afroturf22
Registered User
Anyone have any current info on life in Japan? Specifically concerning things to do in Atsugi, housing, deployments, spouse issues, flying conditions, etc. All info is appreciated.
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Atsugi japan
- Thread starter afroturf22
- Start date
helo_wifey
Well-Known Member
If you can post more specific questions I can give you a bit more info, but there's a lot to give and can write a book if I go at it. We just got back from a tour over there, lived on base, had pets, I worked full time (both for a Japanese company and the Navy), and I also traveled quite a bit.
What are your concerns regarding your spouse, housing, etc?
There are things to do around Atsugi if you don't mind traveling a little bit to get to them. We would go mountain biking in the spring, summer and fall and then snowboarding almost every weekend in the winter. Tokyo is only an hour away by train and Yokohama only a half hour. It all depends on what you're down to do. MWR has a great program with tours and whatnot including overnight trips, and Zama MWR has tours as well that you can take and the base is only about 20 minutes by car.
Seriously, if you have specific questions please post but I could go on for hours about Japan.
What are your concerns regarding your spouse, housing, etc?
There are things to do around Atsugi if you don't mind traveling a little bit to get to them. We would go mountain biking in the spring, summer and fall and then snowboarding almost every weekend in the winter. Tokyo is only an hour away by train and Yokohama only a half hour. It all depends on what you're down to do. MWR has a great program with tours and whatnot including overnight trips, and Zama MWR has tours as well that you can take and the base is only about 20 minutes by car.
Seriously, if you have specific questions please post but I could go on for hours about Japan.
afroturf22
Registered User
More Questions
What kind of work is available for a spouse, what did you do. Also what were the deployment schedules like, did you spend more time at home or at sea, with respect to a US based squadron? As far as housing is concerned, would you recommend on base or off, do you feel like you are living in Tokyo, or in an isolated place? How far was the snowboarding, its sounds awesome that you ski every weekend.
What kind of work is available for a spouse, what did you do. Also what were the deployment schedules like, did you spend more time at home or at sea, with respect to a US based squadron? As far as housing is concerned, would you recommend on base or off, do you feel like you are living in Tokyo, or in an isolated place? How far was the snowboarding, its sounds awesome that you ski every weekend.
helo_wifey
Well-Known Member
I got hired as an English teacher for a Japanese company before we even left for Japan. I worked there for 6 months until I got hired as a contractor working in Yokosuka. I worked for the Naval Health Resesarch Center conducting shipboard surveillance/research of influenza on large deck Navy ships. I had no background in the health sciences but did have a science background, told them I could do the job and would be willing to commute so I was hired. The Japanese company paid me half of what I was making in the US as a consultant and the contractor job paid a little more closely to what I had been making but not as much. I also tutored English to 3 sets of other students out of my house in the evenings. Some women only tutor, some don't work at all.
We lived on base for only 1 reason: we had 2 cats and didn't want them to sit for a month or more in quarantine when they came over. If you live on base you can quarantine them in the house, if you live off base they have to be in a gov't kennel. It actually turned out really well living on base because I ended up traveling a lot and there were plenty of families around who were willing to help us out watching them. We had a group that would exchange pet sitting when people went away. The one thing I didn't like about living on base was how close you were to everyone. I'm a fairly private person and when you have people all around you that work together, etc it's not as private as I would have liked. And it's also free, the utilities and whatnot are paid so come summer and winter the house stayed comfortable where people we knew out in town could only AC one room since it was so expensive. I felt safe on base, we didn't lock our door when we would go to work and I would go running around the flight line at night. One of our friends did get their house broken into off base, though it's not too common it does happen.
I definitely didn't feel like I was living in a large city a la Tokyo, but Atsugi isn't bad. You can go a little ways out and be in the mountains (Hakone) or rice patties or at the beach (Enoshima). But you can go half an hour and make it to metropolitan Yokohama. It's a fairly good location to getting to everything.
I'm not sure what a US based squadron does but the first two years my husband was gone for 4 months or so a couple times a year with small detachments in between to Oki, Misawa, etc. Our last year HS-14 had detachments on smaller ships similar to that of HSL and that schedule was completely different. I would say he was home about 1/4 of the time we were there. The great part was I got to meet him in port and tried to visit almost every port. Even if I wasn't able to see him because of duty, work or events I would still go out on my own. When he was in Perth he spent a lot of time on duty but I had a rental car and did my own thing. Yes, you'll get crap from everyone if your wife comes to a lot of the ports but for us work came first and if we got to see each other it was the added bonus.
We usually went snowboarding in Hakuba which was about 4 hours one way. We would stay at a lodge that we found that's run by Aussies (Blue Dragon, and it's awesome) that gave us a good deal. They love having military guys up there. There's also downhill mountain biking, and xc biking in the same area in the summer. There's also white water rafting, canyoning and tons of hiking.
Hopefully some or all of this makes sense, and has helped with your questions. If you have any others I'd be happy to answer what I can.
When you went to Atsugi with your pets, I assume you had to go on the waiting list to get on-base housing. What did you do with your pets while you were waiting for housing since most places out in town won't allow pets?
Here is the link to the GOJ Ministry of Agriculture that honchos the animal quarantine service.
http://www.maff-aqs.go.jp/english/index.htm
Cannot vouch for accuracy of this, but interesting article:
http://www.noelleinjapan.com/pets.php
Direct specific questions to your sponser.
I have lots of information/photos about Atsugi/Kamiseya but all is from the mid-1950's.
http://www.maff-aqs.go.jp/english/index.htm
Cannot vouch for accuracy of this, but interesting article:
http://www.noelleinjapan.com/pets.php
Direct specific questions to your sponser.
I have lots of information/photos about Atsugi/Kamiseya but all is from the mid-1950's.
helo_wifey
Well-Known Member
Our cats came out 6 months after we did because they were getting their shots and whatnot. My husband's sister was taking care of that for us, so we already had housing. But, if you arrive with your pets they are not allowed at the Navy Lodge and there are kennels at Kamiseya and Zama. Both of these are about 20-30 min away depending on traffic. I think the rates are $15-$20 a day per kennel.
You can find places out in town that will allow pets, I know plenty of people who had cats and dogs in Japanese houses. It's just how hard you look and if you're willing to pay a deposit or something of that nature.
A note about getting your pets in: If you have all of your paperwork together and it has been completed in the correct time frame you won't have a problem getting them into Japan. The first website that the Chief posted was correct, that is the site we used. We did it completely on our own and had no issues. The husband was even on deployment and I drove up to Narita to get them. Just remember, if you're the spouse to have the all important POA or else you won't be able to get anything done.
helo_wifey
Well-Known Member
I'm hoping to head over to the Milton area to visit some friends in February, so if anyone or their spouses has any questions and would like to grab some coffee or a beer I'll be around. I can also bring pictures of housing, base, Japan and other places I went while I was there.
I absolutely love living here. The husband is gone a lot, but I expected this to be the case coming here, so it was not a surprise and I was prepared.
We chose to live out in town. It gives my hubby a good break from work when he can leave base at the end of the day. I also really enjoy feeling like I truly live in Japan rather than in 'little America'. This is a personal preference and there are a lot of reasons why one would prefer or find it more convenient to live on base. For example, I have friends with pets and children who live off base but the majority of people with either (or both) live on base.
We have a nice 2-storey, 3-bedroom house with a gated driveway that is not far from base, pretty new and combines both Japanese and Western elements. I really like it.
I hate deployments for obvious reasons but can't say that I struggle with them as much as I see other wives do. I work full-time for an insurance company and also teach English on the side. Work keeps me busy while my hubby is gone. I do a lot of exploring on weekends, have traveled to ports to see my husband, and I've made lots of Japanese friends. They are a good support system for me. I have good Navy friends here, but sometimes you need a break of things Navy-related (at least I do) and it's good for me to have my Japanese friends.
My husband definitely spends more time away from home than at home. Between long deployments, week-long dets, and overnight cross-country flights, he is gone a lot. His squadron is small, so there is a lot of work for everyone to do and each person has several 'jobs' in addition to flying. Even when not on deployment, he is not home much.
The snowboard/skiing is not far. It's about 4 hours driving to Nagano where the 1998 winter olympics were held.
We chose to live out in town. It gives my hubby a good break from work when he can leave base at the end of the day. I also really enjoy feeling like I truly live in Japan rather than in 'little America'. This is a personal preference and there are a lot of reasons why one would prefer or find it more convenient to live on base. For example, I have friends with pets and children who live off base but the majority of people with either (or both) live on base.
We have a nice 2-storey, 3-bedroom house with a gated driveway that is not far from base, pretty new and combines both Japanese and Western elements. I really like it.
I hate deployments for obvious reasons but can't say that I struggle with them as much as I see other wives do. I work full-time for an insurance company and also teach English on the side. Work keeps me busy while my hubby is gone. I do a lot of exploring on weekends, have traveled to ports to see my husband, and I've made lots of Japanese friends. They are a good support system for me. I have good Navy friends here, but sometimes you need a break of things Navy-related (at least I do) and it's good for me to have my Japanese friends.
My husband definitely spends more time away from home than at home. Between long deployments, week-long dets, and overnight cross-country flights, he is gone a lot. His squadron is small, so there is a lot of work for everyone to do and each person has several 'jobs' in addition to flying. Even when not on deployment, he is not home much.
The snowboard/skiing is not far. It's about 4 hours driving to Nagano where the 1998 winter olympics were held.