Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan

Learning the roots: station residents dig lotus roots - A Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni resident presents a lotus root dish prepared during a lotus root cooking class in Iwakuni City, Japan, Feb. 5, 2019. Station residents took a trip to a local market and lotus root field with the Cultural Adaptation Program in order to learn about the lotus root grown in Iwakuni. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Angelo Sagum)

Service members shred Japan’s slopes during weekend liberty - Panoramic view at the top of Mizuho Highland Mountain and Snow Resort, Shimane Prefecture, Japan, Feb. 2, 2019. U.S. service members from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni visited the resort during weekend liberty with the Iwakuni Single Marine Program. (U.S. Marine Corps photo illustration by Cpl. Andrew Jones)

MCAS Iwakuni service mermbers visit nursing homes - Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Petty Officer 3rd Class Naoko Kishi, center, a public relations specialist from Sasebo Naval Base, poses for a photo with local Japanese residents in Iwakuni City, Japan, Feb. 5, 2019. U.S. and JMSDF service members visited the nursing homes to experience traditional Japanese culture and strengthen bonds with their host nation. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Stephen Campbell)

Visitors from Suo-Oshima present air station students with mikans - Yoshihiko Fukuda, mayor of Iwakuni City, receives a challenge coin from Matthew C. Perry and Iwakuni Elementary Schools at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni Japan, Jan. 28, 2019. The schools hosted a mikan presentation and guests arrived at the school bringing mikans as gifts for the students because they are a unique fruit to the country and wanted the children to experience them while in Japan. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Stephen Campbell)

AIMD Iwakuni spends day touring Suo-Oshima, Yanai - U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Thomas Miyano, right, the officer in charge of Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Detachment (AIMD) Iwakuni, talks with his daughters in a police car on display during the Mochi Broadcasting Carnival on Suo-Oshima Island, Japan, Jan. 20, 2019. The Sailors were invited to the event by the Suo-Oshima Tourism Association and volunteered by throwing mochi to the crowd. AIMD attended the mochi throwing event as a way to increase morale and unit cohesion. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Andrew Jones)

MCAS Iwakuni hosts Friendship Tour - Local Japanese residents conduct a walkthrough of a family housing unit during a friendship tour at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Jan. 14, 2019. The purpose of the tour was to deepen the public’s understanding of U.S.-Japan alliance defense activities, witness daily life on the air station and experience American culture. It consisted of a window tour of the air station via bus, and a walkthrough of M.C. Perry Middle School, a family housing unit and the commissary. The tour concluded with a lunch at Crossroads Mall. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Stephen Campbell)

Girl Scouts write in new year with Kakizome - Girl Scouts with USA Girl Scouts Overseas West Pacific from Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni, families from local Japanese schools, U.S. Marine Corps Col. Richard F. Fuerst, center, commanding officer of MCAS Iwakuni, and Masahiro Akase, right, director general of the Chugoku-Shikoku Defense Bureau (CSDB), pose for a photo during the First Writing of the Year, or Kakizome, in Waki Town, Yamaguchi, Japan, Jan. 5, 2018. The cultural interaction was hosted by the Chugoku-Shikoku Defense Bureau, alongside Waki Town and MCAS Iwakuni, so that the youth from both communities could take part in the calligraphy event.The purpose of the first writing is to express hopes and ambitions for the coming year. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Andrew Jones)

New friendships built through healthy exercise, friendly competition - U.S. Marines and Sailors participate in the Iwakuni Friendship Relay Marathon with local Japanese nationals in Iwakuni City, Japan, Dec. 2, 2018. The event was a collaboration between Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni and Iwakuni City organizations as a way to form new friendships through healthy exercise and friendly competition. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Stephen Campbell)

New friendships built through healthy exercise, friendly competition - Members from the Yamaguchi and Iwakuni Japanese-American Societies participate in a dedication ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Nov. 19, 2018. The Yamaguchi Japan-America Society donated the monument in honor of the 60th anniversary of the Japanese-American Society Iwakuni. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Stephen Campbell)

Air station residents experience flavor of local culture - Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni and local Japanese residents attend a cooking class during the 8th Annual Culture Day at Tsuzu Elementary School in Tsuzu Town, Japan, Dec. 1, 2018. Families and service members from MCAS Iwakuni visited the school with the Marine Corps Community Services Youth and Teen Center and Cultural Adaptation Program in order to learn more about Japanese traditions. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Andrew Jones)