Tokyo Skydiving Club

[amstalder 0]

Who's there?

We're moving out that way next month
Someone, please, tell me it's as awesome as the old reviews make it seem!

[JeffCa 0]

Me!

Welcome to the worst country in the developed world to be a skydiver. We're on our only 10-day open stretch of the entire year, and the weather for the first 4 days of it has been so shitty. This after just coming off of the rainy season.

The good news is that prices have dropped since some of the old reviews, even more so if you buy in bulk, but for some reason they don't like the exact amounts being published. PM me if you want to know the rates.

We have a Caravan that seats 19 jumpers. Jumps from 12,500'. Must pull between 3,000' and 4,500' or so, so no CRW. Hop-n-pops are rare, usually only possible on the first load of the day. We do night jumps once a year, in September. AAD mandatory. Hook turns are severely restricted. Open weekends and holidays mostly, with some scattered weekdays throughout the year. Open all year, except for February when plane goes in for maintenance. We don't have enough plane capacity for the number of jumps people desire, so it's not uncommon to spend the entire day there and get 3-4 jumps in. No packers. Rigging services available, but no master riggers jump with us. They only rig, usually during the week, so can be tough to talk to them. Good views of Mt. Fuji and Tokyo during the cooler months. Lots of fluent English speakers at the DZ, including at least one on regular staff, and a good supply of foreign jumpers. Landing area is spacious (kinda narrow, but long, like a runway) and grass is well maintained. Your profile suggests that you're tiny, so you'll fall well with the Japanese girls, and even some of the men!

As far as I know, I'm the only member who posts here, so I guess I'm the one to ask if you have questions.

Edit: About 32,000 yen membership dues for a year, which includes third-party liability insurance, death payout, and an amount to cover lost wages (not hospital bills) if you have to be admitted. We are USPA-affiliated, but you don't have to be a member of USPA to jump.

"So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

[amstalder 0]

Hi!

Thanks for all of the great info! Because my husband will ask: Are there wingsuiters?

I'm looking forward to meeting you next month!

[JeffCa 0]

We have a small but active wingsuit community, a mix of Japanese and foreigners, but mostly (all?) English-speaking. I hope to join it soon, but I'm still under my 200 jumps. Just don't tail-strike our plane, like one guy did a couple of years ago!

"So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

[Rover 11]

Quote

We have a Caravan that seats 19 jumpers.

F**ken hell - when I was there they would only let 9 on board - extended to 10 during comps to allow for two 4 way teams with camera. Guess that's why jumps were 6500 yen each.

2 wrongs don't make a right - but 3 lefts do.

[wstcstcmtr 0]

Thanks Jeff,

I just emailed them last week and got a friendly response. I was asking about the annual September night jumps, but they said they hadn't set the dates yet...

Maybe you could let us know when those are set?

[amstalder 0]

JeffCa

We have a small but active wingsuit community, a mix of Japanese and foreigners, but mostly (all?) English-speaking. I hope to join it soon, but I'm still under my 200 jumps. Just don't tail-strike our plane, like one guy did a couple of years ago!

He'll be happy to hear that :)

[JeffCa 0]

wstcstcmtr

I was asking about the annual September night jumps, but they said they hadn't set the dates yet...

Maybe you could let us know when those are set?

Night jumps are on September 13th. Alternate dates (weather) are 14th, 20th and 27th, in that order.

"So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

[amstalder 0]

JeffCa

***
I was asking about the annual September night jumps, but they said they hadn't set the dates yet...

Maybe you could let us know when those are set?

Night jumps are on September 13th. Alternate dates (weather) are 14th, 20th and 27th, in that order.

Thanks for the heads up! We definitely won't arrive by the 13th. Plus, I'm not sure either one of us will be current by the time we get there

[JeffCa 0]

There's always next year.

Oh, I forgot to tell you that you need to register with the club at least a week before you want to jump. They need to get a government permit for each jumper. So send them an email and tell them you're coming.

"So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

[amstalder 0]

JeffCa

There's always next year.

Oh, I forgot to tell you that you need to register with the club at least a week before you want to jump. They need to get a government permit for each jumper. So send them an email and tell them you're coming.

Yep, next year or the year after or the one after that . I've had my B license for over five years now, and I've yet to make a night jump.

Thanks for the heads up. Hopefully, I'll still remember to email when we arrive in country

[Bealio 0]

The club has their own house nearby as well that they'll let you stay at for free. Just don't forget to take your shoes off before you enter ;)

[amstalder 0]

Bealio

The club has their own house nearby as well that they'll let you stay at for free. Just don't forget to take your shoes off before you enter ;)

Nice!

I'm not sure how far away we'll be by train, but google maps says the DZ is about 2.5 hours away driving. I'm assuming traffic is delightful in and around Tokyo, much like it was in Seoul, and that it'll be substantially more than that.

[Bealio 0]

I had my own car and used my iphone to get there. Some people take the train, then take a taxi from there.

[stayhigh 2]

Aiko and Nao, are they still jumping?

They were couples, I've met them at Elsinore long time ago. Gave me good guidance when I only had 100 jumps. Both had like shit ton of jump number at the time. World Team member for the Thai record.

Bernie Sanders for President 2016

[JeffCa 0]

stayhigh

Aiko and Nao, are they still jumping?

They were couples, I've met them at Elsinore long time ago. Gave me good guidance when I only had 100 jumps. Both had like shit ton of jump number at the time. World Team member for the Thai record.

Eiko and Nao are still jumping, just not with us as of this season. Club politics. Eiko got her 10,000 jump wings, #126, this spring. Parachutist magazine, June 2014, page 17 for the story.

"So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

[JeffCa 0]

Assuming you don't have a vehicle, there are 2 train stations you can access the DZ from. They are Okegawa and Kawagoe. Which one is easier to get to will depend on exactly where you're coming from. Use this website to figure it out (it will also be useful for your other travels around Japan):

http://www.jorudan.co.jp/english/norikae/

The bus from Okegawa (not sure which bus stand to use from this station) is about 15 minutes, from Kawagoe (get on at bus stand #5, as of this writing) is 30 minutes. Get off at the stop called Yamagayado. Be careful not to get off at Ushigayado, which is one stop before Yamagayado coming from Kawagoe. The first character in the name is different. If you screw it up, the walk from Ushigayado to Yamagayado is only a few minutes, not so bad.

After you get off the bus, it's about a 20-minute walk to the DZ. I can give you directions when you need them.

For short-term visitor price per jump and membership issues, I'm not clear. Please send an email to:

info (at) tokyoskydivingclub (dot) jp

The calendar is here:

http://www.tokyoskydivingclub.jp/tool/callender_t.php

Any date with a marking on it is open for jumps. The various markings are for tandem booking availability, not important for you. If you want to go on a non-holiday weekday (grey/gray), you have to send an email a couple of days in advance to tell them you're coming.

Bus schedules

From Okegawa:

http://www.tobu-bus.com/pc/search/bs_tt.php?key=15090_02


From Kawagoe:

http://www.tobu-bus.com/pc/search/bs_tt.php?key=15001_51


Yellow is Monday-Friday, blue is Saturday, pink is Sundays and holidays.

"So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

[amstalder 0]

JeffCa

Assuming you don't have a vehicle, there are 2 train stations you can access the DZ from. They are Okegawa and Kawagoe. Which one is easier to get to will depend on exactly where you're coming from. Use this website to figure it out (it will also be useful for your other travels around Japan):

http://www.jorudan.co.jp/english/norikae/

The bus from Okegawa (not sure which bus stand to use from this station) is about 15 minutes, from Kawagoe (get on at bus stand #5, as of this writing) is 30 minutes. Get off at the stop called Yamagayado. Be careful not to get off at Ushigayado, which is one stop before Yamagayado coming from Kawagoe. The first character in the name is different. If you screw it up, the walk from Ushigayado to Yamagayado is only a few minutes, not so bad.

After you get off the bus, it's about a 20-minute walk to the DZ. I can give you directions when you need them.

For short-term visitor price per jump and membership issues, I'm not clear. Please send an email to:

info (at) tokyoskydivingclub (dot) jp

The calendar is here:

http://www.tokyoskydivingclub.jp/tool/callender_t.php

Any date with a marking on it is open for jumps. The various markings are for tandem booking availability, not important for you. If you want to go on a non-holiday weekday (grey/gray), you have to send an email a couple of days in advance to tell them you're coming.

Bus schedules

From Okegawa:

http://www.tobu-bus.com/pc/search/bs_tt.php?key=15090_02


From Kawagoe:

http://www.tobu-bus.com/pc/search/bs_tt.php?key=15001_51


Yellow is Monday-Friday, blue is Saturday, pink is Sundays and holidays.

Wow! Thanks for all of the great information! We'll have to try out both driving and public transportation and see what's easier for us (we'll definitely have a car). We'll be coming with a toddler, so the idea of hucking him, our gear, and his things seems unappealing at best (it's unpleasant without rigs, if I'm being perfectly honest )