Japan II 2023
In May 2023, we travelled to Japan again for the tour that visits the majority of the main air force bases in two weeks.
A tour that we have organised several times already and never disappoints. Japan is one of the best countries to visit as an aviation photographer.
For the first time in four years, we were able to run our well-known “Japan in two weeks by car” tour again. Therefore, a group of seven met at Schiphol on Saturday 6 May 2023. As usual, the tour started with spending long and tedious hours in an aircraft. Two aircraft to be more precise, since we had booked flights with Swiss (via Zurich).
After landing at Narita (Sunday 7 May) we met the two participants from the UK that had flown in on their own. After collecting the two rental cars, we headed North. We had quite some driving to do on this Sunday before ending up in Hachinohe. Along the way we bought our stepladders somewhere. In the evening, after checking in at our first hotel, we could conclude that the weather forecast was accurate. Rain was predicted all day and had indeed been driving in the rain the whole day. After a good meal, we went to bed knowing that a full day of rain was forecast for Monday as well…
On Monday morning (8 May) it was soon clear that we should trust Japanese weather forecasters. It was wet and cloudy when we left the hotel, it was wet and cloudy when we made a short stop at Hachinohe and it was wet and cloudy when we got to Misawa. It was so wet that we decided to head to the restaurant in the civil terminal straight away and wait for things to happen from there. The JASDF F-35s flew and so did a single T-4. For the rest it was just rainy and dark. We had plenty of time to think about a change of plan. While ordering yet another cup of coffee in the restaurant we decided to come back here on Tuesday instead of heading for Matsushima. We would cut our visits to Matsushima and Hyakuri in half, thereby winning a full day. Tuesday was supposed to be sunny and dry in Misawa.
In the afternoon we decided we had had enough at Misawa and visited an HSS-2 preserved nearby(-ish) and gave it another go at Hachinohe. There, we were surprised to see Japanese Coast Guard MQ-9B SeaGuardians. After checking in at the hotel relatively early again the main thing for the evening was to watch the weather forecast for Tuesday; it should be dry and sunny all day!
By now, Tuesday 9 May, we were convinced about the capabilities of Japanese weather forecasters. Therefore, waking up to bright blue skies was not a surprise, but a very welcome change! Good spirited, we visited Hachinohe again early in the day (only to find out that the ‘new’ spot we tried was just not the correct one).
After arriving at the approach of Misawa Air Base we were entertained for almost the entire day with a multitude of different aircraft. The Japanese F-35s were active, so were the USAF F-16s. The Japanese Hawkeyes flew. Furthermore, some Growlers were based and busy, so were some US Navy P-8s. A whole bunch of visiting aircraft (C-2, C-5, C-40, EP-3, U-125, etc.) could be captured as well. We even had time to visit the museum, before heading south later in the day. Happy with our choice to spend another day in Misawa, we ended up in our hotel an hour’s drive from Matsushima.
For this Wednesday (10 May) we now had two bases on our mind; Matsushima and Hyakuri. Both operating the Mitsubishi F-2. At Matsushima we spent a couple of hours to catch the first wave of F-2s when they returned. We were treated to some of the base Blue Impulse T-4s as well. After the first wave returned we took to the road again, heading for Hyakuri. Hyakuri, was until recently some kind of holy grail. When three JASDF squadrons were there with F-4s, the base was as good as it gets. Now, with only one squadron of F-2s (and the rescue unit), it is a lot less exciting to be honest. We managed to get there in time to capture the last wave of the day. The whole day had been blessed by blue skies and bright sunshine again. The last bit of driving for the day brought us to our hotel for the night and nearer to Iruma.
Thursday 11 May should be a day with lots of variety again, since we were planning to visit Iruma and Atsugi. Traffic wasn´t as bad as we were expecting and after ending up at the right spot at Iruma we were soon capturing a lot of Japanese goodies. We were lucky to see both the EC-1 and the RC-2 take off! Also, the newly acquired Hiko Tenkentai U-680s were active.
Happy with the result in the morning we drove to NAF Atsugi for more in the afternoon. For the first time since Monday, the sun hid itself a little bit. At Atsugi we saw four USMC F/A-18C/Ds come in from Iwakuni. For the rest, we saw some Japanese P-3s and P-1s. Yet another fulfilling day it was.
The Friday (12 May) started with a short drive, in great weather, from our hotel to Shizuhama. The training base with its T-7s soon provided us with enough shots in order for us to leave again. Next up was another training base; Hamamatsu. In addition to a fair number of T-4s and T-400s, we also visited the brilliant JASDF museum here. Icing on the cake was the arrival of one of the based E-767s.
The third base we went to on this Friday was Nagoya-Komaki. Although the resident C-130s and KC-767s didn’t fly, we were still happy we went. Some of the residents can easily be photographed from the civil terminal, and we had some action from the local Air Rescue Wing as well as an F-15DJ that went up for a test-flight after maintenance at the local Mitsubishi plant.
We spent the night in Himeji and made an effort to capture the famous castle here by night.
After the night in Himeji, we also took some time to visit Himeji Castle on Saturday morning (13 May). After that, our regular visit to the impressive Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park took place. Unfortunately, the weather was pretty bad, adding to the overall atmosphere at this location. In the afternoon some time was spent near USMC Iwakuni. There, amongst others, we saw the four Hornets come in that we saw visiting Atsugi on Thursday.
After spending the night in the town of Iwakuni, we spent a couple of hours at Iwakuni on Sunday (14 May) as well. The weather was fine and our visit yielded some pretty interesting aircraft. We weren’t expecting loads of aircraft, but were satisfied anyway. We ended the day in Shimonoseki, where we checked in at the hotel where we would spend two nights in a row.
On Monday morning, 15 May, we got out of bed early again as was the case during the whole tour. After crossing the channel between Shimonoseki and Kyushu Island, we headed for Ashiya. Since the quay wall at Tsuiki is not accessible anymore, we decided not to go there until later in the day. At Ashiya, we captured a number of their T-4s in glorious sunshine. Some time later, we ended up at Tsuiki after all and were able to enjoy the sights and sounds of the two Hikotai’s here operating the Mitsubishi F-2. Both units were very active and we stayed until we were all fully satisfied with the shots we got.
For Tuesday (16 May) we had scheduled three bases to visit; Ozuki, Hofu and Iwakuni. The first base, Ozuki, is Japanese navy training and their T-5s were very very active. With six or seven launching in a row, that all end up doing approaches within a couple of minutes, you don’t need to spend a lot of time here. Therefore, we didn’t. Next stop was Hofu. Also a training base, but for the air force, operating the T-7. Since we wanted to get to Iwakuni, we only stayed here for a short while. We captured a number of the T-7s and some Hueys that were operating for the army unit that is based here as well.
Then it was time for Iwakuni. What a ridiculously active place this is. It hardly gives you a moment to relax. With the US Navy Carrier Air Wing present, activity was at its best. We spent a number of hours here enjoying dozens of fighters taking to the air. In between we saw no less than three Japanese US-2s in the air. In addition to that, a number of visiting aircraft (C-17, C-2, C-130, C-12J, etc.). The wind was variable, so we also enjoyed a number of aircraft landing north to south, which gives you the best opportunities for photos. At the end of the day we still had a long drive ahead of us, to get a lot closer to the starting point of the next morning; Akeno.
We still had more than an hour to go before we arrived at Akeno on Wednesday morning 17 May. The sun was there to accompany us again. The Army training base gave us an interesting variety of choppers to work with; CH-47s, UH-1, AH-1, OH-1 and the Enstroms. Enough activity to keep us busy and happy for a couple of hours. Around 11 we decided to head for Gifu. We arrived there in time for the afternoon sortie to take off. Before this took off, we visited the nearby museum. Unfortunately, the afternoon wave was a bit small. It brought us two F-2B and one T-7 of the test wing. In addition, we had a couple of visiting aircraft. Our hotel for the night was in Fukui.
Thursday (18 May) was reserved for Komatsu and its three units with F-15J/DJ Eagles. The very first aircraft landing today was one of the beautifully coloured F-15s of the Hiko Kyodogun, the aggressor unit of the JASDF. More followed, also from the other units. All in all, we enjoyed a very busy day with loads of Eagles here. Also, they were flying from the right direction at the right moment and the sun showed itself most of the time. Another great day out! At the end of the day we had to cover quite a distance again, in order to end up a lot nearer to Tokyo than we were. The excellent Japanese highways helped a lot and we had dinner in a highway restaurant again.
This Friday (19 May) ended up being very similar to the first Monday of the tour; cloudy, rainy, windy. We first tried our luck at NAF Atsugi. After spending some time here, with not much happening, we drove to Iruma. Same there, not much happening. At both bases the weather conditions didn’t help in encourage us to wait very long for things to happen. Eventually, we decided to visit the Tokorazawa Aviation Museum in the afternoon and head for our hotel relatively early. It certainly was the earliest check-in of the entire tour. This gave us plenty of time to park our cars very very close to the entrance of Yokota Air Base, giving us the best “escape option” when leaving from Yokota on Saturday.
For Saturday 20 May, the Yokota Friendship Festival 2023 was scheduled. We took taxis to the entrance, and waited for the gates to open while standing next to our own cars (which we parked there the night before). The weather wasn´t too good, resulting in cancellation of some of the flying display items. But, for the rest, it was quite an enjoyable day. Most of the static display participants could be captured quite nicely. The static display was quite extensive as well, including many different aircraft types of both the USAF as well as the JASDF. There were even some sunny spells in the afternoon. Our departure went as scheduled; we were able to hit the road in no-time. Since this was our last “operational” day, we drove towards the car rental company to hand in our vehicles and prepare for our departure the next day.
The return flights (on Sunday 21 May) were as uneventful as the ones we had coming to Japan. We ended up at Schiphol later in the evening. All in all, the conclusion can be that Japan is still giving the aviation photographer a lot of interesting things. Still a lot of flying going on, still plenty of good opportunities to take photos. Well worth visiting and we certainly plan to keep doing this!
