of Yonaguni.
In his spare time Doug explores the deeper reefs and caves around Okinawa.  Recent explorations have concentrated on finding wrecks around the island.   He got into technical diving back in the mid-90’s when independent doubles were the norm, but since has progressed to the RB80 and other re-breathers.  Using his extensive knowledge of Technical diving, Doug can show his students the advantages and disadvantages of numerous set-ups from DIR to NAUI Tech and more.  Doug is our director of Technical training and offers classes from Intro to Tech to Trimix and Technical Wreck Penetration.  Taking training from Doug you are learning from someone who has been there done that – with thousands of dives in his logbook many of them at the technical level his experience sets him apart form the many instructors that just took a quick class to become certified.  His passion for everything underwater shows in all his classes.  Doug is also a very demanding instructor pushing his students to achieve perfection in execution and planning, the things that bring divers home from even the most demanding of dives.
A bit of a warning – Doug is not a morning person and a few years in the USMC has made him a bit rough around the edges but after a cup of coffee or two he is more than willing to help any diver learn the secrets of the underwater world.