Iwakuni MCAS » Housing
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Housing
Visit the Housing and Lodging section of the base web site for information on family housing, bachelor housing, and transient lodging.
Refer to the Housing section of my Iwakuni Contact Info page for information on contacting the housing office to apply for base housing prior to your PCS move. You can also apply for housing after you arrive at Iwakuni, if you prefer to do so.
Unaccompanied and single personnel will be assigned to the appropriate Bachelor Quarters, and where applicable, may request permission to live off base. Accompanied personnel will have an option of two styles of housing available on base, Townhouses and Mid-rise Apartments, or may choose to live off base. Information on each type of housing can be found below.
Family Housing – Townhouses:
Take a tour of a Townhouse (scroll down to the Townhouse section).
Townhouses have ground-level entry and allow both cats and dogs. The floors are tile, no carpet. Townhouses have 2, 3, or 4 bedrooms.
Family Housing – Midrises:
Take a tour of a Midrise (see the midrise section).
Click here to download a walk-through video (AVI format) of a 3 Bedroom Midrise.
There are washer and dryer hookups in the kitchen; you can see them in the video, but I didn’t think to point them out. Some 3 Bedroom Midrises have the washer and dryer in the big closet just as you enter the apartment, and some (like this one) have them in the kitchen so you get to have a big storage closet. Some also have a window over the kitchen sink, and others (like this one) do not. The master bedroom and one other bedroom have two sets of closets, and the third bedroom only has one set of closets. The balcony on a 3 Bedroom Midrise is just deep enough to put a small table and chairs, but the balconies on the 2 Bedroom Midrises have more space.
Midrises are complexes of apartments six stories high with eight units per floor excluding the first floor, which has four units due to the entryway. Only cats or other small pets such as hamsters are allowed; no dogs. Many of the midrises are closer to the center of activity on base, so are a little more convenient if you do not yet have a vehicle, or if you do not qualify for having a vehicle (there are age and rank restrictions concerning driving privileges aboard MCAS Iwakuni). Midrises are carpeted, and have 2 or 3 bedrooms.
Note regarding BBQ Grills: You must obtain permission in writing from the Fire Inspector and gain approval from the Housing Director prior to using a propane grill on the balcony of a midrise. The proccess is simple, so please do not disregard it, because use of unapproved grills on the balcony of a midrise is grounds for termination of your base housing privileges! To obtain approval:
Check the guidelines before buying a grill. Currently, propane grills with tanks of 16.4 ounces or less in size and electric grills are authorized; asolutely no charcoal grills are allowed on the balconies.
Fill out the authorization request form. The form may be obtained from the housing office, and a copy is provided in the packet of information they give you when you move in.
Take the authorization request form, along with the grill that you wish to use, to the Fire Inspector at the Fire Station (building 119). The inspector will ask you what type of grill you have, and may want to look at it, which is why it is a good idea to bring it with you in the first place. If your grill passes the requirements, the Inspector will sign your request form and make a copy for their records, giving you back the original.
Take the signed authorization form to the housing office, where it will be presented to the Director of Housing for approval. If the Director is not in, they will keep the form and call you when authorization has been granted for you to use the grill.
As soon as approval has been granted from the housing office, you may begin using your grill.
Off-Base Housing:
To obtain off-base housing, it is my understanding that you are required to use the base’s approved realtors because of language barriers and such. Many off base housing options do not allow pets, but for those that do, be prepared to shell out $500 for a cleaning fee when you move out if you had pets in the house!
You will be required to pay an amount equivalent to about three to four months’ rent up front for deposit and fees, around $3000-$4000. You will get a one-time Move-In-Housing Allowance (MIHA) to help offset the expense, but it is only around $600, so it will not come close to covering the entire amount. Rent starts around $1000/month.
By American standards, most Japanese homes are small, starting at 400 sq. ft. for a 1- or 2-bedroom. A 3-bedroom averages about 800 sq. ft. and a 4-bedroom averages approximately 1,200 sq. ft. with a limited amount of storage space. Often there are few closets or cabinets except in the kitchen.
They do not usually have hookups for American washers and dryers, but you can purchase a Japanese washer and dryer to use, or you can arrange to have one placed in your off-base housing in your contract (you can also arrange to have an American stove and refrigerator as well as heaters and final cleaning costs all added into your contract if you elect to do so).
Anything that you ship in your TMO shipment that doesn’t fit into your housing will not be stored by TMO. Storage units are now available on base, you can contact MCCS for more information about them.
Some houses have a tatami room divided by a sliding door made of thin washi paper, which may be removed to create one large room if you need more space, depending on the layout of the house.
The government provides you about $500 a month in utilites, paid to you as part of your OHA, and if you go over that, it comes out of your pocket. The biggest issue is insulation; homes off base are generally not well insulated. There is no central heat or air, and it gets quite hot in the summer and cold in the winter. During winter, I am told that your shampoo will be frozen in the bathroom! The heat is generally an indoor natural gas heater provided only for the bedroom. Also, the electric bills can be quite substantial if you try to use electric heat or air. For example, if you leave your heat or air conditioning on 24/7 you will go over the amount that the government provides you for utilities. The base provides space heaters and electrical converters for you to use, and you can also check out dehumidifiers (up to two per household) for use during your stay here.
You can choose whatever size or type of housing you desire when you live off-base, much as you would in the US, as long as you can afford it.
You may wish to check your Overseas Housing Allowance rates to determine whether or not you can afford to live off base. Remeber, you also rate COLA while stationed at Iwakuni.
You can obtain information about housing policies and details about off-base housing under the “Government Housing” link of the Military.com Installation Guide. You will be required to log in with your user name and password to gain access to this portion of the site. There is no charge to sign up for a Military.com account.
Which to Choose: On or Off Base?
If you can’t decide which is right for you, I personally suggest just waiting until you get here. You can visit the housing office and browse through their list of off-base housing, go look at any you are interested in, and make the decision based on what you see. If you find something you like that suits your budget, go for it! You may want to go ahead and get on the housing list, just in case you decide you don’t like the off-base housing options so that your name will already be on the list to expedite the process of getting into housing, but you can always wait until you get here to get on the housing list as well.
