For those of you who are already there (only recently) I noticed you had loner furniture. So what exactly is available? for use? I am already making my packing list in my head. And want to know what to bring in the express shipment.

You need to express ship pillows!!! I didn't and I was sad. You can get beds, dressers, a kitchen table, chairs, a tv, couch, 2 armchairs, a tv stand, and kitchen stuff. I would say pack your everyday kitchen items in the express. As well as like towels and the normal things.

Well everyone. We are finally in the screening process. I was real excited about getting it going but now I just want to be done. So far this week we got out med screening done and submitted and the passports done. I am very nervous about them having our civilian passports and using them to process the mil. ones. I am afraid that they will deactivate the civ. ones. But now it is just waiting for them to come back. I know the med screening went fine. And tomorrow off to the dentist to get the dental screening paperwork done.

Questions I pose tonight are When does school start there? and What is the dress code for the highschool. Not what is the requirements but what do the kids really wear. I do not want to have the girls stick out.

I'm so happy that you guys are closer to getting here! It's amazing! I can only answer one of your questions. School starts tomorrow! As in Tuesday the 23rd

Oh & I'm wrong.... It starts Monday the 29th... The other day was from my hometown

Well I sent an email to the school to get information about how they place the kids, when coming from homeschooling.  I got some answers but am waiting on the rest.  We are all getting excited.  Passports should be here in a couple of weeks.

We are going through our screening process now (which meant LOTs of dental work for me but at least it will be taken care of) and I was very happy to find this thread...I had so many of the questions that were answered...Can I throw in a few of my own?
We have an almost 3 year old girl (she will be 3.5 when we transfer in May 2012) and I wanted to get he into CDC, what is the waiting list like? Also, a very trivial question regarding Netflix streaming- I love my Netflix streaming but I know that it does not work from a foreign IP address? Is there anyone who has found a way around this? I read somewhere on here that the wifi on base has a US IP address and so the streaming theoretically should work? But what about off base? I know we will probably be either in Hario or in town...
I will be checking this thread for more questions and answers...

10 pages of Netflix discussions.  I got this by typing "Netflix" in the search box at the top of the page.

http://www.japanbases.com/searchres...active#901

Regarding finding friends, look into MOPS when you get there (Mothers of Pre-schoolers). They should meet a couple of times a month, and if there is no MOPS, see if you can work with the chapel or community services to start up a chapter.

Posted By Carolie on 06-08-2011 3:37 AM
There are actual seasons -- it gets below freezing for a couple of weeks at night in the winter, and older homes with little to no insulation can be COLD. I didn't mind it though, and our utilities were higher in the summer, for the AC! It snowed once the first winter we were there, not at all for the next two winters, and twice during our fourth winter -- very little accumulation though! Trees change color, but because of the rainy season, there isn't much autumn color in Sasebo. For really amazing autumn color, take the bullet train to Kyoto for a long weekend!

Sasebo is about the same latitude as Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA. It's hot and humid, with a long summer and a relatively mild winter. There are palm trees in Sasebo, if that gives you an idea of the climate. From late May through the beginning of July, it rains pretty much nonstop (I didn't mind, because it wasn't cold rain, and it kept it from being 100 degrees!) It's pretty rainy in November, too. Some people don't care for the climate in Sasebo, but I had enough spectacular spring days, sunny and clear July days and wonderful autumn and winter days that I didn't mind the really oppressive late July/all of August humidity and heat, nor did I mind the rain.

THANK you so much for your blog, Carolie...I learned quite a lot from it just this morning. It is encouraging to know I probably won't be the only one who fails her driver's test (I can't parallel park..lol- never had to learn because when i was taking my test in CA they had gotten away with that part of the test- I guess I will have to start practicing as soon as we get there)

Just an update.  We have scheduled the Move with the movers.  Packouts are starting on Dec. 16 and last one is Dec 27.   We received tickets but the were for the wrong dates (hubby is in School Jan 3- Feb 8) and his ticket was for Jan 2.  Mine was not as bad it was for Feb 2.   We also have received the DEA and it is all going great.  Just now waiting on the Tickets so we can change them so I am flying out of Reno not El Paso.  I will be staying there while dh is in school. 

Hi everyone! Was glad to see this post this morning. We arrive in Sasebo very soon! November 30. I have a few questions. I'm coming from Yokosuka so there won't be much surprise for me other than the fact that it's smaller there. We were told by the housing office that we'd get main base housing almost ASAP due to a new building just opening. I think we're going to take it. I'm pregnant, with complications, and hubby leaves for deployment soon after we arrive. I have a 5 yr old daughter also. Do you all take advantage of shopping out in town much? Is it convenient around main base? I understand main base housing isn't exactly on base, but is walking every where pretty easy? (hoping to shed baby pounds with lots of walking after she's born. Lol . ) oh! And is there a Starbucks any where?! lol I think someone once mentioned to me there's one at Ginza. How far is this Ginza place from base? One more question. They are shipping our car from here to there, but here I haven't had to rely on a vehicle much. It's easy to get around Yokosuka with out one. Is there a shuttle to get between Hario and main base? I understand the big commissary is there. Thanks for your help!

There is a cool Ginza covered shopping street in Sasebo, and YES! It has a starbucks! Not a very large one, but you'll get your latte fix. Plus a Dutour & other cafes. The shopping street is something like 10-15 minutes walk from the main gate, you cut through a park & over a bridge. Sasebo is a very pleasant city; as you said, it's smaller than Yokosuka but not too small. You'll find everything you need there.

I was wondering if the Starbucks takes Starbucks Giftcards. I have found that stateside the one's in Barnes and Noble don't.

The starbucks here in Yokosuka doesn't take gift cards, sadly. Not sure about Sasebo. Another thing here is they don't take credit card either, cash (or in this case, Yen) only. Wonder if that's true in Sasebo too.

Thanks Kate, we will just watch the reloads of the cards, just in case.

On another note we have our DEA and are still waiting on Tickets. I am praying that this week they will come in but DH said that the hold is because it is only the reservation that was made not paid tickets so until they are paid we can not change them. So I am being a good girl and being patient.

We're waiting on our tickets too. We're supposed to fly from Yokosuka to Sasebo on the 30. (only an hour 1/2 flight for us) We were supposed to have them this week, so we'll see!

Is Yokosuka a big base? That seems to have the most topics and information? How far is it from Sasebo?

It's an hour's drive door to door from Yokosuka to Haneda Airport, an hour and half or so flight to Nagasaki airport, and about 35 minutes on PT 109 to Sasebo City.

By car it's gotta be 12 hours or so anyway, I would think.

Prob more like a 16 hour drive. I've done it. Another alternative is Shinkansen (bullet train). The train ride is 5 hours, station to station. I think all told (counting airport security, check-in, and driving to/fm the airport) the Shin would be quicker overall than flying. Certainly more pleasant.

Interesting... So what base is close to Sasebo then? The bullet trains sound a little scary! The family wants to on one but I'm not sure I'll be brave enough!

We got our plane tickets! We arrive in Nagasaki at 1PM on the 30. Now we have to figure out how to get to the base from the airport!!!!
KLO, Okinawa is a short flight from Sasebo.! My husband has been many times. Great place for shopping. You can even take a MAC flight from Sasebo to there.

Oh, and about the bullet train... Apparently I'll be riding it from Sasebo back here to Yokosuka with my daughter in February to come back to have the baby! I'm a nervous wreck! Hubby will be gone too

Yes Okinawa is great. I hope to take a trip back here. The views are amazing! But its very "American" or westernized. I'm looking for a culture shock. Hopefully I'll get that in mainland! So can you not deliver your baby in Sasebo? Does everyone have to go to Yokosuka to deliver? We have a pretty big clinic/ hospital here. I'll miss that!

Where is your husband being stationed? Mines going to the Avenger.

My husband is going to the Tortuga. Sasebo does not deliver babies on base! You have to deliver out in town or go to Yokosuka and deliver in the hospital here. Since I have had complications, my doctors prefer me to come back here. I'll come back about a month before she's due and then go back to Sasebo after I deliver.

There are no MAC flights at Sasebo. We don't have an airport. It's a very small base, only takes about 20 minutes to walk from one end to the other. And while it is in Japan and is definitely Japanese, it's not a huge culture shock. Many of the people can speak some English and they celebrate a lot of our holidays. HOWEVER, if you leave Sasebo just a little bit, there is a huge difference. Ten minutes from Hario is a Co-op (farmer's market) and they speak NO ENGLISH. Just depends on where you are. Sasebo is a small city for Japanese people, even though it seems to be sprawling. It's not that big.

We have our tickets. Everything is good to go. We will arrive Feb 10.

Good Choice on the Pets. Carriers are getting more and more strict on their guidelines for pets. I have an English Bulldog and it is almost impossible trying to find a flight that would take her. I am only 90% sure that I have been confirmed for tickets as I write this and I leave for Sasebo on the 21st of December.

You can bring your car to Japan. It will be pricey to register depending on the size of the engine and a bit more stressful to drive anything larger than a small minivan. You will just need to complete the waiver process for cars made after 1976. Contact the Housing office for a packet and POC. If you don't want to go through the registration process, finding a car is pretty easy since people rotate all the time. Look for the local lemon lot for cheap deals just make sure it has current JCI when you buy it otherwise you have to register the car again which usually costs more than the used car. I would recommend a car in Sasebo mostly because it is so spread out and your biggest cities are Fukuoka and Nagasaki a couple hours away not to mention all of the other sights that are a weeken trip away such as Kyoto, etc. The train can get you anywhere in Japan, literally, but cars are more convenient for longer trips as long as parking is available.

For Nooks or any other device that uses network services stateside (Netflix, Pandora, Hulu, etc.) the best way that I have found is to use a VPN service that creates an encrypted line to the states and provides a stateside IP address. I have been using Proxpn.com for about 8 months and have used it in Germany, Italy, Croatia and many other countries with 100% success. There are many other VPN services available as well.

CoCo's Curry is a national chain restaraunt that I am also very excited about patronizing again. I could only get up to a level 5 on the cheese curry but I knew a couple people who maxed out at 10. Yes they were cajun's.

For hospitals, you might want to check out the local clinics. Japan has national health care and the state hospitals are efficient and cheap for day to day ordeals but for specialty items like child birth most people go to local clinics. My son was born in Yokosuka and my wife stayed at the clinic for a week in a private room with meals at the grand total of $4K of which all was reimbursed with the combination of tricare and Japanese insurance. If you don't have Japanese insurance Tricare payed 80% of the cost. My wife also visited the clinic every week and got an ultrasound w/ picture every time she went. We got a whole photo album of pre-birth photos. Kind of cool.

For learning Hirigana and Katakana visit the local 100 yen store and look in the kids book section for spelling books. They normally have english to Japanese versions as well. 100 yen is about a buck. Sorry I can't help for the Kanji.

For passports, Official passports don't void your tourist passports. Keep your tourist passports handy as there are many an awesome country close to Japan at a scheap flight away.

Hope this helps. Good luck on your travels.

We are rapidly approaching our last days here and look forward to arriving in Sasebo.

More Questions,

We are getting ready to get out of the dessert, but now I am confused about housing. I was told that Main Base would be better b/c I have highschool kids is that true?. I also do not want to be far away from family activities. Any last minute put in express items I would need?

I would definitely suggest MB Housing for you guys. =] That way the girls can just walk home for lunch and not have to ride the bus to Hario. Of course, I live in Hario, so I would LOVE for you to be here.

I highly agree with Jstorm. You will be soooo much happier at main base. There are many more activities and events at main base then there are on hario. Plus all the shopping and fun stuff is just a tiny walk away on main base Your girls will love it!