ME AND MY HUSBAND AND DAUGHTER ARE COMING THERE IN MAY. I WAS CURIOUS TO KNOW ABOUT THE BASE OF KADENA.AND THE HOUSING AREA IN KADENA ESPECIALLY THE OFFICERS QUARTERS....SCHOOLS....AND THE UNIT HE WILL BE WORKING AT 505 QUARTERMASTERS HHC, CAN ANYBODY GIVE ME ANY INFO...

Can't really speak to the base housing as we have lived off base the whole time. They are building new housing and upgrading some of the existing housing as an ongoing project so the base housing is getting a lot better compared to the 1950's concrete boxes that are getting replaced! Okinawa is very humid however, so dehumidifiers are pretty much a necessity here.

Kadena has schools for all age categories with catchment areas both on and off base to assign kids to them. There are several elementary schools, 2 middle schools and (I think) one high school. I don't have kids so I can't tell you about them in any detail, I'm afraid.

As far as base facilities go we just got a brand new BX, which is very nice, but confusing to those of us who can no longer find anything! The ground floor of it is mall-ish with the concessions stores and food court, with thee BX proper takin up the upstairs portion. The comissary is next door to the BX so you can do your shopping in both without having to find parking twice! They are working on tearing down the old BX at the moment and they are supposed to make that into an extra parking lot which should help matters.

We also hae the usual other facilities, Movie theatre, clubs etc. The Officers Club does a fantastic Sunday Brunch which is well worth an occasional visit, but my waistline won't support going too often!

There is also loads of stuff to do off base. Great restaurants, shopping and touristy things to do. ITT does some really good local (on island) tours that are an easy way to get out and see some of the island, as well as whale watching trips in the early part of the year.

Hope this helps a bit!

Thanks Rylene! We dont have many Okinawa members yet, so I really appreciate you spending them time to answer kathy99's questions.

I just changed the title to New Family Moving to Kadena, Japan.. This will help people, and search engines to index exactly what this post is talking about.

You can also try looking in the REPORTING TO JAPAN. There is a lot of helpful information in there.

I know this isn't any information you were asking for, but maybe it will help you feel at ease. I have lived at Kadena & mainland Japan. I have visited every single base inside of Japan and most in Korea and by far...Kadena AFB is the most comfortable, most family oriented, most "chock full of whatever you need" that you will be more than happy there. It is in Okinawa so you are somewhat isolated, but it will take you three years to see everything that tiny island has to offer anyway.

So hope that helps you feel a little easier about the upcoming move!

I have visited every single base inside of Japan and most in Korea

Wow Wilson! Didnt know that..

Posted By Adam Jones on 07 Feb 2010 03:20 PM

I have visited every single base inside of Japan and most in Korea

Wow Wilson! Didnt know that..

Benefit of loving to travel...

We were probably in Japan during the same time...I was there from 1984 - 1995 between Misawa and Okinawa and then from 1998 - 2003 between Misawa and Yokosuka..

Loved just about every minute of it except for the last year in Yokosuka...guess I just needed to retire. Hope to go back to Okinawa in a few years as a GS employee.

NSGA Misawa, Japan 1984 - 1987
NSGA Hanza, Okinawa 1987 - 1991
NSGA Misaw, Japan 1991 - 1995
NSGA Misawa, Japan 1998 - 2001
NSGA Yokosuka, Japan 2001 - 2003

Can you give any insite on why you might have disliked your time in Yokosuka please?

As far as any living quarters on base, its going to hit or miss. They are tearing down completely some housing and just replacing things in others. Some neighborhoods are only getting the occasional house torn down or referbish. There is even a pocket behind Merek Park where they moved everyone out and there are like 4 quad houses sitting vaccant. And some housing areas are really old and havent even been touched yet. It's nuts. And there is all sorts of types of housing in various repair. I also think that base might be getting a bit full. Im starting to hear stories of exceptions made for people to move out in town. I have yet to see it, so dont hold me to it. Other than that welcome to Okinawa. Bring sweaters for the winter. We get a cold snap that can start from late Nov to Dec and ends Feb or March. It doesnt feel like much the first year but after two summers here your going to freeze.

We are coming to Okinawa in September.  My husband will be at the Navy Hospital, and we a hoping to get housing on Kadena.  We have friends who just returned to the states from Oki, they, too, were at the hospital, and lived on Kadena, and they loved it.  They have been a great source of info, but I so glad I found this sight.  I stumbled across the sight while searching for info about the dependent entry approval.  this is our first overseas tour, and we are clueless.  It does not help matters that my husband is on cruise at the moment, and will be until August!  Any advice is welcome!  Okinawahai is a good sight also, but alot of the posts are very old.  Good to have some more updated info!

For the dependant approval make sure you have a pap smear up to date and everyone goes to see the dentist prior the screaning.Othere than that its just a plie of impossible looking paperwork that you have to get signd off on. And like I said about housing, come with an open mind.Kadena has some really nice housing and some really old crappy housing. Now I dont know why they are putting people in the old crappy housing that is supposed to be torn down and yet there are buildings a fairly new housing sitting empty.I mean entire neighborhoods sitting empty it looks like. And I watched them put in new windows and put these places back together over the last two years. They look like they should be good to go but the just sit there empty.
And Okinawahai has some older posts because well usually not much here changes. Oh and you might want to stay away from Okinawaunderground its the island ........well my friends call it the B$% board.Lots of drama usually but I havent been on it in a while it might have changed.

To find out what housing you qualify for go to www.okinawamfh.com and enter in all your information.  The rule is that you have to be within 60 minutes driving time from work to home.  It all depends on what house you qualify for, and that depends on family size (gender) and rank.

The housing for Kadena and the Marine camps is undergoing a planned and systematic renovation, so the neighborhoods you see empty most likely mean they are getting ready to be torn down or refurbished.  Eventually, all the housing will be re-done, but it will take several years.

Here are some other helpful websites to help with a PCS to Kadens AB.

www.kadenaforcesupport.com  Tons of information here.

www.militaryhomefront.dod.mil

www.okinawayardsales.com

www.japanupdate.com

www.okinawahai.com

Coming in September means it will still be fairly hot but on its way to cooling down.  If you have children, you will also have to get them enrolled which means BRING SHOT RECORDS and their school files.  Tell the school they are moving overseas and they will give them to you. 

Have fun!