Moving To Japan

[Mother of 4]

Hi everyone, Im a mother of 4 and a Marines wife, we r getting Stationed in Iwakuni japan,so i was wondering if anybody had some advise for us since this is our first move out of the country.. Thank you

Mother of 4

[WXSgt]

First of how old are the children? secondly how interested are you in the local culture or do you "just want to do the time and get out of there?"

Myself i went there hating it but ended up marrying a japanese woman and learned everything i could and i ended up loving it and wanting to go back. The school for your children is on base near most of the housing. and the commisary and PX is very close as well. I honestly dont know what housing you'd stay in though as of yet they are short on housing so you may have to stay out in town which comes with a nice paycheck to cover it.

On Japanese houses utilities are expensive so only use what you need. they dont have central air you only heat the room you are in and open windows if its hot, maybe a small fan, but they generally dont get to hot in them. Also most homes even modern ones have tatami mat DO NOT wear shoes in them, it is extremely disrespectful to the owners of the property and the mats are very expensive.

In Iwakuni leaving out from the main gate there is very little there that is family friendly cept cali chicken, best sandwiches in the world. at the first intersection turn right this is 4 corners. that road is the main road through town. follow it until you see the fuji grand on the right this is the main shopping area in town, but again dont stray to far the the left off the "yellow brick road"(you'll know what i mean when you see it) on the back side are many non family friendly places including and area off limits due to "massages".

once you pass that main area at the very end is the train station that can take you to hiroshima if you decide to take the train and not worry about vehicles if not you follow the same road all the way to hiroshima. once at hiroshima eki(eki = train station in japanese) you can take a cab to nagarekawa, the bar district but its at the tip of the shopping area that will lead you to the peace memorial and the bomb dome the last building standing after the A-bomb.

other than that pm me if you have any specific questions i can help you out with most everything from common phrases youd need, to getting around, to the base.

[Mother of 4]

Thanks for all your help. All of our kids are 3 and younder so its gonna be a really big change for us. I also would love to learn about there culture and everything there is to know about japan this is once in a life time that u get to do this so gonna take it to my advantage and learn what i can.
I'm not sure exactly but i think its mals.. He is currently in VMFAT 101 at the time so we only know a lil about Japan but we really appreciate if you could tell us more.
Thank You
Mother of 4

[Rocky C]

Hi everyone, Im a mother of 4 and a Marines wife.

Mother of 4

God Bless You and God Bless The Marine Corps.........

[Marine65]

Check this site: http://www.marines.mil/unit/mcasiwakuni/Pages/default.aspx

Also do a search with your favorite search engine.

I was stationed there in 69/70 and I loved it.

[3522]

I was there for most of '77, I loved it, too. Don't miss the Peace Park Museum in Hiroshima. Check out these sites, too.

http://www.marines.mil/unit/mcasiwakuni/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.mccsiwakuni.com/

http://www.jackieallen.jp/iwakunimcas/

*Edit* Haha, I see M65 already has one of 'em up. S/F

[Dwtwife2308]

Hi everybody I'm new to this forum as well as to the miltary and we are moving Okinawa within the next five months and I'm actually a little on the nervous side because I have never been outside of Va and NC let alone the U.S lol. And we have a 22 month old. What is the easiest way to transition?