Bringing dogs to Japan from the USA

[Anonymous]

Hey there,
anyone with experience bringing your canine to japan, please help!
i've lived in Japan before, am returning again, this time with dog.
i know about quarantines, but would love to find out more about those with experience of going through quarantine...(i.e. do you have to stick around the quarantine area and care for the dog, and what does that entail...how much does it cost, are the conditions favorable for the pet, etc.)

also, around how much does the airline charge for the extra "luggage" (for lack of a better word)?

please email me directly if you have any info for me.

Thanks,
Alicia

[Anonymous]

The very first thing you need to consider is what your living arrangements will be in Japan. Dogs are strictly verboten in *most* rented quarters.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know websites that will show apartments / houses that do allow dogs?

Preferably in Hiroshima area.

thanks,
alicia

[Anonymous]

There is an apartment magazine available locally, called APAMAN. They may have web postings.

I haved picked up a copy for years but they use symbols to describe the apartment's conditions. They even have symbols for pets, pianos and foreigner being accepted by the landlord (yes foreigners are categoried just like pets and musical instruments...)

[Anonymous]

Hey thanks! it's a start anyhow. i'm having to refuse job ops because of this dog thing, and it just seems that if there's a will there's gotta be a way!!!

I'm going to have to bust out my kanji dictionary to read the website, however...

and if anyone else knows more, i welcome any and all comments. especially people out there who are in an apartment with a dog.

thanks again,
alicia

[Anonymous]

If food gets too expensive, you can always roast the dog for dinner. In South Korea, such practise is common.

[Elizabeth]

Alicia,
I bought my dog (and cat) to Japan just 7 months ago. As for quarantine, you can avoid it if you have your vet in the US say that your dog is unable to tolerate quarantine due to, lets say, allergies, or anything you and your vet can think of (my vet was very supportive in my goal of avoiding quarantine - and was quite creative!) Have your vet write the 'allergy condition' on the official forms that the USDA has to sign.
In this way, I had absolutely no problems "quarantining" my dog at my Japanese home. You will have to provide photos and a map of the place where your dog will be for the two weeks following your arrival in japan in case they want to give you a surprise visit. No Animal Quarantine Officials came knocking on our door. Of course, you will have to prove rabies vaccinations etc. There is a web site somewhere in English on how to bring your pet into Japan. The forms and such are quite tedious and time consuming, so please plan ahead.
I would avoid quarantine - my cat did it and returned with worms crawling out of her tushie! ACK.
Hope this helps!

[kurt]

Alicia--

My fiance and I will be moving to Japan from the US in March, and we are planning on bringing our cat, so we've spent some time researching the subject. Elizabeth is right on, if you have documentation that your dog has some sort of "problem" that would make it difficult for him/her to go through quarantine, you can "quarantine" him/her at your home. However, this could be a problem if you're not sure where your home will be. You would also need to show the photos and map upon arrival, which would be a problem unless you know someone in Japan who could take the photos for you.

The following Animal Quarantine Service page (in English) should have some information for you:
http://www.animal-quarantine-service.go.jp/english/aq1/aq11-1.htm
(if anyone wants the pages for other animals, see the links on this page:
http://www.animal-quarantine-service.go.jp/english/aq1/aq11.htm)

Re: quarantine, the actual "housing" is free, but the rub is that unless you want to travel out to Narita every day, which for us would be a 2-hour haul each way), you'll need to pay a company to care for your dog for the 2 weeks. One such company is AQS Corp, their page in English is here: http://www.aqs.co.jp/index_e.html
(I believe there are only two companies with contracts to provide this at Narita, I'm not sure what the other one is). Needless to say, the costs for this will add up, so factor that in as well.

Re: what the airlines will charge, you obviously should check with them. For our cat, we're flying United and it is costing $84 one-way as a carry-on. We did have to reserve a "space" for the cat, I think United only allows 2 pets per flight. Definitely shop around. We did, and found that both Northwest and JAL charge $200 to take a cat from the US to Japan one-way!

Good luck!
Kurt

ps. the following site, though in Japanese, might also help:
http://www.geocities.com/boating1_us/

[ineigenshi]

> I'm going to have to bust out my kanji dictionary to read the website, however...

If you need to translate a page in a hurry, (or just your Japanese is not good, like mine is not good, and you're tired, lost, and confused) use http://world.altavista.com

[Val駻ie]

Can you tell me Alicia...I know you wrote this note a very long time ago...I am wondering if you ever made the trip with your canine to Japan....???If the answer is yes...could you contact me...I would love the chance to ask you some questions re:quarantine with your dog....I am considering moving to Japan with my two dogs....But want to know more about how the dogs travel etc....Have been studying the internet of course...but think that I could learn more faster if I corresponded with someone who has actually made the journey herself....
Sincerely
Valerie
P.S. I am writing from Canada...FYI...

[MB]

Hi,
I'm bringing my dog to Japan soon & I'm really hoping that I can use that allergy excuse to get him out of quarentine. So hopefully I'll get that confirmed by the vet--and and far as the photos--what kind of photos do they need exactly?? How many? I do have a photo of where I'll be staying so it's not a problem...I'm assuming it's okay if I'm not in it... I'd really appreciate your help!! Thanks!!