All Blog Posts (129)

Just added a post about a beach in Onna Village and a Park in the Churami Aquarium complex - I also included a bit about getting the most out of your aquarium visit for less.

http://www.okinawa-outdoors.com/

Touchdown, Okinawa!

As our family back in the states would say, we are now from the future (Japan Standard Time is ahead than PST, if my jetlagged brain is accurate).

First Impressions

After a long journey, literally 36 hours of traveling, the only thing on my head is to take a shower and be on my PJs and sleep (tired, very tired).  While we…

AMC Flight

April 24 - We finally received our tickets to Seattle, WA to board our flight to Okinawa

April 25 - Left sunny Southern California for the Great Northwest to go on circuitous leave before heading to Japan. 

April 25-May 3 - Circuitous Leave, enjoyed the company of family and ate all our fave foods from our local restaurants.  Went on a shopping spree for make up (Sephora does NOT ship APO/FPO), summer clothes…

Join us on FACEBOOK. 80 Members in 2 weeks. We are growing fast! Hope to see you there.  

http://www.facebook.com/groups/191548760963822/?ref=ts

Second time to be in Japan, first time on Okinawa.  Excited? Definitely!  Our tour in Yokosuka, Japan 2002-2005 was an amazing experience as a newly wed couple.  Some lessons learned:

1) Meet new friends and experience what is beyond the base gates.

2) Learn the language.

3) Travel around the Pacific.

4) Volunteer and learn the military lifestyle.

5) Taste the local cuisine with an open mind.

6) Help out the newcomers, you were once like…

Hello All,,

My family and I will be moving to Oki in July and we have 3 elementary and 1 high school students. What schools would you recommend?  We are coming from a school district that is pretty advanced. We are interested in them learning the language as well but not sure if having them attend a Japanese school would be advantageous or too stressful on them. If we decided to go to a DOD school, are there programs that my kids could attend after school where they could…

Hello All,

I will be arriving in OKI in July and wanted to know if my Iphone 4 and Iphone 4s will work there? Is there a carrier that accepts these types phones?

Thanks

Kisha

My family and I will be arriving in Oki in July and this is our first family accompanied tour. I wanted to know if there are activities such as Karate, gymnastics, soccer, track or dance near or on Camp Courtney. Currently, we have kids in all of these activities and we really don't want to stop them from continuing on. Any insight would be much appreciated.

Thanks

:)

We got all of our medical paperwork cleared and everything seems to be good to go. Except a little issue with the form for EFMP. My husband is a recruiter in the middle of nowwhere sort of, basically there is no base near by. So it turns out that form was suppose to be stamped by an EFMP representative. If there is no issues with any family members and the doctors sign off on it. Why is this a problem? I am just curious. I am just glad everything else is good so far.

My husband sent in an "AA" form, whatever that is, yesterday and requested a tour conversion. What are the steps for the tour conversion? Like, who all signs it? I've heard of approval letters being needed too? What was your experience with it?

Thanks for all your help, ladies.

I have a 4 year old daughter and would love to get her involved in a dance or gymnastics class. Can someone please point me in the right direction?

For anyone who is interested in checking out some local artisans ... there is a great craft fair going on at Plaza House shopping center this weekend. There are people selling beautiful work on the first two floors, and then on the third floor there are crafts that you can make. I paid ¥300 and made a woven coaster on one of the traditional looms ... I also saw stained glass jewelry-making, bingata fabric dyeing, and a few other crafts as well.

Many media were represented on the lower…

Today I had my Medical Clearance Interview and arrived 15 minutes early as requested.  I checked in and waited for my appointment.  I was called into an office, and my paperwork was reviewed and signed off.  I waited longer in the waiting room than how long my appointment took.  My paperwork was signed off and scanned.  Praise God! 

Hi Everyone... My name is Jonetta Linen.  My husband and I will be moving to Kadena May 2012.  I'm a little nervous and excited at the same time.  My husband is currently deployed and will be back the beginning of May, so trying to make sure the move goes smoothly and we have all the required documents can be very stressful, but I'm hanging in there.  I'm sure I will have a couple of questions, so any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Does anyone know where i can find some Jalapenos? Spicy ones! Both me and my husband come from a family where we ate spicy meals on the regular. The BX never has Jalapenos and we really miss eating our traditional spicy meals. 

Our daughter is almost 2 and we are looking into putting her in childcare. I'm pretty nervous because she has never been in daycare before. Of course I want somewhere safe, and I want her to be very active with learning/social/physical skills. I want her to have fun and I want her to be around teachers that love what they are doing and enjoy working with the kids. Sombody please help!