Hmmmm... I was going to do a post today about the Pottery Festival happening this weekend at Camp Zampa... but for all with SOFA status, that's off the table... Sooooooo.... ummmmm.... How 'bout I follow Kelly's lead (from yesterday's post) and we focus on possible base activities!!
Firstly, here's the website that tells you all the movies playing at base theaters -- alllll around the world. To kill a little time, you can actually amuse yourself by looking to see what you COULD see if you were in Iraq or the Azores or Germany...
And with the lovely weather today you might be dying to head to the beach! Never fear, there are lots of beaches on various military locations -- Torii, White Beach, Kadena Marina, Okuma. (Please comment and add other bases that have nice beaches, I'm still learning!)
Also, we've got LOTS of lovely posts under "To Do: Outdoors" of gorgeous parks around the island but I think all are off base. So, please tell us of your favorite on base park to take the kiddos to. I took the boys to the park just inside the "Spot Gate" on Foster -- grabbed some Subway and enjoyed the sun while the boys played. Another friend mentioned Jeffrey (??) or Jimmy's Park -- come in Kadena Gate 1, left at the first light, and you'll see a nice flat area with a park, space to bring bikes and let the kids ride around (please help if I've given wrong directions). And my son's just happy to wander around the airplanes just inside Kadena Gate 1. So tell us where you like to take your kids to blow off some steam!
Thanks for helping us revamp our plans for the next few days (or weeks???)!!
But if you loved them and have never...
I figure we will need to be creative this weekend in order to find things to do and not deal with tons of people. I can only imagine what the common parks, PX/BX, etc. will be like this weekend.
I am thinking of doing a family picnic somewhere that may or may not have a playground. I know the open field near the school on Camp Lester is wonderful for flying kites any other outdoor activities. A trip to the beach on Torii sounds great too. Hopefully the weather stays this nice through the weekend. A trip to see the planes near gate 1 sounds like fun too. I have yet to get out and look at those up close. I hope to read some more great ideas for activities on base. Thanks for this great post!
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the park you referred to at the first left through gate 1 is called Kenney park. It is a fun park with tons of open space to run and play. It also has a nice long sidewalk that wraps around the playground that is great for the kids to ride their bike. We spent our afternoon there today.
HELP PLEASE!
We have company from the states.
Great timing. Requests denied.
We are relative newbies ourselves…
certainly to the military, as we are
middle aged civilians.
Enough background….how best to get these guys to the aquarium w/o us driving?
Whoever is not Active Duty, just take them to Nago. If an American asks you if your military, tell them in a British accent, “No mate, here on holiday.”
Did they get an International Drivers License? Maybe you can rent them a car at the WestPac. Good luck.
We just went to the beach at Camp Courtney. Someone had recommended it for the dog. It has one path down to the beach and then is surrounded by cliffs. It would be fun with the dog, though we just had our kids on the day we went. My husband really enjoyed exploring the rock formations (caves) made by the water. Also the beach at Camp Schwab(Orwan Bay?)is nice.
Dont forget the Home based business bazaar is Saturday @ the Schilling on Kadena! Look for Mrs.Bea and her ‘Bea Unique’ Sea Glass jewelry
Thanks for all the great suggestions already! I know there has been a lot of gossip around about the time of reflection, but I’ve heard even the Japanese police will be looking for Y license plates at public places. So another suggestion for Marlene might be that you go all together to either Camp Schwab or up to Okuma and then just pay for a taxi for your company to get to the Aquarium — it would at least be only a third/quarter of the distance?
Hmm. I have a question. What about churches that are offbase? Does anyone know if we are allowed to go to church services during this time-o-reflection?
p.s. – Snuff, this cracks me up:
if someone “asks you if your military, tell them in a British accent, “No mate, here on holiday.”
i don’t plan on galavanting around town this weekend but NOW i want to just so i can whip that out.
You are allowed to go to off base churches or schools without a request.
I’ve understood church is a big A.O.K. Even for mid-week church activities. Now there’s something the churches have got to be excited about — LOTS of newbies showing up for everything just so they can get off base! Evangelism by lockdown.
Luckily I go to bed with the chickens and am generally anti-social..:)
This lock down bothers me most, because now I am not suppose to go to the beach. Since the beach is my back yard? Hm…..
Torri beach is nice and long enough for a walk. That’s where I would go.
I’ll plant that herb garden I wanted to do for the longest.
Daniela
Went to Kenney park today — they have a tire swing! A big hit!
Also, Julie mentioned to me the “Putt Putt” behind Schilling. I only recently stumbled upon it — hadn’t realized it was there. Free, just ask for the balls/clubs inside.
My boys’ school-Stearley Heights Elementary- has an awesome playground that is open to anyone during non-school hours. It has 3 separate climbing areas, lots of swings, a baseball diamond and room to run around. To get there from Gate 2: Make a right onto Fairchild, right on Molland, left on Bong drive and a right on Westbrook. You can park near the baseball field.
I have been reluctant to post this for fear it might not be true, but I checked and double checked with the folks at ITT on Kadena. Since all tours had been pre-approved, you can still sign up for them, go on the trips, get your Okinawa fix and escape from base for a little while. We went Whale watching last weekend, or tried to since after we got on the boat and put on our cute little life vest, it was canceled due to the rough seas. As far as being off base to sight see, we ran into no problems. According to their website they are offering tours for:
26 February – Central 100 Yen Shopping
28 February – Okinawan Delight & Kokeshi Doll Workshop – Tour for Tots
29 February – Yotsudake Dinner Theater
And some whale watching tours on Saturday and Sunday
I haven’t checked to see the availability of these tours, hopefully there are still openings. The March tour schedule is not listed on their website yet but I’m crossing my fingers that the restrictions will be magically lifted by then.
I’d check if you need a waiver signed by your sponsor’s command before going on the ITT tours – just to be certain! I have a pre-approved luncheon on 3/3 and am getting a waiver signed by an O6 at my hubby’s unit because I don’t want to be caught without it in-hand.
Dont forget about the gift shops! Foster had a new shipment open today. I havent been to Torii Gift Shop yet, but it is all local art!
About the tours – according to my husband’s command a special liberty waiver is required “for dependents to fill out in order to attend any of the below events: prepaid events prior to the period of reflection, to include sports events -MCCS/Kadena Tours -classes off base: boot camp, ballet, dance, sewing, etc. Any event that has not already been paid for, needs approval before payment is made.” Just a heads up – that’s from the 31st MEU. Turnaround time is supposed to be 24 hours! I also noticed that MCCS has cancelled all tours for the time being, Kadena may follow suit. Good luck!
I heard the bases are pushing all the bazaars up to this week, so check online or in the papers for furniture & gift sales on all bases if you miss shopping! The furniture shipment at Foster is awesome.
The Yomitan Pottery Festival at cape Zampa was really good this year- lots of stalls and wonderful prices. If you get the opportunity to attend next year, I’d recommend doing so, likewise with the Naha Pottery festival which is often on Nov/Dec. Get there early on the first day to take advantage of the best selection.
If you’re looking for a place to eat “off-base” with a view along the water, you can venture to Kadena Marina’s Seaside Restaurant. And since they’re part of 18 Services Domo Days specials, you can get a free dessert with your entree Weds. and Thursdays… tomorrow is the last day – 2/28! As a chocolate fanatic, I can say the chocolate spoon cake was decadent!
Hello all, first let me say I love this site! To the Point, can any of you ladies out there recommend a good Jeweler BESIDES the PX. I have a very nice 20K Platinum/Diamond ring set that I want to add some stones to and have slightly resized, and all the PX will do is try to sell me one of theirs (they wont modify anyone else’s Jewelry! Grrrr…) Email is [email protected]
Local Jeweler: Hope this helps even though it’s posted a year late. I needed a my new diamond ring dipped and polished. The Japanese girls at the BX counter recommended the jeweler out gate 2, on 330 going towards Plaza housing. You can’t miss the HUGE sign with a diamond on it, on the left hand side of the road (before the shopping plaza). They were great and prices not bad at alll! The sales women even spoke English so it put me at ease what I wanted done. I’ve gone back there twice for sizing and even took a girlfriend. They’re great and very trust worthy. Oh, got my resizes and jewelry cleaing back within 3 hours. Hope this helps!!!