MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan -- The isolated and rural area surrounding Misawa Air Base cultivates a strong connection between base personnel and the local community. From festivals to volunteering, base personnel try to get out and interact with the local community as much as possible, maintaining a bond the 35th Fighter Wing holds paramount. This year the base chapel took volunteering a step further by chaperoning a children’s care facility onto base for an unusual winter event inspired by a photo.
A variety of events with the off-base community were halted in 2020 due to the pandemic, but with restrictions recently easing, the base chapel was brought together with the Biko-en Children's Care Facility to rebuild the base’s relationship with the organization. Upon their introduction, the chapel soon learned about the long history shared between Biko-en and themselves.
Biko-en has a long tenure with the base, dating back to post-World War II. In 1948, the founder of Biko-en, Shokai Kaneko, began feeding orphans out of a farmhouse and was then given a charter from a Buddhist foundation to form it as an orphanage.
After three years of service and growth, Biko-en reached the limits of their starting farmhouse; upon noticing this, the base’s head Chaplain asked Kaneko if there was anything they could do to help. The chapel gathered U.S. Military volunteers and assisted with expanding the farmhouse, sparking the friendship long shared between the two entities. Volunteers would often visit throughout the years to do repairs, hang out, mentor, host barbeques, and continue building rapport; in 2020, due to COVID-19 social distancing practices, the partnership paused.
With the conclusion of those restrictions, Dr. Michael Scordato, a Misawa area chaplain, reached out to the base chapel. Scordato was assigned to Misawa Air Base from 2004-2008 while serving in the U.S. Air Force and spent many hours volunteering at Biko-en. Now serving as a chaplain in the city of Misawa, he wanted to reconnect the Misawa Air Base Chapel and Biko-en Children’s Care Facility.
“It’s important to stay connected with organizations like Biko-en for international understanding, especially being in a rural area,” said Scordato. “It also gives them an opportunity to step outside their comfort zone which is the goal of the facility.”
To rekindle their friendship, a luncheon was scheduled where the head Chaplain was introduced to Mr. Tatsuya Goto, the current Biko-en director and the grandson of Shokai. Goto brought a thick scrapbook containing dozens of pictures of the numerous base visits to Biko-en since its establishment. One such photo highlighted a group of children visiting the base for a pool party and, amidst the comforting embrace of nostalgia, the head Chaplain set out to relive the heartwarming memory on the snowy air base.
When the Biko-en youths and volunteers arrived on base, chapel members greeted the group and read a translated version of a Biblical Christmas story.
The Angel Tree gift giving came next, where the kids from Biko-en were given presents donated by generous personnel from across Misawa Air Base. Afterwards, they were taken to the heated indoor pool to enjoy a summertime event rarely held during the winter season.
The relationship between the base and Biko-en has been a crucial one since its inception. By empowering members to volunteer across the local area, it not only fosters a sense of belonging within the local community, but also offers them the chance to make a difference they may not have actively pursued otherwise. The goal of Biko-en is to develop the youths in it for future success and volunteers from Misawa Air Base help realize that success.
Keeping Relationships Strong
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Carey, 35th Fighter Wing chaplain, receives a plaque from Mr. Tatsuya Goto, Biko-en Children's Care Facility director, during an Orphanage Angel Tree Gifts and Pool Party at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Dec. 16, 2023. The Chapel reconnected with Biko-en after the COVID-19 Pandemic and decided to combine their Angel Tree with a pool party to relive a past memory with the facility. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Joao Marcus Costa)
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Keeping Relationships Strong
Members and volunteers of the Misawa Air Base Chapel and the Biko-en Children's Care Facility pose for a photo during an Orphanage Angel Tree Gifts and Pool Party at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Dec. 16, 2023. After the gifting of the Angel Tree the youths of Biko-en were taken to the base’s indoor pool for a party, bringing a summertime event to the winter season. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Joao Marcus Costa)
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Keeping Relationships Strong
Members and volunteers of the Misawa Air Base Chapel and the Biko-en Children's Care Facility open and hand out gifts during an Orphanage Angel Tree Gifts and Pool Party at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Dec. 16, 2023. The pool party was inspired by an old photo of youths from the same facility having a similar party. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Joao Marcus Costa)
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Keeping Relationships Strong
An Angel Tree Gift volunteer hands a present to a child during an Orphanage Angel Tree Gifts and Pool Party at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Dec. 16, 2023. An Angel Tree is a gift drive where members can choose tags from the tree and purchase appropriate gifts for the child or children described on the tags. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Joao Marcus Costa)
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“The goal of the orphanage is to establish people coming in to enter the workforce prepared while benefiting the community. Having connections with the base allows them to get that experience,” said Goto. “It’s important to learn each other's cultures so in the future they’re prepared for the worldwide stage.”