PCS Tips

First off - where exactly is Okinawa anyway and how big is it? In short, it is 67 miles long and varies in width from 2-17 miles wide. Though the length sounds short, it will take you well over 3 hours to traverse the full length due to the roads, traffic, and speed limits.

Confused?

I saw online that Okinawa was a city, but I though it was an island. Which is it? Both - and more! Okinawa is the name for a city, an island, and a group of islands. Okinawa island (where the US military bases are) is the main island of the Okinawa Prefecture (prefecture is a term used to describe a geographic/political section, much like we use the term "county" or, more accurately, "state). Okinawa Prefecture includes 159 more islands. Okinawa is often referred to as the "Keystone of the Pacific" because of its strategic location with respect to major Far East cities. Indeed, Okinawa is approximately as close to Seoul (Korea), Manila (Philippines), and Hong Kong (China) as it is to Tokyo (Japan). . .each are about 850-1,000 miles away.


How long does mail take to get to Okinawa?


Can people ship stuff to me? The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and the Department of Defense (DoD) made an agreement years ago for overseas military mail. In short, you will receive an APO box (Army Post Office) or an FPO box (Fleet Post Office) - talk to your sponsor who can set this up in advance for you and with a power of attorney can also pick up any boxes you send in advance of your move!!! We're looking for a copy of the form for you to download.

For the Pacific, all mail goes to San Francisco via USPS and is then shipped over here. Priority mail takes 4-14 days depending on where in the U.S. it is sent from (West coast is obviously faster). Parcel post is hit-or-miss (as long as 1.5 months; average of about 4-6 weeks).


How many housing units are there?

Kadena's housing totals more than 8,120 units in 19 areas. They have been building many new housing units recently.


What is the housing like on-base?
I call it a cement block house, duplex, triplex and they do have some towers. (Pictures soon to come).

STAP:
Spouse Tuition Assistance Program. In short, as the spouse of an overseas based military member, you are eligible for up to $1500/year towards your degree (undergraduate or graduate!). See your local education office for more details.

NOTE - The downfall - you can only use it for schools on base.

American fast-food restaurants off-base:
McDonald's, A&W, KFC. Menus slightly altered from stateside equivalents. A Wendy's also just opened near Gate 2 of Kadena AB.


Mcdonald's - You can order petit pancake's all day and same goes for chicken nuggets for breakfast (order available all day). Mcdonald's are open 24hrs thru drive thru. They have coupons, you can use as many coupons as you want. (I will post pictures up soon). To get coupons they usually hand them out, sometimes you have to ask for them. When ordering with coupon's. Coupon # ?? or I have coupon #?? like 2. (I would like 2 orders of #??).


A&W - Using drive thu, we have always had to go to the window to order. Even we order in Japanese, please come to the window. Go to the window they give you a menu. They rather have you point at what you want - I think.


KFC - never been there, prices were very expensive.

American fast-food restaurants on-base:
Anthony's Pizza, Subway, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Popeye's, Charlie's Steakery.

American sit-down food on base:
Chili's (on Kadena AB), Macaroni Grill (on Camp Foster).

Furniture:
There is only one American furniture store and it is located on Camp Foster. Many people like the furniture off-base though. You are provided with everything you could need for your tour here, but most people wish they had brought their own bed and living room furniture.


Carpets:
You will want to consider bringing these. Most of the newly renovated multiplex models do have carpet in them. Older models DO NOT have any carpet at all. Carpet selection at the furniture store is usually very limited on colors.


NOTE: You can ship your carpets without affecting your weight allowance.

Curtains:
The exchanges are very limited on selection for curtain rods; those they do have do not necessarily fit housing. You may want to consider buying longer curtain rods that you like and then cutting them to fit.


Off base they can make them the size you need, maybe spendy, but there are some places are cheap. My curtains for big window is 85X113.

Animals & Housing:
Pets are allowed in base housing with the exception of the towers. Please contact the Housing office for more information.

Driving age:
You must be 18 years old to drive out in town (off-base) on Okinawa. At 16 years old, you can pick up your driver's permit to drive on base.


Vehicle Registration:
It is located on Camp Foster by the commissary and the bowling alley.

Road tax & car purchase:
When you purchase a car, road tax is due every May. The amount of the road tax depends on the # found on the license plate: a 300-series plate will cost you 17000Y (about $155/year) versus a 500-series plate which will cost you 7500Y (about $65/year). This is because the 300-series vehicles have bigger engines.

COLA (Cost of Living Allowance) & OHA (Overseas Housing Allowance):
Unlike stateside, your paycheck will vary from month to month based on COLA. If you live offbase, it will also vary due to OHA (overseas housing allowance) + your utilities allowance. All of these amounts vary based on the exchange rate - so the weaker the dollar against the Yen, the more you are paid (and vice versa).

See your Cola Rate here. Notes: Enter locality code of JA027 for Okinawa, Japan. Also, the amount shown for COLA shows only half the month.

See your OHA (Overseas Housing Allowance) here. Same locality code of JA027.
While the Yen rate changes often, this does not

The free Green Line bus (Marines): Probably the easiest way (if you do not have your own vehicle) to get from Marine Camp to Camp is through the no-fee "The Green Line", which runs 7 days a week.