I'm Tyler.  Military Husband, stay at home Dad and Vet.  We are PCS'ing to Zama in June.  The questions I have are things my wife will probably not ask her sponsor as they are not a "priority" to her.

1. Housing: We have a son now....and trying for another currently (well not exactly now but you get what I mean).  Which type of housing would most suit us?  If we are not preggers by the time we get there will we still get housing as if it were only the three of us?

2: HD CABLE TV!!!!: I'm a TV junkie.  An American TV junkie!!!!  I've looked into nationphone.com.  It looks promising.  I will never watch AFN again.  HELL NO!!!  nationphone is a streaming service that streams in 720P local channels and some cable channels.  They also provide a DVR.  Any other suggestions for American TV culture?

3: INTERNET:  How expensive and fast is the internet there?  Does it matter where you are housed?

4: PHONE: We have AT&T iPhones.  Are they compatible in Japan somehow, someway?

5: SPORTS BARS!!!! : I'm serious!!!  I'm a guy who loves a beer and a ball game.  Any place on post or outside of post with a bunch of TV's, beer, vodka and food?

Thanks,
Tyler

We have t.v streaming through our computer...hooked up to our t.v. My husband did all the research, bought new faster computer...but we went through A2BTV...we have Comcast through Los Angeles. Remember the time change...games even on streaming come on at U.S times...example...Superbowl...Sunday in the States....early, early Monday morning here. I use my DVR a lot to record things, and watch in the evenings. Hope this helps some, but I'm sure others can chime in with more detailed info.

Posted By tylerb173rd on 01-22-2012 5:14 AM
I'm Tyler.  Military Husband, stay at home Dad and Vet.  We are PCS'ing to Zama in June.  The questions I have are things my wife will probably not ask her sponsor as they are not a "priority" to her.

1. Housing: We have a son now....and trying for another currently (well not exactly now but you get what I mean).  Which type of housing would most suit us?  If we are not preggers by the time we get there will we still get housing as if it were only the three of us?

2: HD CABLE TV!!!!: I'm a TV junkie.  An American TV junkie!!!!  I've looked into nationphone.com.  It looks promising.  I will never watch AFN again.  HELL NO!!!  nationphone is a streaming service that streams in 720P local channels and some cable channels.  They also provide a DVR.  Any other suggestions for American TV culture?

3: INTERNET:  How expensive and fast is the internet there?  Does it matter where you are housed?

4: PHONE: We have AT&T iPhones.  Are they compatible in Japan somehow, someway?

5: SPORTS BARS!!!! : I'm serious!!!  I'm a guy who loves a beer and a ball game.  Any place on post or outside of post with a bunch of TV's, beer, vodka and food?

Thanks,
Tyler

Housing, you will get the housing you are entitled to for the sponsors rank, position and family size.  So don't expect a 3,000 foot home w/pool.  Generally everyone has something smaller in Japan but everyone gets by.

HD....... I pay 133. a month for basic cable, and high speed internet.  Where I'm at (not Zama) they have a few HD channels for more money.  If you live off base, you may find that you need a SAT Dish for English.  There are a lot of people streaming TV from the states too, which may be a good option for you if you have to have to have certain shows, etc.

Internet speed is decent, no issues.  Korea has the fastest internet speeds in the world which is just trivia.

Your ATT telephones most likely won't be compatible in Japan, my iPhones, and even an old razor weren't.  I pay about 40.00 a month for two cell phones (non iPhones).

Sports bars, you have a few on or around Zama.  The best Mexican food is there too and he can get all the channels you need.  Make sure you go to Pancho Villas and see Dave Scott.  You have an Outback, Red Lobster nearby too.

It won't be as convenient as you have it now but everything your concerned about you can find here.

TV: I use ustvnow.com and stream it from my iphone to the apple tv. I also have a Roku that I use, but for some reason, the iphone/appletv method works better. I think they might be affiliated with nationphone.

As for your tv questions. The cable here has gotten much better compared to years ago but it also still has its quirks. We get over 100 american tv channels. Americable also now has about 10-15 channels in HD including AFN Sports in HD so you get to see a lot of sports in HD. The Bigten network and like 1 or 2 other sports channels are also in HD. We pay about $160 for our cable and internet. We have all channels except for like showtime. We only have the middle level internet speed. We also have 5 cable boxes 2 of which are dvr's so that drives the cost up a little bit. I am a sports junkie and was scared about missing everything coming over here. However, I have been pretty satisfied so far. Even during the peak of football season you usually get 3 different games on at 1 time on the afn channels and each channel usually has double headers which is a lot better than regular cable in the states where only 1 channel gets the double header. Unless of course you have directv and get the nfl pass.

Here is the website for Camp Zama TV/Internet/Telephone Provider.

http://www.atcc-gns.com/services/Ca...fault.aspx

They are the only choice for these services. You could not get TV if you did some steaming type service. Same for phone you have options with vonage and magicjack. But you are not going to get around there internet. There is wimax service that can bypass using allied but do not know anyone that has used to know if it's any good in this area.

Thanks everyone.  So I guess the iPhone is a NO-GO there?  I may have a hard time adjusting to life over there....JEEZZ.....lol

T

I moved here this past summer and purchased an iPhone with the Japanese company I signed up with. Having never used an iPhone before coming here I have definately enjoyed it. And I think that even if you can't use your exsisting phone from the states it can still be used like an iTouch.....

There are tons of iPhones over here, it's just the ones from the states aren't compatible unless you unlock it (Jail-break) and then find a company to allow you to use it. I have heard of a few people doing that, personally I think you would be better off just getting one here. I have one that I unlocked years ago, and the "extra" programs didn't really work as well as Apple APPS so reset it after about 6 months.

I have found the iPad to be a little more convenient to use than the iPhone, Wi-Fi can be found all over but there are plenty of iPhones here too and obviously the 3G/4G signal is nearly everywhere.

I was also trying to find the size of the camp in comparison to other bases I've been on? SQ FT anyone?

Camp Zama itself is not that large. It's large enough for an 18 hole golf course and a small landing field.

Not to thread hijack, but my husband got me a Kindle Fire (uses our wireless internet in our house) for my birthday...will that still work in Japan? 

Yeah, that was a bit of a hijack. In the future, use the search box at the top of every JB page to find the topic you're interested in.

In answer to your question, check out http://www.japanbases.com/forums/af...fpg/3.aspx . Lengthy discussion along with in-depth review of using a Kindle in Japan, both onbase & offbase.

Now back to the Zama discussion...

Posted By ThaiGuy on 03-01-2012 5:11 PM
Yeah, that was a bit of a hijack. In the future, use the search box at the top of every JB page to find the topic you're interested in.

In answer to your question, check out http://www.japanbases.com/forums/af...fpg/3.aspx . Lengthy discussion along with in-depth review of using a Kindle in Japan, both onbase & offbase.

Now back to the Zama discussion...

Well I've arrived to CZ and nothing American works here.... not my cell phone, not my wireless, and worse of all not me. Oh yeah I'm on leave still... lol.

ThaiGuy, my Thai wife wants to meet your Thai wife so they can discuss things in Japan as the relate to being Thai.... No, seriously.... how often do you head to Tokyo?

BT