Naval Air Facility Atsugi (NJA)

Naval Air Facility Atsugi is a joint military airfield shared by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and the U.S. Navy. It is located in Ayase, Kanagawa Prefecture, near the boundary with Yamato, about 16 km west of Yokohama and roughly 36 km southwest of central Tokyo.

The airfield was originally built by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1938 and became widely known when General Douglas MacArthur landed there on 30 August 1945 at the start of the post-war occupation. Since 1972 the base has been operated jointly by Japan and the United States.

The base operates a single main passenger handling area, the Air Mobility Command terminal, which serves authorised military personnel, families and civilian staff on military charter flights rather than scheduled commercial services. For years it hosted carrier-based jet squadrons, but most U.S. carrier aircraft were relocated to Iwakuni by 2018, leaving a quieter airfield focused on helicopter and maritime patrol operations.

Access to the base is restricted, and ordinary visitors can normally enter only during open-house and friendship festival events. The nearest railway station is Sagami-Otsuka on the Sotetsu Main Line, with trains from Yokohama taking about 30 minutes, while taxis, private transfers and rental cars provide onward connections to Yokohama, Tokyo and the wider Kanto region.