Military Housing

I remember when I found out we were being stationed at Yokosuka Naval Station in Japan, the first thing I wanted to know about was military housing. I knew that for me, I wouldn't be ready to go from living in America to living out in the city in a country that does not speak English. I may be a wimp for that but I knew the transition would be hard on me, especially with how much I knew my husband would be away. So, if you are like me and prefer some of the comforts of home, military base housing may be the right fit for you. I will do a post later on living outside the base after I interview some friends that have places in town.

There are many pros and cons to base housing here, just like with any other place. I should say that this is my first time in base housing so I don't have much to compare it to, but then again it leaves more of an unbiased opinion.
When we were finally reunited here (I had to wait 4 months before coming over and away from my hubby) we were sent to the Navy Lodge located at the far end of Yokosuka base. The housing office is conveniently located within the same structure of the hotel. In order to receive a housing assignment, the sponsor must complete the housing brief. They give the base housing brief in the mornings and the off base brief in the afternoons. They are easy to go to and if you just call them when you arrive you can set this up. I didn't have to go but I believe the brief runs for an hour or two. Once you have taken the class you can go on the housing tour. They will show you a place at Ikego and Negishi that is currently available to you. If you are interested in finding out which place you most likely qualify for, pending availability, click here.

Negishi Heights
There are many helpful videos online that can show you what you have to look forward to. This is part one of the video on Negishi.


When I toured Negishi I noticed a lot of pros and cons. These are completely my own opinion but here they are...on the pros side of things. This is the only place that that you will get both a front and backyard space and quite a bit of it too. This is the only place where you will have a chance of getting a single family house unless you are O7 and above. The community, just like the video says, is very small town America. The houses all look very cute and have trees and lawns and it looks like something straight out of middle America. Other pros about it are that it has a lot of community amenities such as a commissary, dental and a small medical center, a park close by, all hands club, and I am sure much more. This is also the place that you would have to stay if you are bringing a dog with you and have less than two (maybe 3) children. It is also a very quiet community if you don't count noise from kids. They have their own school too. Now onto the cons... this housing is pretty far away from base at about 45 minutes without traffic. You can take a toll road there which helps with any congestion problems and there is a home to work bus you can take. From the two houses that I saw while I went on the tour, the houses are very small. Think late 1940s, cause that's when they were built. The kitchens are super tiny and there is barely any storage. They do have traditional floor plans if that is what you are looking for and the ones I saw only had one bathroom.

Ikego Hills

This community is in between Negishi and Yokosuka bases (a 20 min bus ride to base). Here are the pros and cons. Pros: There is a train station gate connected to the base. This is extremely helpful if you do not have a car! The base is also quiet except for children's noises. Just like most base housing areas, it is very family friendly. There are not a bunch of young single sailors roaming around. There is an elementary school here. One perk that I really love about this base is that since we do not have a commissary or a lot of places to go on base, it forces you to get out into Japan and see the sights. For us it was the best of both worlds, getting the comfort of living in a pseudo America and also being able to get out into Japan and getting to know this amazing host country. We do have a mini mart here that has items that will help in a pinch. Toilet paper, soups, drinks, soap, cat food, cereal and the like are all available. They even have a limited selection of towels and sheets if you need. There is a movie rental section also. On to the cons: We do not have a commissary here so all your shopping does have to happen at Yokosuka or out in town. If you do not have a car you must either take your stuff on the train or work it out so that you can take the work to home bus back to Ikego. We also do not have a NEX so any of your real shopping will also have to be done at Yokosuka. If you have older children, they will have to go on the bus to school. There are no single family units here; you must either choose a tower home (which I have and love) or if you qualify, a town home.

Yokosuka Base Housing

Obviously more people want to be on base so the wait is longer to get a place but here are the pros and cons. Pros: close to everything on base. There is a bus that you can take that circles the base so it is easier not to have a car. If you have kids, your children will have their school close by and could possibly walk there depending on where you live. Your work commute time is super short since you are already there. Cons: The base is busy. People are always walking around and it does get more noisy than other base housing areas. There are single sailors everywhere and they do get loud sometimes. It is easy to get really comfortable on base and for a lot of people this means never leaving base. They tend to be the people who never see Japan and their only outings are at the commissary or NEX. If you are looking for the comforts of home and are not all that trilled about being in Japan, this is the base for you.

These are just quick overviews and everyone has their own opinion of each base but I hope this helps. If you have any questions, please let me know and I would love to help you out.