Foreigners attending events on US bases in Okinawa

I found out that there are some kinds of events held on land that is part of US bases here in Okinawa that are attended by the general public, Japanese and American.

The particular event I noticed was a weekly flea market each Sunday.

I know it's open to the local Japanese as well as the US military. But I don't know what the rules are for people of other nationalities. Are passports checked? Would non Japanese need to have a US visa?

Best Answer

We went to the flea market at Camp Kinser last Sunday afternoon, about half an our before the market closed.

I was a bit worried about the rules and didn't have a visa or ESTA. I went with my local Okinawan friend who has nothing to do with the military or the bases.

The flea market is inside the outermost perimeter fence. There are further perimeter fences that market attendees do not pass. There is a Japanese security guard at the entrance gate. I did not notice any US or military officials at all. The guard did not ask for passports or any other kind of ID.

So it appears that at least for this particular regularly held event at this particular base that shoppers do not require any paperwork at all, not even ID. I was surprised.