Hello Everybody,

New to the site and in need of advice.  So my family and I will be PCSing to Sasebo at the end of July, and we were curious as to how the shopping is at the NEX?  Wondering if we should buy some extra stuff now in the states  (baby clothes, adult clothes, furniture, etc.), or is there a good selection to be found?  Also, wondering if we should buy a tv set here in the states and just have it moved over there, or if we should buy our tv at the NEX.  Do they offer extended warranty plans?  Curious as I have my eye on a nice 42" plasma here stateside, and wondering if I should just buy it now without warranty and just cross my fingers or simply hope that I do not have to pay $$$ more for a tv at the NEX with the same prospect of no warranty available  

Also, how are the prices at the commisary in comparison to stateside?  Thanks for the help

Hola KC,

Having just bought a TV from the NEX here I might be able to help you out.

I bought my 40" LCD here and found the price to be comparable to the one I had stateside. As a contractor without relocation my shipping costs came out of my own pocket so my value came from not having to pay shipping or insurance. I'll have to double check on the extended warranty plans though, I usually don't go for those myself.

If the govt. is paying to ship and insure your items I would say go for the stateside deal. Though if you like I can stop by and get you the specific models and prices for 42" systems here.

As a guy I haven't had to much difficulty in getting decent clothes out of the NEX here, which is good because as a large guy there is no way I am getting clothes that fit from the local stores. I can only relay what I've heard about women and infant clothing - and that's you'll need to probably stock up before coming here.

The local furniture NEX store will have everything you need for a house, but they tend to run a bit on the expensive side for my needs. They carry an adequate selection and can order from the bigger warehouse in Yokosuka. There may also be items in the back that may not be on the floor due to limited space.

Commissary prices tend to be good though slightly limited in choice. That's not a criticism so much as a comment on available floorspace and the Grocery stores in town help with the selection and mail order can help with the rest. One unusual thing is that there are two commissaries here - a smaller one off of main base and a larger one in the main housing area about 20 minutes away.

Another thing - MWR will occasionally offer a shopping trip to Irakuni. The listings of events can be found
https://www.cnic.navy.mil/Sasebo/MWR/ShowcaseMagazine/index.htm

And.... with PCS season seriously underway you might want to keep an eye on the base classifieds at
http://www.facebook.com/notes/commander-fleet-activities-sasebo-japan/miscellaneous-for-sale-items-wanted-announcements/428908006801

Hey KC,

The NEX has a great selection of baby boy/girl clothes, but the selection for older girl clothes, like toddler sizes and girl sizes around XS and S is very limited, not sure about the boy stuff in those sizes.

The ladies clothing selection is terrible. It is very rare to find something nice and when you do find something nice and in your size you need to buy it then. But if anyone wears junior sizes they will have a great selection of clothing, once again, not sure on the men's clothing, but they seem to have a good selection for the guys.

As for furniture, the NEX has a great selection and then your able to order things through them, but be prepared to wait for it. I'll be ordering a chest for my youngest daughters bedroom and it's going to take at least 2 months for it to get here.

As for the tv, you could go either way. As far as I know all NEX's offer an extended warranty, we have one on our tv and laptop and both were purchased at the NEX. I would just worry about it getting broke in the move, you just never know what could happen.

Defineitly keep your on the CFAS Facebook page and the CNIC site for Sasebo, they are full of great info.

As for the commissary, the main base commissary is small but will have basically what you need. The bigger commissary which is located about 20 minutes away in Hario Village has about 1500 more items than the main base, but I don't think it's really worth the drive out there. The prices are basically the same as in the states, which is nice.

Thanks for the great information. I think my wife will be thrilled to hear the good news about the shopping. I know I feel a bit better about the situation as well.

There is a great chain store off base to buy children's clothing cheap. It's called Nishimatsuya and there is one store near Hario and another not far from main base.

Clothing for adults out in town can pose a problem if you have a chest... both men and women. It can be difficult to find shoes off base for women as the larger size shoes aren't always available.

The commissaries are very small and seem to go a long time without certain items. We are in the middle of farm land, so the farmer's markets out in town are among the best I've seen here in Japan!

Mitte brought up a good point about the commissary, there are times where you will not be able to find what you want for a while. I hope no one in your house likes chocolate milk because it can be hard to find at the commissary sometimes.

Sounds like we will need to do some shopping before we leave then for adult clothing. However, I am glad to hear about the kids clothing. As far as the farmer's markets, what kind of produce do they have?

Don't know, but I finally made my way to a grocery store called Red Cabbage yesterday in search of a key ingredient for my Irish Coffees. (heavy cream).

It's a very well stocked store, very nice. I'm thinking I've a new place to shop for food now.

And on the walk up there I passed a giant video game/dvd place, two furniture stores, a harley shop, the local equivalent of Best Buy (Yamaka Denke?), and the local equivalent of a Bass Pro shop. (?)

I don't know about you, but as a guy I know I'm set.

The exchange is SMALL!!! As far as a large selection of clothes, if your used to shopping at gift shops in the airport. I have a 14y/o and they don't have clothes for him at all unless you want to 1) look like everyone else 2) pay the expensive prices for the high dollar mall brands. Having a chest is an understatment, both my husband and I can't find clothes to fit especially him. The XL's here look like M in the states. Commissary on base is more like a quicky mart that you will find on most bases in the states, and the main commissary in Hario isn't much bigger. But the good news is, so far the only things that we haven't been able to get is the spices we use to marinate steaks and meats with.

But most of all...if there is anything that you need you can always order it. Sending to FPO AP, doesn't really cost that much. The Address to the base is actually a CA address, so you pay shipping to CA, and no tax is added when ordering things and shipping to FPO AP. Also if you stumble across places that don't ship to FPO (which you will) there is a website called www.apobox.com it doesn't cost anything to set up. This is a non-profit organization set by prior military that understand the difficulties encountered while overseas. Set up an account, they give you a stateside address (to a shipping wharehouse). You ship your items to them, via what ever; UPS, Fedex, DHL, etc....they then relabel it and sent it to you via USPS. You do end up paying additional shipping, and there will be tax included, but at least now you will be able to get items that normally you couldn't.