Hey all!

Husband got orders to MCAS Iwakuni and we'll be arriving March 2011 with five kids and two dogs!
Husband was there late-90s, and I was stationed at Yokosuka mid-90s.
Our kids range in age from 8 year-old-twins to our 15 year old son.

Approximately how far is Yokota from Iwakuni? Is there a stables still there at the Recreation Area? We are competitive horse back riders, and want to get our fix a few times a year if possible!

Can't wait to come back to the place I've always considered my second "home!" Ironically, my oldest son will turn 15 the day we depart for Japan, and he was born at Yokosuka Naval Hospital!

Welcome to 'kuni. Your husband will know what the base is like; for you I will simply say: This ain't no Yokosuka! The town outside the gate is 100,000 people. It's a sleepy little town. There is no Starbucks, and no shopping malls. These things are available, but you have to go to Hiroshima, about 45 minutes away.

That said, I love it here & I, too, was stationed in Yokosuka mid 90's. I might even say I prefer Iwakuni cuz we don't have the drama & stress of being in a larger base with all the complaints about commissary, exchange, and other services. People genuinely seem to be more happy here. There are some kids who say they are bored, but the vast majority of kids are busy & involved in myriad activities. I've been here 16 months and haven't yet run out of things to do. You MUST get off base and MUST get into Japanese culture or you will go stir-crazy.

If you were to drive to Yokota, it's something like 12 hours & VERY expensive (tolls would be over $200 - one way!) If you rent a car on base, you would get free toll tickets, but then you have the cost of a rental van (around $70/day.) Bullet train is also expensive, esp for a family of 7. Keep in mind we're an air station, so there are military flights to Yokota, Atsugi, Okinawa and Korea right from the base.

There are no stables associated with the base, and no "recreation area" per se (I'm not even sure what you mean by that.) There may well be stables off base; I'll try to figure it out. There is camping off base & some beaches. Lots of beautiful scenery, many wonderful day trips or overnight trips. Sasebo is about 5 hours away; Fukuoka is 3 hours. BTW, I run a youth program on base for teens; PM me & I'll give you more details. Any HS or MS kids in your family are very welcome to join; we just took a group of 41 to Space World & had a great time. Look forward to seeing you here.

ThaiGuy is your expert for Iwakuni stuff. HULLO AND WELCOME BACK!

I suggest you PM him and he will make our second jump over here oh so much more comfy.

Welcome back to Japan and I hope you have a fun time there!

The recreation area I'm refering to is http://www.militarystables.com/id155.html

Sadly, the information I see says you must be 12 years old to ride?!! Ridiculous! My 7 yr old daughter recently starting jumping! Oh well, perhaps we will just have to come back to the states to indulge ourselves! However, 12 hours is a piece of cake if we do decide to drive. We travel throughout the Eastern states now for horse shows. It's in our blood!

We love traveling and exploring, and plan to take advantage of the opportunities we ignored our first time in Japan.

As for the kids, we currently live on Camp Lejeune NC and lemme tell you, there is absolutely NOTHING for older kids to do here. We've explored the MCCS Iwakuni site and they are really excited about the "choices" and activities there.

My husband has told me how small Iwakuni is, and that's fine. I really loved Yokosuka.

Has anyone been to Tokyo Disney? We're planning a summer trip there. Would you say there peak season is about the same as the states?

No, there are no US military rec areas around here. But there are plenty of camping & outdoor activities in Japanese parks. I took a bunch of kids on a "camp" (in cabins) on a small island about an hour from here. We had a great time & the cabins were only like $50 a night. There are many alternatives, if one looks around. Outdoor Rec will loan you every kind of camping equipment for free; there are many camping areas around.

You will be able to go to Tokyo Disney while you're here. ITT Iwakuni arranges a trip a few times a year including bus & room at New Sanno to Tokyo Disney. Better yet, go on your own & customize a tour for your family. My wife & I have not taken any ITT tours, and in 16 months we've seen: Miyajima Island, Kintai Bridge, Fukuoka, Sasebo/Nagasaki (twice), Hiroshima Peace Park, Hiroshima shopping (many times), Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Fuji 5-lakes, Yokosuka, Tokyo, "Ponyo Town" (a real town on which the movie Ponyo was based), the Ghibli Museum (where Totoro & other anime are produced), countless canal cities, museums, castles, sheep farms, waterfalls & more. Japan is a beautiful and varied country.

Japan summer vacation starts on July 15. So when your kids are out of school, you have 5-6 weeks to do stuff without big Japanese crowds. You can fly Space-A any time, but you will be competing with other families during school holidays. My wife & I with no kids would choose to fly Space-A when school is in session, so there is less competition for space.

I've been to tama hills to ride. They do private training and thought they did jumps.

Also keep in mind there are a few places that my wife found online in Japan that offer horse back riding. Most of the places are japanese speaking. You may get lucky with one that wants to help your daughter train more.

We are at the doctors office but when we get home I will have here check out some places online.
www.japanbases.com