The joys of PCSing...

Here is a breakdown of our PCS experience from the states to Okinawa, Japan. If you are in the military, or are a military dependent, then you have probably heard tons of different stories about PCSing to Oki. Every experience is different and I will lay out ours here…I think our experience was "typical," especially since we do not have children or pets. Oh, people always forget to mention their spouse's (or their own) rank when writing these things, which can have a huge impact on your personal experience. Mike is an O-3.

1. We flew from our hometown - Orange County, CA - to Seattle, WA on Wednesday U.S. time. *Japan is a full day ahead of the states, so it would have been Thursday for them. There was a typhoon that came through Japan that subsequently delayed our flight to Okinawa by one day. We stayed at Best Western by the airport in Seattle, because that's where the Marine Corps booked us. It seems that other military branches stayed in other hotels, but something equivalent.

2. On the day of our flight (Friday U.S. time), we checked out of our hotel room and headed to the airport on the 24-hour shuttle at 2:30am. All military are required to check-in at the airport between 2:30am-5:30am, even though the flight does not leave until the later morning hours. "Hurry up and wait" is something you must be accustomed to in military life. We arrived at 3:11am and the line was already long. There are two separate lines - one for single or spouse only and one for those traveling with children or pets. Everyone has tons of luggage and at the check-in counter they weigh all of your bags, including carry-on, which cannot weigh more than 22lbs. each. I heard that checked bags cannot weigh more than 70lbs, but one of our friends had a 100lb. bag that got on the flight. They also ask every person their weight, which I found funny.

3. Everyone PCSing to Japan leaves out of Seattle (at least at the time of this post), so there were all branches of the military at the gate with us. Our flight was delayed two hours, so more waiting. They have one flight a week to Japan and, because there were tons of people at the gate, civilians kept asking us what was going on. Here's a picture of the waiting area at our gate - it's kind of hard to see because of the sunrise. There's couches, a food court and such - typical small airport terminal.

Even though the flight was delayed, the plane was already there. It doesn't make sense, but you just learn to not ask questions. Haha.

Here's a picture of some items you may need on the plane: passport, boarding tickets, water, snacks, ear plugs, eye mask, earphones, advil/sleeping pills, pillow, blanket, reading material. Some items that are not pictured that you may also need: toothbrush and toothpaste, tons of copies of your orders, any other personal items that you need.

When they are ready to board the flight they call for O-6s and above. There happen to be 3 on our flight and I think they were getting a little annoyed at the special treatment. Haha. After they board they call for families traveling with children under age 10 and anyone else that needs assistance. Then they board from back of the plane to the front. We were dead last because we were assigned row 2. No complaints here…Row 2 was first class on the Omni Air International plane (commercial plane contracted by the military)! We lucked out…Possibly because we were one of the first to arrive at the terminal at 3am. However, no children are allowed in first class, so when we decide to have a baby, we will sadly be giving up that amenity. The things we do for love ;)

4. The flight was not too bad. It was a little over 10 hours to get to the first stop at Yokota Air base. They served two meals on board and two snacks. I slept through two of them. Haha. The pasta I had was not bad; like a typical microwave meal.

Hello, Japan!

Golf courses were everywhere! And beautiful!

Once we arrived in Yokota, everyone was told to de-board the plane. Then we sat and waited at the gate for 2 hours until we were able to board again. There is a tiny food court there, which I opted out of because of the not-so-good smell. Some of the stuff people got for their kids didn't look bad though. There is also a few vending machines and an arcade room to keep little ones occupied.

5. Our next stop was Iwakuni Air Station. The view from the plane on our descent was amazing. The water is so calm and there are tons of little islands. And, you can see the mountain range in the background. So pretty!

At Iwakuni they had two food trucks pull up. They had your typical items - hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, corn dogs, chips and other snacks, soft drinks, and water. Make sure to bring cash and American is ok.

 Here's the waiting area at Iwakuni…Sadly another two hour layover :(

6. Our final destination, Okinawa, Japan!! By this time, it's dark outside, so this is the view of the city lights from the plane.

The airport staff were nice enough to put out luggage carts for everyone. They are all lined up once you get to baggage claim. There are lots of people, and even more bags!

Here's the inside of our sponsor's car. It was a good sized car, but we had so much luggage that I was surrounded by bags on our way to base. Haha.

7. Right now we are bunkering down at the Westpac Lodge at Camp Foster. I think this is where everyone PCSing typically stays. Make sure you have your sponsor make reservations in advance :)

The room is not good, but not bad. It feels very much like a mix between a hotel room and an RV. The bathroom is very industrial. There is a small stovetop, fridge, microwave, and some cooking items. The TV only has a few English channels, but there is wi-fi. We went to the commissary to pick up a few items to last us about a week. If we have to stay here longer, then 1. I will be mad. Haha. And 2. We will make another trip to the commissary.