Husband and I are moving to Iwakuni by the end of August, We've heard good and bad things about living on and off base... I was wondering what was everyone on here opinions are? Also i know you can look on here for house off base to rent but we were wondering if anyone knew any other links that would help us look at houses off base to rent. I feel like im running into a big wall every time i search and get no where! Any advice is appreciated!
Thanks so much!

About 99% of the discussion on Japanbases housing is regarding Yokosuka. It's completely different in Iwakuni. There are no agents here who specialize is serving the American community, and agents speak very little English. In general, I see this as a plus. That means you are getting the "genuine" Japanese experience when you come here, and you don't get shoved into some neighborhood that is like 80% American.

I would not expect much help from the housing referral office. They have no listings in their office. They will show you a couple of houses near the gate, which is the only scummy part of town. If you can find your way to agents a bit further from the gate, you will see a greater variety of homes, most of which are delightful. There is no multiple listing-type service here, so agents will show you ONLY what's listed with their office. You should visit several agents to see a greater variety of houses before making your choice. Don't settle for something you're not happy with; keep looking. I constantly hear that houses are in short supply here, so it will take diligence on your part to stick with it.

I found very few rentals online, and none at all in English. Your best bet is just start visiting agents, view their listings, look at a few homes, and you'll start getting a sense for what you like. The housing styles here are similar to what you'll find in Yokosuka (although Iwakuni is far, far cheaper) so if you look at some Yokosuka-area homes online you'll get some idea of what to expect.

On base, the towers & townhouses are very much like Yokosuka; you can find pix on Japanbases. Personally, I would NEVER live in a tower onbase. There is too much risk of inconsiderate, loud, smoking neighbors and you have little recourse in how to deal with them. If you have no kids, you probably won't get a townhouse. So that leaves offbase housing. Iwakuni is a small, quiet town. As long as you don't have American neighbors, you will have a peaceful existence. If there is any noise/disruption/parties in your neighborhood, I guarantee it will be from American neighbors, not from Japanese.

Once you get here, if you can't find rental agents, let me know. The housing referral office will tell you of 2 or 3; I suspect they get kickbacks from those agents which is reason enough for me to avoid them.

Could I get some input on cost of living off base? Do we save more money by living off base? I heard we get a set amount for utilities, which is a lot. How much is usual utility that they give us? (E-5 with dependent) Thank you.

I don't get allowances; I pay utilities out of pocket so I don't know what you'd get.

If you get a traditional Japanese house, you could easily spend $500/mo in the summer with A/C. In the winter, you have a choice for heating: Kerosene, which is cheap but inconvenient, or electric which is pretty expensive. There are no forced-air type systems here; you heat & cool individual rooms.

If you try to scrimp on utilities, the houses can be fairly uncomfortable: Hot & muggy in the summer, extremely cold in the winter. You adapt by wearing sweaters indoors & sitting under blankets. Japanese homes -- especially around Iwakuni -- are generally drafty and poorly insulated.

My wife & I have a 3LDK apartment. We cool only 1 one room (the LDK), but leave open the door to the bedroom at night to cool it, too. Apartments are much cheaper to heat & cool. In the spring & fall, with no heat & no A/C, our gas/water/electric come to like $150/mo. In the winter & summer, it's around $250/mo.

That said, I would totally not base your decision to live on base or off base on where you can save the most money. You are stepping into the chance of a lifetime, to live in a foreign culture, totally immersing yourself, meeting Japanese neighbors, etc. That should be what drives your decision, not whether you can save $75 by living on base. Either way, you'll come out ok financially; probably better off here than you are in the States. You need to weigh the moderate inconvenience of living 15 minutes away vs joy of getting off base at night; walking around your neighborhood; shopping daily in Japanese stores, etc. Decide which type of lifestyle is best for your family, and that's what should determine to live on base or off base.

Since I work with teens, I'll offer the one observation that teens who live offbase tend to get pretty isolated; it's hard for them to come in for evening & weekend events, and I've seen a lot of teens struggle with this. It's not such a big deal for younger kids, and totally not an issue for adults.

Thank you so much for your help and advise. I totally agree with you on walking around the neighborhood daily bases to really see the culture, people... etc. We haven't really looked around the houses off base yet, because we are still waiting for the title to be changed over for our new car here. We will just have to go out and look around, I guess. Thank you!

So are you already in Iwakuni? If you are, your payroll office can explain more about utility allowances, etc.

While you're waiting on your car, go ahead & hop on a bus. Just catch one at Four Corners going either direction. Ride for 5-10 minutes then jump off & look around. You can ride a taxi back if you can't figure out the bus, plus you're not too far to walk back. That's how my wife & find found our house 2 years ago this month.

Yes, we are already in Iwakuni. We are looking for a house or apartment close enough to the base, but somewhat big enough size to accommodate some furniture we have and somewhat good neighborhood.... Taking a bus sounds good.

Do you happen to know if drinking tap water is safe in on base or/and off base? Thanks.

Yeah, you can drink the water everywhere here.

Ok, here's your first homework assignment... catch the bus southbound on 188 (going to your left at 4-corner). Ride about a mile or so; get off at You Me Town where you see the big KFC sign. It's a fun place to look around, find a restaurant, and shop. You can walk back to the base, or ride a bus or taxi.

There's a popular restaurant there which Americans call Gyoza House, but the real name is Osho.  It's right at the bus stop on the opposite side of the street.  You can get an awesome meal there at a reasonable price.  Or go inside You Me Town, there are like 3 restaurants there.

Sounds like so much fun! Thank you.

We didn't know where to go. So far we only walked to the 4 corners.

All the info you have given me since i got onto this site has been very helpful Thanks!.. We have def decided off base living is the way to go just from your info alone! Ok but now to my other issue we have a cat and a dog and completely refuse to get rid of them... They said we cant ship them over til after the 30th of September which i think is good overall cause that helps us find a place first... but are there or do you know of any place that will take animals?? I know base does but only in Townhomes and we do not have kids so we will not be getting one of those... Both animals are set to go medical wise..got the papers and everything but we dont know where to put them until we fly over we have no family for friends to take them do you have an idea of where we can put them until we fly over??? Its a big headache but like i said we dont have any kids so they are babies... we have had them both since they were born... cat for 3 years and the dog for 2 years and i cant part with them.... Please and Thank you!!

Sorry, I have no experience with pets. Hopefully someone else will weigh in from Iwakuni.

I'd say go visit the vet/kennel on base & get to know them. I don't know where it is. I have heard that when you fly your pets in from Stateside, you will NOT be able to fly them domestically within Japan. In other words, you have to drive to Narita to get them (12+ hour drive?) I don't know if that's 100% true, but it's what I've heard.

If that's the case, try to fly them to Osaka or Fukuoka instead (5 hours & 3 hour drives, respectively.) You can use the MCCS rental car which gives you free toll tickets. There may be other alternatives, so start asking around. Try the Facebook page for Iwakuni Pets or Iwakuni Spouses for answers.

Finding offbase houses that take pets will be hard. I don't think the housing office will help you; you're gonna have to figure this out on your own by visiting lots of agents. Even if an owner says "No pets" go ahead & look at the house, then see if the owner is flexible with a pet fee or extra rent. This has worked up in the Yokosuka area; I don't know about down here. My agent is called "Able" (pronounced "Eiburo" in Japanese). Also called ArkPlan. They don't speak much English but they always seem willing to try to help. Avoid the agents closest to 4-Corners.

Ok thanks so much... I use to work in a realty agency so i do know most people if you tell them about your dog when u ask if they would.. they normally say yes, I just didnt know how the Japanese are. Our dog is less then 40lbs and sleeps all day.. doesnt even bark.. hes a whiner lol... So im not to worried about them saying no but if they do im just gunna keep looking cause im not giving them up

Posted By ThaiGuy on 07-12-2011 9:28 PM
Yeah, you can drink the water everywhere here.

Ok, here's your first homework assignment... catch the bus southbound on 188 (going to your left at 4-corner). Ride about a mile or so; get off at You Me Town where you see the big KFC sign. It's a fun place to look around, find a restaurant, and shop. You can walk back to the base, or ride a bus or taxi.

There's a popular restaurant there which Americans call Gyoza House, but the real name is Osho.  It's right at the bus stop on the opposite side of the street.  You can get an awesome meal there at a reasonable price.  Or go inside You Me Town, there are like 3 restaurants there.

LOL, I remember this area. I used to get at the Ramen house further down the street near UniQlo and the Korean BBQ place.... I just got selected to go back to Iwakuni. Unfortunately, I'm single so I doubt I'll be living off base unless they started letting E6s off base.

Well anyway, the ramen joint is still there plus all the other places you mentioned. Good ol' Iwakuni! Welcome back.