The JASDF base at Hyakuri is an airfield which probably needs no introduction to most people with more than a passing interest in aviation. With three busy resident units and unrivalled photo opportunities, it is an airfield which is on the “must-do” lists of most aviation photographers.
Japan however, suffers the same unpredictable weather conditions as the UK, so it can be a gamble to make the effort to visit. I have visited Hyakuri now on four previous occasions with mixed results – one very decent afternoon (albeit in less than ideal weather), one very quiet day and two complete blanks, including a day of torrential rain which caused flooding in other parts of the country.
With previous disappointments in mind I felt that I was due for a better day there and a Narita trip in January provided the ideal opportunity to try again. I checked the weather in the days leading up to the trip, and whilst most days were supposed to be sunny and clear, there was also the possibility of high cloud spoiling the day, so I remained cautious right up until the morning of my visit, which dawned with only a small amount of very high cloud – caution turned to cautious optimism!
The drive to Hyakuri from Narita takes just over an hour, and during that time, the sun came up and the light got steadily better. By the time I arrived at the airfield, the sun was out and conditions promised to be superb for taking photos. Now to find somewhere suitable to spend the morning!
In common with several other airfields in Japan, the development of Hyakuri was met with strong opposition from local residents. Part of their campaign against the enlargement of the airfield was to purchase small plots of land on the fringes of the airfield. This made it more difficult for the government to acquire the necessary land for the development. This strategy was also employed with some success during the construction of Narita International – it has taken 30 years for Narita to get two decent sized runways thanks to the efforts of protestors.
At Hyakuri, there are still four small plots that the government never managed to purchase – these lie in a cluster on the centreline of the taxiway which leads from the military ramp to the threshold of runway 03R, forcing the taxiway to “dogleg” around them (see Google Maps for a better picture of how the taxiway is affected by the plots).
These plots remain in private hands, despite effectively being within the airbase’s perimeter. I’d heard that the owners allowed photographers to access these areas and even built raised platforms to allow shooting over the fence, but there are inevitable language difficulties - English is not widely spoken in rural Japan – so it was far from certain that I would be able to get in! A recent report that Karl forwarded to me stated that some Dutch photographers had called a phone number on the gate and they were able to get in, so once again my mood was one of cautious optimism!
I arrived at the airfield just after 8am, and my first stop was one of the vantage points on the west side of the airfield, which gives a good general view of the ramp. I was pleased to see that plenty of aircraft had been towed out of the hangars, and with the weather looking rather nice it was all starting to come together – now to get access to the “treehouses”.
I made my way over to the entrance gate for the plots and found a large sign, apparently describing the history of the area and, presumably, the number to contact to get access. All the text was of course in Japanese though, so I really had no idea who I was calling and what the result would be! I dialled the number and a Japanese lady answered. She didn’t speak English, I don’t speak Japanese, but she must see plenty of Europeans coming through, so she seemed to understand what I wanted, and said something that sounded reassuring and hung up.
About five minutes later, a car pulled up and a tiny Japanese lady got out, carrying a clipboard with sheets of paper in Japanese. She managed to get across to me that she wanted my name, address and phone number – along with 2500 Yen (about £15). I gave her the details she required, with no idea what the form meant – I was left with the sneaking suspicion that I might have signed a petition against the airfield or something similar!
Formalities over and the gate was opened and I drove down the narrow lane, with a high fence on both sides – effectively the lane leads through the base, a fairly bizarre situation! At the end of the road was a small parking area and a path which led to the famous platforms. I had arrived just in time as a Kawasaki T-4 was taxying out – all three squadrons at Hyakuri operate the T-4 alongside their operational type, and this example was from 302 Hikotai, primarily an operator of the mighty Mitsubishi F-4EJ Phantom.
Within a couple of minutes of arriving at the fence, a jeep pulled up and two uniformed security personnel got out, asking me for my passport. I’d previously read that this was a common formality and I had brought along a copy of my passport for just such an eventuality. The encounter with security was very brief and impeccably polite – I was then left alone for the rest of the day.
Following the T-4 down the taxiway was something much more substantial – a pair of F-4EJs from the same unit, 302 Hikotai. The view from the platforms was truly superb, offering the opportunity to shoot the formation coming around the dogleg, with the morning sunlight being perfectly placed for photography. The pair was followed by a three ship, with the lead aircraft carrying an unusual store under the right wing – the AGTS-36 Aerial Gunnery Target System. This consists of a pod containing a winch and line and a target which can be towed behind the aircraft, in order to allow practice of aerial gunnery.
The T-4 was the first to get airborne, followed by the F-4s, with the platforms offering great views across the runways too. As the formations got airborne, another group of jets taxied from the ramp towards the threshold of runway 03R, this time they were F-15Js from 305 Hikotai. Interestingly I noticed that as the jets prepared to taxy, the standards of 302 and 305 Hikotai were paraded on the ramp by a group of ground personnel.
The F-15s were in ferry configuration, carrying three fuel tanks – as they began their take off run fuel was vented from the tanks and vapourised behind the jets. As they rotated the fuel seemed to ignite very briefly – you’ll have to take my word for that though as I can’t find evidence on any of my photos! Sadly the F-15s departed during a brief period when high clouds obscured the sun, so the light was poor.
Two more F-15s followed the first three and none of the five was to return during the day. I gathered from one of the local Japanese photographers there that they were headed for Okinawa – recent tensions between Japan and China have led the Japanese to increase their defences in the region. I guess that the standards were displayed to wish the pilots well on their deployment and the long transit to Okinawa explains why the jets were tanked up to the gunwales with fuel.
Departing in between the F-15 formations was one of the lesser known Hyakuri residents – a U-125 from the local search and rescue detachment. The unit also operates the UH-60J, and one of its helicopters was a constant source of frustration during the day - it flew several times but never quite came close enough to me for a decent shot!
While the F-15s were departing, an unusual shape appeared in the distance. Initially resembling an F-16, as it got closer I was delighted to see that it was actually a Mitsubishi F-2B. The F-2 is Japan’s newest fighter and is closely related to the F-16, actually being developed from General Dynamics’ “Agile Falcon” program of the 1980s, which proposed an enlarged version of the F-16 to the USAF.
Although never adopted by the USAF, the Agile Falcon formed the basis of the F-2, which features an enlarged wing and other design features which distinguish it from the F-16. Two aircraft arrived at Hyakuri during my visit, both two-seat F-2Bs from 21 Hikotai, the F-2 training unit at Matsushima Airbase. I was very pleased to shoot these aircraft, the only disappointment being that they didn’t land, merely performing a series of touch and goes.
While the F-2Bs were flying circuits, the high cloud cleared and the sun came out, which was perfect timing for the return of the F-4/T-4 formation which had previously departed. Fortunately the sun remained out for the next aircraft to depart, as they were the jets that I had wanted to shoot more than anything else.
Alongside the F-4EJs of 302 Hikotai, there is another, numerically smaller operator of the Phantom at Hyakuri – 501 Hikotai. This squadron is the JASDF’s specialist tactical reconnaissance unit and operates a mix of RF-4E and RF-4EJ aircraft. The RF-4E is the purpose built reconnaissance version of the Phantom, featuring cameras mounted in a modified nose section. The RF-4EJ is a conversion of surplus F-4EJ fighters to supplement the reconnaissance fleet – the RF-4EJ carries its sensors externally in a variety of pods.
Both types are painted in a camouflage colour scheme – all too rare in these times of low-vis grey adorning most military aircraft. The RF-4Es carry a “South East Asia” colour scheme, similar to that carried by USAF jets in the Vietnam era. The RF-4EJs actually carry a unique scheme which resembles the “European One” scheme seen on USAF Phantoms in the late 1980s.
Examples of both types of RF-4 departed next, with the two RF-4Es both being adorned with shark-mouths and titles recognising the 49th Anniversary of the “Tac Recon Group”. All the aircraft also carried the unit’s famous “Woody Woodpecker” markings on the tail – just beautiful machines and a pleasure to watch!
The RF-4s all flew fairly brief sorties and performed touch and goes when they returned to base, which gave an opportunity to shoot some different angles. With another F-4EJ formation getting ready to depart I decided to change location slightly to shoot some head on shots as the aircraft left the ramp. Without the assistance of the platforms, this proved tricky as the grass was fairly long but it still meant some different angles in the photos, so it was wholly worthwhile.
Once again the F-4EJs departed with the lead aircraft carrying the target towing system, again in company with a T-4 trainer. This cycle was repeated a third time during the day and these were the only missions flown by the F-4s of 302 Hikotai – obviously they were intensively practising air-to-air gunnery! Interestingly, when the formation returned, the aircraft with the towing system fitted was no longer carrying the target itself, only the winch pod. I presume a problem with the target caused it to be jettisoned before the aircraft returned to base.
With another formation of Eagles preparing to depart, ATC made a change to runway 21L for departure – this meant limited opportunities for shooting taxying aircraft, but I hung around for the F-15 departure and the F-4EJ return. By now the light from the sun was coming straight down the runway, so I made the decision to leave the treehouses and try my luck at the other side of the airfield.
Previous, fruitless visits to Hyakuri had at least allowed me to become familiar with the layout of the airfield and the various locations for photography around the perimeter. I made my way initially to the threshold of runway 21L/R – when 21L is in use, the west side of the airfield does not provide the same opportunities as the east side but it was still worthwhile to spend some time shooting there.
The F-15s returned shortly afterwards and with that I decided to move on once again, this time to an area roughly half way down the runways, from where I was fortunate enough to shoot a further three RF-4 departures before ATC changed runways again to 03R! I made my final movement of the day, to the threshold of 03L/R.
The F-4EJs or 302 Hikotai repeated their mission for the third time – once again a T-4 was followed out by a total of five Phantoms, one of which carried the gunnery target pod. Further movements included another three-ship or F-15s and a single T-4 which flew instrument approaches for an hour or so in the late afternoon.
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2011-02-23 - Peter Fleetwood
Paul's dad had told me of this adventure, so it is a pleasure to read Paul's account of a wonderful day. The frustrations of all those other disappointing ones fades away, as he says. The photos are phenomenal and the story of the lady with the forms in Japanese is very endearing. I can't think of any reasons to visit Japan in the near future, but if I do I'll follow Paul's footsteps. It is obviously worth the effort.
2011-01-22 - Ian Madgwick
Great pics Paul, v atmospheric.
2011-01-21 - martin condon
Yep been there done that, and one day I want to return.
Very nice photos and text. Well done Paul.
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