Asia-Pacific
Spring festival draws 34,000 visitors to Navy air facility outside Tokyo
Stars and Stripes
April 25, 2023
Members of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ride modified mopeds during the Spring Festival at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, April 22, 2023. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
NAVAL AIR FACILITY ATSUGI, Japan — Approximately 34,000 Japanese visitors turned out for the first Spring Festival at Naval Air Facility Atsugi since 2019.
The line to enter the base on Saturday stretched more than three miles and visitors waited more than four hours to attend the event, which featured live music, food booths and aircraft displays, according to the base and local TV news.
A youngster tries out a fire hose during Spring Festival at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, April 22, 2023. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
Members of the 7th Fleet Band welcome visitors to Spring Festival at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, April 22, 2023. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
Nine U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornets park on the flight line during Spring Festival at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, April 22, 2023. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
“The NAF Atsugi Spring Festival is one of a few significant examples of the fact that this base continues to be forever embedded into the very fabric of each of the surrounding cities in this community,” base spokesman Greg Mitchell told Stars and Stripes by email Monday. “We see our neighbors as being our friends and extended family.”
The first visitors lined up at 4 a.m. to pass through NAF Atsugi’s gates, where they were greeted by member’s of the 7th Fleet Band. On the flight line, Ryohoku Junior High School’s marching band, the Mercury Winds, performed on a stage tucked between displays of U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force aircraft.
Ryohoku Junior High School's marching band, the Mercury Winds, perform during Spring Festival at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, April 22, 2023. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
Visitors line up to purchase unit patches during Spring Festival at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, April 22, 2023. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)