Memories of the US Air Force Base in Fuchu, Japan

November 3, 2008 · Posted in Haikyo, Military Installations, Tokyo-to

The abandoned US Air Force (USAF) base in Fuchu is a vine-slathered memento from the early days of Japanese/American war and peace, built shortly after World War II in co-operation with the still-active nearby Japan Self-Defence Force (SDF) Base, and abandoned in the 1980′s. Its huge twin parabolic dishes are still visible from the exterior- though now half-eaten up by the passing decades, rusted red and bobbing like hole-riddled yachts on the sea of green jungle. Its roads swim with weeds and trees shot up through the cracks, and its barracks buildings glisten with waterfalls of rushes and creepers, windows and doors barely peeping through the shadowy gaps.

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As with the Tachikawa Air Base, I`ve been here before. The first time was 4 years ago, days before I first left Japan, along with a fellow teacher very early in the morning. I’d heard about the base from local students- some who’d been inside, others who’d heard of people going in and shooting movies inside and getting ushered out with light warnings by local police.

We left at dawn and walked to the base- through the big park and past the current Japan SDF base. We hopped the fence easily and explored – through the long barracks buildings, to the 2 huge rusted-red satellite dishes, up to their tops, in their control stations, all without any real concern of trespassing or being caught. I took photos with my feeble camera phone, none of which I still have, and I blogged about the voyage in an extremely vague way on my then-blog at Live Journal.

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Shortly after that, I got into a brief communication with a retired USAF captain who was stationed with the 5th Air Force in Fuchu from 1961-1966. I asked him for some details on the base, and described to him the gloriously overgrown nature of the base as was. He described to me the wonderful nature of the relations the USAF had with the JSDF, and some of his memories of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. He said there was a new law made called the ‘Cinderella Law’, which meant all military had to be off the streets from midnight to 6am- one supposes to stop them from carousing with the locals. However- since the relationship between the base and the locals was so strong in Fuchu- the law was not enacted there.

I returned this time last weekend, in the middle of the day. I was far more cautious, since my research on the web had shown that the base was not actually fully abandoned- the 2 huge parabolic dishes and all of the barracks were, but one large communications antenna (350 feet tall) was still in active use.

I began by walking the circumference of the base, trying to decide if I was foolhardy enough to enter. I walked around the base maybe 3 times, taking photographs from the outside, checking the integrity of the fences, mulling over the possibilities. I hung out in a park for several hours trying to decide if it was worth it. At stake was possible deportation if caught, if not absconsion to prison or some huge fine. I weighed the pros and cons in my head back and forth for a long time, while watching video podcasts about the coming US election. The next few photos are all taken from the exterior, through the fence.

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After waiting for some time with one eye on the base’s fence, I saw a car driving on the interior. Not inside the section for the large antenna, which was re-fenced from the abandoned section, but actually inside the abandoned section. I chased the car from outside but failed to determine where it went, or exited. But that mostly decided it for me. If caught within the bounds of the base- I think the punishment would be severe. Last time I was protected by my ignorance and the fact I was leaving Japan within days. This time I wasn’t ignorant, nor do I have any desire to leave. So I turned tail, and walked away.

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However- afterwards I searched the net, made another contact, and managed to get hold of some photos from INSIDE the base from an anonymous source. My source described entry by night, feeling constant tension and fear of being caught, climbing the huge parabolic dishes, and finally exiting in a hazy blur.

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Before the bulk of the photos, I’d like to welcome all ex-USAF servicemen and women to this page. If you have photos of your time on base, I’d love to post them up here or in the comments site. You can send them to my email address outofruins@hotmail.com . You can of course also simply leave a comment. Thanks!

FACTFILE

Location – Fuchu, Tokyo

Entry - Non-entry! Interior photos from an anonymous source. Too dangerous to go in.

Highlights – Remembering the time I went in 4 years ago, revisiting my old neighbourhood.

RUINS / HAIKYO

You can see all MJG’s Ruins / Haikyo explorations here:

Comments

106 Responses to “Memories of the US Air Force Base in Fuchu, Japan”

Jackie Harris says:

August 22, 2010 at 11:57 pm

For Richard Saunders
I was at Fuchu from 1963-1965 with the 1956 Comm Gp. I worked in the Base Comm Center which at the time was on the East side bottom floor of the HQ building. If you have the time would you e-mail the photo of the base to harris.jackie@yahoo.com would appreciate it very much. Thank You.

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Richard Saunders says:

August 26, 2010 at 11:46 am

I am also interested in photos of Fuchu AS, Tachikawa AB, and Yokota AB pas tor present. If anyone has digital copies of any photos from these bases please send them to saundrj@gmail.com. I have other photos of Japan I can send in exchange. Thanks

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