The Keystone of the Pacific: The Aviation Studio Does Japan

Japan’s strategic position in the Pacific and it’s strong relationship with the United States makes it an excellent place to visit for military aircraft activity, especially in the later half of the year when the Japanese Air-Self Defense Force (JASDF) holds open days at their dozens of bases around the country.

The Aviation Studio had the opportunity to visit several bases and attend the Hyakuri Air Festival, one of the the last airshows dominated by active F-4 Phantoms in the developed world.

*The Aviation Studio* visited bases across Central and Southern Japan (Image: Great Circle Mapper)

Gifu Air Field

Gifu Air Field was the first stop of the trip. Located approximately 50 km north of Nagoya, it is home to the JASDF’s Air Development and Test Wing (ADTW) which operates subfleets of nearly every aircraft in the JASDF inventory. Just next to the base, Kunomoriundo Park is an excellent spot for viewing arrivals on RWY28 and is a short 15 minute walk from the nearest train station.

Kunomoriundo Park is a fantastic location for RWY28 arrivals, co-ordinates 35.391873, 136.892373 (Image: Google Maps)

Within minutes of us arriving, a Raytheon U-125 belonging to the JASDF Flight Check Squadron arrived to perform some orbits.

JASDF Raytheon U-125 39-3042 on final approach to RWY28 (Image: Brock Little) — JASDF Raytheon U-125 **39-3042** on final approach to RWY28 (Image: Brock Little)

This was shortly followed by the departure of an F-2 and an F-4, and the arrival of a CH-47J Chinook. In between the military movements a variety of civilian helicopters were seen.

JGSDF Kawasaki CH-47J Chinook JG-2965 arrives at Gifu (Image: Brock Little)

Gifu Prefectural Police Bell 412EP JA119V arrives at Gifu (Image: Brock Little) — Gifu Prefectural Police Bell 412EP **JA119V** arrives at Gifu (Image: Brock Little)

Finally, the F-2 and F-4 returned to Gifu, making a stunning close formation initial and pitch over the field.

Mitsubishi F-2A 93-8553 on arrival into Gifu (Image: Brock Little) — Mitsubishi F-2A **93-8553** on arrival into Gifu (Image: Brock Little)

McDonnell Douglas F-4EJ Phantom II 47-8336 on arrival into Gifu (Image: Brock Little) — McDonnell Douglas F-4EJ Phantom II **47-8336** on arrival into Gifu (Image: Brock Little)

MCAS Iwakuni

After some sightseeing in Hiroshima, we caught the local train down to Iwakuni, a major part of the Seto Inland Sea industrial area and home to Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni which hosts Marine Aircraft Group 12 (MAG-12) and the US Navy’s Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5). CVW-5 calls MCAS Iwakuni home when the USS Ronald Reagan is in port.

There is an amazing location located on the sea wall which is perfect for seeing all the action. Due to the sun’s position, it is generally better for RWY20 operations however on the day RWY02 was in use.

MCAS Iwakuni’s Observation Point located on the seawall, co-ordinates 34.159318, 132.248334 (Image: Google Maps)

Movements at MCAS Iwakuni were constant. We managed to catch dozens of F/A-18C/D/E/F Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, F-35B Lightnings, KC-130J Hercules, C-130H Hercules and C-2A Greyhounds.

McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet 165199 (Image: Brock Little) — McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet **165199** (Image: Brock Little)

Lockheed KC-130J Hercules 167923 (Image: Brock Little) — Lockheed KC-130J Hercules **167923** (Image: Brock Little)

Lockheed C-130H Hercules 9053 (Image: Brock Little) — Lockheed C-130H Hercules **9053** (Image: Brock Little)

Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II 169168 performing a wing wave (Image: Brock Little) — Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II **169168** performing a wing wave (Image: Brock Little)

Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II 169168 lighting the burner chasing its lead (Image: Brock Little) — Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II **169168** lighting the burner chasing its lead (Image: Brock Little)

A special catch for us would be the VFA-27 “Royal Maces”, the squadron behind some of the famous cruise videos on YouTube.

A Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet, 168466, belonging to the VFA-27 "Royal Maces" (Image: Brock Little) — A Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet, **168466**, belonging to the VFA-27 “Royal Maces” (Image: Brock Little)

Kadena Air Base

After the excitement of Iwakuni, we headed down to the island of Okinawa, a quarter of which is covered by US military installations. One of these is Kadena Air Base, commonly referred to as the “Keystone of the Pacific” and is the largest and most active US Air Force (USAF) base in the Far East.

Kadena offers a variety of good locations for seeing the movements, and on the day the best location for us was Sunabe Baba Park which overlooked the approaches for RWY05L and RWY05R. It is a short 15 minute walk from a bus stop which sees frequent service from Naha and Okinawa City.

Sunabe Baba Park is a great spot for RWY05L and RWY05R movements, co-ordinates 26.334238, 127.745161 (Image: Google Maps)

From the moment we arrived, we were treated to dozens of 44th and 67th Fighter Squadron F-15 movements, separated by the odd US Navy P-8 Poseidon, helicopter and USAF KC-135 Stratotanker. A specific highlight for us was catching a KC-135T Stratotanker, a modified version of the KC-135Q Stratotanker which was originally developed to refuel the SR-71 Blackbird.

McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagles 78-0483 and 83-0039 conducting a missed approach in close formation at Kadena (Image: Brock Little) — McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagles **78-0483** and **83-0039** conducting a missed approach in close formation at Kadena (Image: Brock Little)

Boeing KC-135T Stratotanker 58-0055 arriving on RWY05L (Image: Brock Little) — Boeing KC-135T Stratotanker **58-0055** arriving on RWY05L (Image: Brock Little)

A closer look at McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle 83-0039 as it lines up for approach to RWY05R (Image: Brock Little) — A closer look at McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle **83-0039** as it lines up for approach to RWY05R (Image: Brock Little)

Bell AH-1Z Viper 168400 flies past Kadena on its way from MCAS Futenma (Image: Brock Little) — Bell AH-1Z Viper **168400** flies past Kadena on its way from MCAS Futenma (Image: Brock Little)

McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle 84-0025 on short final to Kadena (Image: Brock Little) — McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle **84-0025** on short final to Kadena (Image: Brock Little)

Activity and light quality dwindled around 2pm and it was soon time to head back to Naha…after lunch of course! With Okinawa being home to a large contingent of US military personnel, naturally there were heaps of quality burgers around. We can specifically recommend Gordie’s which is a two minute walk from Sunabe Baba Park.

Naha Air Base

Sharing operations with Naha Airport, Naha Air Base is home to various units of the JASDF, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) and Japan Marine Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). All movements can be seen from Naha Airport’s terminal observation deck, which we were positioned at prior to our flight from Naha to Tokyo.

In the space of an hour, we saw some P-3s, E-2s and F-15s in action. The base also generally sees a large amount of activity from Kawasaki T-4s however many around Japan are grounded and awaiting engine part replacements.

A trio of Lockheed P-3 Orions sitting at Naha Air Base (Image: Brock Little)

Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye 34-3452 taking off from Naha Air Base (Image: Brock Little) — Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye **34-3452** taking off from Naha Air Base (Image: Brock Little)

It was a shame about the weather at Naha, however on a nice day there are great opportunities to see the action in both the morning and afternoon.

Hyakuri Air Base

For an in-depth report on the Hyakuri Air Base, see our Hyakuri Air Festival article here.

A six-ship F-4 Phantom formation flyover at the Hyakuri Air Festival (Image: Brock Little)

Yokota Air Base

Yokota Air Base, in Western Tokyo, is jointly operated by the USAF and JASDF and is home to JASDF Air Defense Command Headquarters and United States Forces Japan Headquarters. It therefore sees a large amount of logistical movements, dominated by the 36th Airlift Squadron operating C-130J Hercules. Additionally there are various contracted cargo flights into and out of Yokota, operated by various American airfreight companies.

An ATI Boeing 767-200F N255CM landing at Yokota with an impressive lineup of C-130Js and contracted airfreight Boeing 747s behind (Image: Brock Little) — An ATI Boeing 767-200F **N255CM** landing at Yokota with an impressive lineup of C-130Js and contracted airfreight Boeing 747s behind (Image: Brock Little)

In our time at Yokota we managed to spot a single C-130J and an ATI Boeing 767-200F. After this we decided to head to nearby Iruma Air Base in the hope of catching some more interesting aircraft.

Iruma Air Base

Iruma Air Base proved much more fruitful for us. Being home to the JASDF’s Electronic Warfare squadrons which operate modified NAMC YS-11s and Kawasaki C-1s, we were bound to see something interesting.

We set up our ladders alongside the fence, overlooking the threshold for RWY35, co-ordinates 35.832653, 139.411993 (Image: Google Maps)

We set up our ladders at the fence around the base and within a couple of hours had seen a YS-11EB, YS-11FC, C-130H, U-4, C-1 and EC-1. Success!

NAMC YS-11EB 02-1159 arriving at Iruma (Image: Emil Cooper) — NAMC YS-11EB **02-1159** arriving at Iruma (Image: Emil Cooper)

NAMC YS-11FC 52-1151 over the threshold at Iruma (Image: Brock Little) — NAMC YS-11FC **52-1151** over the threshold at Iruma (Image: Brock Little)

Lockheed C-130H Hercules 85-1078 taxiing at Iruma (Image: Brock Little) — Lockheed C-130H Hercules **85-1078** taxiing at Iruma (Image: Brock Little)

Gulfstream U-4 75-3251 arrives at Iruma (Image: Brock Little) — Gulfstream U-4 **75-3251** arrives at Iruma (Image: Brock Little)

Kawasaki C-1 28-1002 on final at Iruma (Image: Brock Little) — Kawasaki C-1 **28-1002** on final at Iruma (Image: Brock Little)

Kawasaki EC-1 78-1021 about to land at Iruma (Image: Brock Little) — Kawasaki EC-1 **78-1021** about to land at Iruma (Image: Brock Little)

Trip reflections

Despite the constant lack of sleep, uncertainty, anxiety and seat of the pants kind of planning, this trip delivered in the best way possible. The weather was mostly spectacular for each of our spotting days, the movements were epic and we came away with some good stories to tell.

Japan really has something to offer to everyone and the public and most airports are generally well aware of aviation enthusiasts, both civilian and military. What we really appreciate about the Japanese military is the amount of aircraft built in Japan either under license from foreign companies or under an entirely domestic initiative. It is a true testament to the size and capability of the Japanese manufacturing and aerospace industries.

Interested in visiting any of these bases, or have any suggestions for alternate spots? Leave a comment below!