Hey everyone!

My husband just reenlisted this past month and we asked for orders to Japan, and we were recently approved! We are both very excited to be going for three years- we love adventure and love being outdoors...so Japan is a dream come true for us!

We started the process of over seas screening and stuff..did the dentist check ups and everything. We have our appointment in a couple weeks to get approved for, I THINK, area clearance, and then we get a sponsor I believe?

I've been trying to read up as much as I can about the whole process to move over seas, but some of the smaller things that I'd just like to know aren't really address on informational websites

I guess I'll just number my questions so it's easier to read for anyone, I HOPE!, will help me out with getting information.

1.) How much IS the weight limit? We are going to a PCS class, but I hope I can get an idea sooner seeing as we are going home to NC for the holidays (we are in MCAS Beaufort, SC now) and want to take stuff home for storage that we wont take with us to Japan.
------ 1a) we have a two piece sectional and a recliner...we will probably get a 2 bedroom mid-rise apartment....will that fit into the living room? Or better yet, anyone have dimensions of the 2 bed room apartments?

2.) For people who thought about bringing their washer and dryer and DID NOT, do you wish you did take it after getting there? I just got these front loaders not but 7 months ago and really want to take the with...but don't want our weight limit bar sent out the window if it's not really worth it to bring our own.

3.) My husband has a scooter/moped (we are a very gas efficient couple- we also have a Toyoto Prius which sadly we are not taking) that he drives to work here in the states....Is that considered a POV? Here on base he didn't have to have a base decal or anything like that. My husband also wants to know, about how long after we get there can he start driving it? and does he have to get a Japan type license to drive it?

4.) What's a round abouts waiting time for housing? We don't mind staying in the TLF for up to the limit, but I'd just like some idea. (are town house renovations still going on, making the waiting list longer?)

5.) Anyone recommend RosettaStone? We are thinking about getting it next month so we can start learning before we get there.

6.) What's the easiest route after getting to Japan, from the international airport in Tokyo? (bus, taxi, train, etc?) I know that who ever we get our tickets from are going to "suggest" something...but I'd rather hear some pros and cons from people who've actually traveled down that road.

Alright, I'll leave it at that. I appreciate anything you people can offer me in advice and help!

Hi Jessica. Congrats on your husband's re-enlistment & orders to Japan. I think you'll like it here.

Regarding the process, you can go ahead & ask for a sponsor now. Sponsorship is an informal program and your husband's new command can assign one at any time. Their job is to answer questions & help ease your arrival process in Iwakuni, so now is the time to start talking to them. You should get a married sponsor, not single, since married couples often have different concerns than someone who is unaccompanied. The sponsor should NOT be the person your husband is replacing since they are pre-occupied with leaving and won't be around much or at all when you arrive.

1. Don't know about weight limits since I'm a contractor. I've heard that coming to Japan, your weight limit is reduced. Read your orders carefully to see if it's in there. Someone else on JB might answer that.

2. I live off base. If you want to live off base, do NOT bring a washer/dryer. They won't fit in a Japanese home, and the connections are different. For instance, they have no hot water hook up, and dryers have no outside vent. If you'll be living on base, hopefully someone else will answer your question. Maybe your sponsor.

3. Kudos on being such a gas-efficient family. I wish more Americans thought that way. I'm about 90% sure that a scooter will count as a POV, but maybe I'm wrong. Your family will be allowed 2 POVs, and that means with the scooter you get 1 car. That ought to be ok; nobody travels very far around here except when you're touring.

When you arrive, there is a one-day orientation class. You both need to go. That gives you some background info about traffic laws. Then you take a written test, and can get your SOFA license which allows you to drive in Japan. After that, you can buy a car. Plan on your first 10-14 days to not have a car at all. Don't worry; you can walk everywhere & there's a base bus. The written test is easy; just study a book or on Japanbases there is a sample test which is about 90% similar. You will NOT have to get a Japanese drivers license, but your SOFA license is good all over Japan.

For the scooter, there's an additional training class. I'm thinking it takes a weekend, but maybe it's longer. There is a waiting list to get in. If you take it before your scooter arrives, they'll provide a loaner bike. The class is not free but I don't know the cost.

4. Don't know about housing.

5. My personal impression of Rosetta Stone is it's overpriced for what you get. If you wanna learn a little Japanese before coming just buy a little "Japanese for Tourists" guide book at the book store. Ought to cost you $10. You'll learn greetings, numbers, basic courtesy, which is a good start. When you get here, get a library card then the library can sign you up for free online Japanese lessons called "Transparent Language" by byki. It used to be Rosetta, then it was Mango, but they've decided this software is better.

6. There's 2 basic routes for getting here. The most common is the Patriot Express, a weekly charter flight out of Seattle that lands right at MCAS Iwakuni. The advantage is, it's closer than the commercial airport (Hiroshima) which is 90 minutes away. The downside is, you gotta check into SEATAC Airport like 2 AM, wait for a 6 AM departure, stop in Alaska and maybe Misawa and/or Yokota. It's not exactly convenient. Search around JB and you'll find more discussion about this. This is a weekly flight, leaving perhaps Thursday morning from Seattle.

The other way is commercial air. The upside is it's not military, so hopefully you could book a more convenient itinerary. You'd probably fly through Tokyo Narita, but the other possibilities are Tokyo Haneda or Osaka-Kansai. Then connect to Hiroshima. You would clear customs at your first Japan airport, so make sure you have 2+ hours between flights. I like 3 so I'm not rushed; you have to claim baggage, wait for customs & immigration, recheck your bags, and find your new gate. And of course, they board 30 minutes early so a 2-hour connection could be a rush.

Hiroshima Airport is 90 minutes from Iwakuni base. There is a base shuttle twice daily; it's $60 for the first member of your family, and $30 for the 2nd. You could claim this on your travel claim. Better yet would be for your sponsor to pick you up. If he pays tolls, keep the receipts and also put that on your travel claim. The evening shuttle leaves Hiro around 8 PM UNLESS someone is flying in on a later flight who has made advance reservations. So, say if you arrive at 6 PM, you'll be waiting 2 hours or more for another pax. It's annoying at the end of a long trip, and there's really nothing to do at that airport. There's like 1 coffee shop, and they close early. It's really small.

That's it. Keep posting questions, and get your sponsor. Most people here have Skype or MagicJack so they should be able to call you once you connect.

I'll take a shot at a couple of them:

5) Rosetta Stone is quite good although I only use it to stay sharp. It wasn't available when I studied Japanese eons ago (but it would have made matters a lot easier). I have heard military members can get RS for free but do not know how to go about it.

6) Iwakiuni is easily a 13 hour drive from Narita Airport (one very expensive taxi ride!). I would imagine you'll connect into Hiroshima Airport.

Thank you so much for all the information!

I'm going to talk to my husband and keep on him about getting us a sponsor ASAP. Just so we have enough time for anything that might come up. We still have some time until we move, but I'd rather get the hiccups out of the way now rather than a week before we are set to leave.

I'm glad to hear that about the RosettaStone...I really didn't want to pay all that money for something that might be found else where for a smaller price!

Does anyone happen to know if you're allowed to bring bikes on your Express shipment? (If not, I'll ask the PCS people here when we go for some class about it.) Because if that's the case, riding a bike instead of paying for a car sounds a lot better to me!

As for the traveling part of it...I've heard some stuff on another website, but that might be out of date. I'll have to get with the travel guys here and see what's up to date! It'd be nice if we could fly right into MCAS- but that flight does sound like it could be a little hectic.

Morning hour arrivals to Japan would probably be best? I'm not sure how late everything stays open in regards to leaving bigger cities.

Try this site to sign up for a free online Rosetta Stone account:

https://www.marinenet.usmc.mil/marinenet/

I'm not sure how much say you get in picking the flight. I think the travel people will more or less decide on your route, particularly whether you fly the Patriot Express, or go commercial. They prefer to send you by Patriot Express since they've chartered the plane; they want to fill it up for cost savings. Now, if your husband is going to school en route, or you'll be on leave & want a different departure city you'll have to work hard to set up the flight you want. They'll tell you they can't do it, but in fact they can so if you have some special circumstance about your departure post your question here & get the straight gouge.

My husband just searched all over that website and could not find anything about RosettaStone...

Well my mom is going to have to drive us to the airport because we are not taking our car with us and shell be the one holding onto I for us for the three years. And we plan to take leave right before we leave...so I'm not sure how that will work out.

I don't know if it's Marine Corps-wide, or just a local thing... but they used to offer Rosetta Stone online for free at Iwakuni, but now it's been replaced by that other software I mentioned. You need to sign up locally for a library card before you can access it.

My comment about leave is if you travel cross-country & then want to fly from there, instead of flying from your old duty station. There's a way to do this, but Travel doesn't like it (mostly cuz they're too lazy to do the paperwork.) So they sometimes tell you that you must drive back to your old duty station to catch your flight even if it's like 1000 miles away. This is NOT true, but you'd never know it cuz they don't tell you all the rules.

My husband said they used to offer RS for free...but they did away with that. I don't know why, but we've looked all over the internet...they just offer discount. But I'm thinking I'm just as better off as learning it through books and offline.

Wow...I'm glad our "home town" is only three hours away from our current duty station and even if they did make us go back to the area (Because we don't have an airport here to begin with..it's either Charleston, SC,...or Savannah, GA.) but either way, I don't mind where we leave out of. I'm kinda hoping for a commercial flight...I'd like to at least see Tokyo even if we are driving through ASAP. (I've always wanted to travel there my entire life!) Do you happen to know a website that might give me more information about this Patriot Express?

If you had to compare the PX there on base to a PX on base somewhere in the states, which one would it be? I'm trying to decide if we should go ahead and start buying things we know we want/need HERE as opposed to there. Perhaps you might have some suggestions as what we should get before we get there?

I used Modern Japanese (written by Mizutani and published by The Japan Times) as my first textbook. It was very much oriented toward verbal communication and had cassette tapes way back when (not sure what medium they are using now). It is available on Amazon. I wouldn't get it without some sort of viable audio option, though. You could probably work your way through the book in 6 months if you put 30-45 minutes/day into it and would have a very solid foundation in the language.

Search craigslist for RS I bought is for about 20.00, there's a guy selling it all day long on CL (he advertises all over the US).

try this one.... don't pay asking price:

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lg...10486.html

Are those pirated copies? $20 is incredibly cheap.

I wouldn't mind learning from a textbook, and seeing as we have some time before we leave that might be a good option for me at least. My husband works a lot, but he might be able to handle it if I help out.

I dunno- I'm a little skeptical about such, "deals" if I were to get RS, I'd rather like to get a discount...just not that extreme. It just sounds a little sketchy. =/ But thank you anyway!

Posted By ThaiGuy on 12-05-2011 12:10 PM
I don't know if it's Marine Corps-wide, or just a local thing... but they used to offer Rosetta Stone online for free at Iwakuni, but now it's been replaced by that other software I mentioned. You need to sign up locally for a library card before you can access it.

My comment about leave is if you travel cross-country & then want to fly from there, instead of flying from your old duty station. There's a way to do this, but Travel doesn't like it (mostly cuz they're too lazy to do the paperwork.) So they sometimes tell you that you must drive back to your old duty station to catch your flight even if it's like 1000 miles away. This is NOT true, but you'd never know it cuz they don't tell you all the rules.

We found to do this we had to purchase our tickets out of pocket and on our own and were then reimbursed.  However, they will only reimburse for whatever the contracted amount is from your old duty station.   For instance, our daughter is in college in HI.  We came from VA.  The only way to get her ticket 100% paid for was to pay to fly her back to VA, which of course makes no sense.  According to the Navy their contract price from Norfolk to Narita is $460.  So, even though her ticket cost triple that amount we are only going to be reimbursed the $460 since she is leaving someplace other than the old duty station. The AD members ticket is not reimbursable at all if not flown from the old duty station.  We had to eat the price of my husband's ticket.

I like Rosetta Stone, but it is VERY expensive. I suggest you practice your hiragana and katakana before coming to Japan:

http://learn-hiragana-katakana.com/

This will really help you when you start to learn how to speak. Katakana is e/where in Japan. Katakana are words that are imported from foreign languages ( like w/ sofa ソファ ). If you can master these characters before you leave, you'll find that you can pick up Japanese at a much faster pace.

Good luck w/ your move! It'll probably get a little overwhelming the closer you get to your move date, but once you're all settled in, the fun begins.