CONTRIBUTED BY JOELLE YAMADA
“It’s hot! Damn hot! Real hot! Hottest things is my shorts. I could cook things in it. A little crotch pot cooking.” Well, tell me what it feels like. “Fool, it’s hot! I told you again! Were you born on the sun? It’s damn hot! It’s so damn hot, I saw little guys, their orange robes burst into flames. It’s that hot! Do you know what I’m talking about?” (Good Morning, Vietnam)
Yes, yes, I do.
And the only thing that made it better yesterday was to jump into the brand new pool at Ryukyu Middle School on Kadena near the Rocker. It’s $2 per person 6 years old and up. $40 for a season pass (through August and then weekends in September).
The pool is really nice with a diving board and sides that are even with the height of the water. The reason I mention that is it’s perfect for teaching your little ones the important skill of getting themselves out of the water (in case they ever fell in). There is no kiddy pool though. But, as it’s within walking distance from my house, it’s perfect for us.
I’ve also been to Torii Pool (which now has the wonderful shade thingys over the kiddy pool area) and the Foster pool for swimming lessons. Foster is the biggest of the three that I’ve visited.
We have several posts about off base pools: Chula U, kid’s pool near naval kadena, and Comprehensive Water Park. But, please tell us of other pools on or off base that you go to cool down a bit! Cuz man, do we ever need it! And for those of you that are new? This ain’t NOTHIN’ yet! Just you wait til August…
Does any one know the number to P-comm swim school or where they’re located? I tried googling it but have been unsuccessful.
Kadena website says Chibana should open again starting May 23… I’m more worried about Torii, they may not open this year!
Does anybody know if they are opening up Chibana pool again or is it already opened?
We loved that pool last year
Thanks
Rachel
P-Comm, not far from the Foster Legion Gate is a great Japanese swim school.
Does anyone know of an off-base pool that does year-round swimming lessons? Kinda like a “Y” in the states?
We love Torii pool. My 2 oldest take swim lessons there. It’s not too crowded at all durrin the week, but on weekends it can be a bit much. They also have life jackets, boogie boards, and a few others things to borrow.
We’ve also been to Fosters 50 meter. I wasn’t thrilled w/ it. No shade and someone puked in the pool while we were there lol.
Torri gets crowded at times, but never too much and that is coming from somebody that is there sunbathing without kids.
I have always been able to get a lounge chair and choose from several.
I love this pool because of the view and it is close to my house:)
To be honest though, I can’t wait for the kids to be back in school and chill with my girlfriends during the week.
How about a meet there after school starts again?
We go to the pool at McT which is open approximately around 11:30-ish til about 5 pm-ish. Don’t quote me on those times, instead, just contact them at 622-7397.
Anyway, they have a slide, a low dive, and a high dive. They’ll let you tread in the deep end to catch your not-so-strong swimmer from the diving boards and the slide. They have a complex bracelet system for swimmers regarding the rules of when they can be in the water on their own, how far you have to be from them, etc. However, we have not taken any swim tests and I’m always in the water with my two.
They also have a separate baby pool with a shaded top. There are picnic tables, benches, and a shaded sitting area for parents. The pool is nice and the staff is friendly and more importantly, it is free!
We just went to the Kinser pool. It was so great. Two large kiddie pools with shade. One is 1ft and the other 2ft. The main pool has a slide and diving boards. You can borrow or bring your own life jackets. The kids can wear them down the slide and you can catch them. The can also go on the diving board with the life jackets. You can bring a float for babies as long as it has a bottom seat in it ( not just a ring). I am not sure the exact hours but it doesn’t open til 1pm. It was free to get in.
Just an update…Chibana pool is now open on Sat. and Sun. to all for a small fee. I was really excited to hear this so we drove out on Sat. They used to have their entire pool area covered so I figured it would be a great option instead of Hagerstrom. But…they took all of the coverings down:( So there’s no shade except in the corner by the building where Kadena Services threw up 2 tents and a few metal folding chairs. Hopefully they’ll put up the old sunshades for the kiddos soon! How’s that pool on Torri? Is it really crowded?
I spoke with a guy who said Hagerstrom will be closed indefinitely… the pool is SO old and the $$ it would cost to repair it would be too much (or something like that). So, I wouldn’t get your hopes up about it re-opening. Bummer though, I loved that kiddie pool and the slide was so fun. But it sounds like Torii pool has something pretty similar! Does anyone know if Torii gets crowded during the week? As far as Chibana goes, my son is signed up for lessons there …and they called and told us they were pushing them back until Wednesday (the 16th for a start date), so I’m assuming they should be open around that time.
I think Hagerstrom is closed for safety reasons. I also drove past Chibana pool yesterday, and the pool was dry.
Anyone know why Hagerstrom on Kadena closed? It had 2 great shaded areas for kids (one for smaller and one for older). Seems like a waste to just use the other one esp. when it has zero shade or a kiddie pool.
Torri Pool rules. It is free and has a nice slide. The view is amazing too.
I vote for Torri anytime of the day!!!
We went to the Ryuku pool today- nice and new…(bring your hat, not a lot of shade)- but it’s a great pool. They gave us a loaner life jacket too- 🙂
Chibana pool is nice too… no real deep end, the deepest part is about 5 ft in the middle (with shallow ends on both sides), which makes it perfect for younger kids. And, during the week (I’ve never been on the weekends), it’s not busy at all… It was a great place for us to introduce the baby (5 mos) to water and for our 4 year old to just play around in the shallow end.
I’m pretty sure it’s the same price as all the other Kadena pools ($2) and, from what I remember, it’s open from 12-6 Sun-Sat for Open Swim. Though I think right now it’s undergoing some maintenance. Give it a week or two then go check it out! Plus, there’s a little park across the street with some pavillions w/grills you can rent…might make for a fun time with the fam!