Yokota Air Base

Yokota Air Base, in Fussa, Japan, is the host base for Headquarters, U.S. Forces Japan and Fifth Air Force as well as the 374th Airlift Wing, according to the MilitaryINSTALLATIONS overview of Yokota. The 374th Airlift Wing is the host unit; it flies the C-130J Super Hercules (36th Airlift Squadron), the C-12J and UH-1N helicopters, and the page puts the base populace at approximately 12,500. Yokota is an accompanied tour with concurrent travel of dependents authorized.

Getting to Yokota and checking in

The Patriot Express lands at the Yokota Passenger Terminal, where you still clear customs. If you fly into Narita or Haneda, you clear customs, claim your luggage and take the shuttle bus run by 374th Force Support Squadron Vehicle Operations, per the Yokota check-in page. Keep your sponsor informed either way.

Newcomer’s Orientation is held every Wednesday at the Military and Family Readiness Center, Building 535, next to the Base Exchange; register at DSN 315-225-8725. The driver’s course runs alongside it, and your unit commander support staff or sponsor registers you by taking 374AW Form 50 to Security Forces Reports and Analysis in Building 316. Spouses are encouraged to attend orientation; no child care is provided.

Family members who are not command sponsored are not eligible for military benefits at Yokota. If you marry before or en route, tell both your losing and gaining unit commanders; the page warns that the military will not pay for a spouse’s travel and housing without command sponsorship on your orders.

Lodging and housing

New accompanied arrivals check in to the Kanto Lodge, Building 15, open 24/7: DSN 315-224-2002 or 011-81-42-507-6533. Reserve as soon as you have a port call. The Yokota temporary housing page lists three-bedroom temporary lodging apartments in Building 4304 with kitchens and washers and dryers at $94 a day in October 2026, “subject to change”, and PCS guests staying longer than 15 days pay every 15 days.

The Yokota housing page counts 2,059 military family housing units for all ranks, including garden and tower units, and says the wait depends on housing type, rank, bedroom entitlement and the time of year you arrive. Accompanied members must report to the Military Housing Office within 48 hours (2 business days) of arrival; unaccompanied members also report within 48 hours. Accompanied housing: DSN 315-225-3252; unaccompanied: DSN 315-225-8045.

Schools and child care

Yokota has four DoDEA schools, according to the Yokota education page: two elementary schools in the East and West housing areas (Mendel Elementary and Yokota West Elementary), and Yokota Middle School (grades 6 to 8) and Yokota High School (9 to 12), side by side in the south area of the base. When you first arrive, your child attends the school zoned for your temporary lodging and may be moved once you know where you will live. Bus passes depend on your quarters; the Bus Transportation Office, DSN 315-225-9787, has off-base pick-up details. School Liaison: Building 535, Room 207, 011-81-42-552-7917, DSN 315-225-7917.

The child care page lists a Child Development Center for children from six weeks to five years old (DSN 315-225-8810), and licensed Family Child Care homes on base include care for shift workers’ children from two weeks to 12 years.

Pets

Japan’s import procedure for pets from the United States, with the rabies antibody test, the 180-day wait and the 40-day advance notification, is laid out in the Kadena Air Base guide. The Yokota pet shipping page adds two points: “Advance notification of pet arrival to Japan is mandatory even if flying on the AMC rotator”, and the health certificate is Form AC (or Forms A and C together), endorsed by APHIS-VS. The overview warns that pet boarding in Japan is expensive if on-base housing is not available right away.

Driving: left side, kilometers

“On and off base traffic moves on the left-hand side of the road”, and speed limits are in kilometers per hour, per the Yokota motor vehicles page; the page lists 40 km/h on base, 60 km/h off base except on expressways, and 80 km/h on expressways. You drive on a SOFA license after the required training, and the page suggests practicing on base, where roads are wider and signs simpler, before driving off base.

Off base, the Japan-wide liberty policy applies: a 1 to 5 a.m. curfew for personnel 19 and under, no off-installation public drinking from 1 to 5 a.m., and a 0.03% blood alcohol limit for drivers. The rules are listed in the Misawa Air Base guide.

Medical care and emergencies

The 374th Medical Group clinic on the east side of the base provides acute, routine, preventive and specialty services; patients who need services not available at Yokota are referred to local Japanese hospitals or the closest military treatment facility. The Yokota health care page says patients needing emergency or urgent care can be seen in the Urgent Care Unit on a walk-in basis 24 hours a day. Primary care appointments: DSN 315-225-8864, or from a cell phone the base operator at 042-552-2510 and then 5-8864.

• On-base emergency: 911, or from a cell phone 042-552-2510, extension 911.
• Off-base emergency in Japan: 119.
• Military police: DSN 315-225-7227.
• Sexual Assault Prevention and Response, 24/7: 090-3138-7250.

Legal assistance

Legal assistance is free for active-duty and retired members, civilians and family members. The Yokota legal assistance page lists walk-in hours for notary and powers of attorney on Mondays, 10 to 11 a.m., with wills, divorce and immigration questions by appointment: DSN 315-225-8069.

Your first 48 hours

Clear customs, get to the Kanto Lodge, and check in with the Military Housing Office within two business days; register for Wednesday’s Newcomer’s Orientation and driver’s course. If a pet is flying with you, the Animal Quarantine Service needs your notice at least 40 days before you land, even on the Patriot Express.