アメリカフェスト嘉手納（沖縄県）で軍用機を間近に観察

アメリカフェスト嘉手納（沖縄県）で軍用機を間近に観察

hey everyone Alex here and I’m coming at you today from Kadina Air Force Base in Okinawa Japan this is one of only two days a year where anyone can come on the flight line to the America Fest event this event used to happen every other year but recently they’ve started to do it every year for one weekend in March usually at America Fest they open up the flight line on Kadina Air Force Base and so people who are not military affiliated for 2 days can come in and see everything that they have on display and that is a lot of planes a lot of activities a lot of kid-friendly activities a lot of food trucks and some STEM booths that are set up go-kart go-kart racing esports real sports live music they had Kobe Klay 2 years ago so they usually have some pretty good things lined up today I’m going to show you what there is to see here like I mentioned you don’t have to be military to attend America Fest but since it is held on a military base there are some guidelines that are outlined on the Kadita Air Base website for example you’ll need a valid passport and there is a laundry list of prohibited items so expect for your bags to be checked there is parking available on the flight line coming in from gate 4 if you have base access normally you can park on base and take many of the shuttles running to the event the shuttle buses were a disaster a few years ago but I will say in 2025 they were much better every year has a theme and in 2025 the theme was Allstar Sports Weekend which may have been why there were so many sports events lined up including a basketball court setup and an e-gaming area i think the most exciting part of the 2025 event was the anticipation that the Dodgers and Cubs were in Tokyo during this time and there was a rumor that they were invited it would have been insane if the base managed to pull this off and honestly it was one of the reasons I stuck around so long to see what was going to happen and I saw a handful of people wearing their Cubs or Dodgers jerseys in the hope that this was true now let’s talk about what you can expect at America Fest at least from my experience in 2025 so I can’t promise this will all be the same in the future first off you’ll see a variety of aircraft here that are from different branches of the US military as well as the Japan Self-Defense Force some you can wait in line to go into and take a little tour with support personnel many of these planes also have little booths attached with members of the crew selling refreshments or merch like stickers patches t-shirts specific to that flight or aircraft other planes you can’t get near at all and you’ll notice a boundary set up around them with security keeping watch [Music] while this is not an air show per se there will likely be planes taking off throughout the event at the adjacent runway if they are flying fighters that day it can get pretty loud [Applause] while I was there there was also a rescue helicopter demonstration which was pretty cool in terms of things to do there’s a lot one of the big attractions especially because it’s in the shade is this stem hanger there’s lots of things to do in here and there are members of the Japanese and American military offering hands-on learning to show you their different career skill sets for example you might see booths from search and rescue teams tactical combat casualty care flight simulation forensics units and weather flights for little kids there’s a whole kitty carnival ride type of area there was also a go-kart track set up not sure if this is because of the year’s theme or not but like I said there were basketball courts set up and an e- gaming stage set up with bleachers if there were an actual schedule events around these activities I couldn’t tell you there was live music on the main stage most of the day with the main headliners happening at night it’s kind of a mixed bag of who will be there as I mentioned there was Kobe Klay a few years ago and the year after that it was a Taylor Swift impersonator artist which I think was riding on the coattails of the Ara store being in Tokyo that year in 2025 it was a Japanese rock band called I Don’t Like Mondays in terms of vendors they had way more than what I was expecting there were larger booths set up for on base resources like a giant scuba tent and a golf tent there were also a few massive rows of smaller local vendors and like I said many other vendors spread out selling smaller merch for the different aircraft there were a good amount of food stalls with a mix of American and Japanese food depending on the time of day you visit you might be in line for a long time i had some friends who waited like an hour for a smash burger it could not be me from what I remember there was also alcohol being served i think there’s beer available at least and a few years ago Chili’s was selling margaritas there are tables set up but I thought there weren’t enough for how many people were there there was also a severe lack of shade so many people were eating on the ground underneath the plane’s wings which was kind of crazy the event itself is very spread out but overall very well organized and wellrun there’s a lot to do and I’d recommend it if you’re in the area and interested in what goes on on Kadina Air Base the night is done by 7:00 p.m and it ends with fireworks display if you want to see some planes and aren’t here during that weekend there is one place you can go it’s called the Roadside Station Kadina and it’s a large building with lots of food vendors as well as an observation deck where you can see the Kadina Air Base runway they have some graphics about the different types of aircraft you might see coming in and out at picnic tables for you to have a nice lunch okay that’s my little video about what to expect at America Fest i have lots of other videos about Okinawa so I will leave a playlist to that here if you’re interested in World War II history I’ll also leave a video here about four historic sites you can visit during your trip to Okinawa thanks for watching and I’ll see you in the next one bye

If you’re in Okinawa during March, you don’t want to miss America Fest at Kadena Air Base. It’s one of the rare times the public gets access to the base, with a chance to walk right up to (and sometimes inside!) real U.S. and Japan Self Defense Force aircraft.

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:12 About America Fest on Kadena Air Base Okinawa Japan
00:50 How to go to America Fest
02:04 Types of Aircraft at America Fest
04:35 Things to do at America Fest
05:44 Vendors and Food
06:50 Where to see planes during the rest of the year
07:11 Outro

In this video, I’ll walk you through everything you can expect at America Fest, from plane tours, rescue demos, STEM exhibits, and live music, to go-karts, e-sports, and even margaritas under a jet wing. 😎✈️

I’ll also go over:
– How to get in (even if you’re not military)
– What to bring (and what NOT to bring)
– Parking + shuttle tips
– Why everyone was wearing Dodgers and Cubs jerseys in 2025
– What to expect from food vendors and the entertainment lineup
– Where to spot military aircraft if you miss the event

If you’re curious about life on base, military aviation, or just want a fun weekend activity in Okinawa, America Fest is a great way to experience something totally unique.

🎆 The event ends with a big fireworks finale—and trust me, it’s worth sticking around for.

📍More Okinawa videos linked in the playlist below, including WWII history, food recommendations, and weekend travel ideas around the island.
– Our Okinawa Playlist: https://yt.openinapp.co/31c9z
– Okinawa WWII History Places to Visit: https://yt.openinapp.co/z4ayh

Resources:
– Event Page: https://kadenafss.com/americafest/
– Entry requirements: https://www.kadena.af.mil/America-Fest/

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