Job Discussion Forums

Florizalll · Joined: 01 Apr 2006 Posts: 42

A bit more than 6 months before moving to Japan I started the paperwork and procedures to get my cat from the US to Japan. Some airlines will let the pet fly in-cabin with restrictions, but these restrictions are so rigid that it meant that she'd have to go in cargo. All the money and time spent preparing the cat to go and the last bit of paperwork due a day or so before the flight wasn't properly done- she couldn't come. She'd have to go for at least 12 hours in quaranteen in Narita no matter what. I'm still deciding if it's worth a second shot.

Anybody successfully bring a pet to Japan within the last year or so?

sethness · Joined: 28 Feb 2005 Posts: 209 Location: Hiroshima, Japan

First, the good news: If Tokyo is like my city, then most realtors will have a separate, easily accessed group of listings for apartments which allow pets.

I've heard that they tend to be 5,000-10,000 yen per month more expensive than regular apartments, but this is only something I've HEARD. Frankly, I'm not believing it-- I'd assume that pet-permitted apartments are simply apartments in which there was a pet before, and will be pets in the future, so that the landlord is not worried about removing all the fur and dander for the next (possibly allergic) tenant.

Second, the question:
Huh? Why would the Japanese quarantine folks permit one to BUY a leniency for quarantine?
I'd have expected that money wouldn't make a difference, since germs can't be bribed... but I would have expectged that there might be more humane alternatives-- Micronesia, for example, no longer requires pets to be kept for 6 months in tiny cages outdoors in a quarantine compound-- pets are simply under "house arrest" at their owners' apartments until they are pronounced free-^and-clear of transmissible diseases like Rabies.

What are the terms of the release-from-quarantine that you paid for?

Gypsy Rose Kim · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 151

My vets in Seoul are awesome and took care of everything for me, I just paid a flat rate of about 100,000 yen per cat. Here's what that entailed and why my cats will not have to be quarantined for more than 12 hours:

1. I had both cats microchipped with whatever type of microchip the Japanese quarantine dept asked for.

2. They were given rabies vaccinations that day. (Previous vaccinations didn't count, you have to start over after the microchipping.)

3. A second rabies vaccine 30 days later.

4. Blood test sent to a lab approved by Japanese quarantine 30 days after the second rabies test.

5. After that, you have to wait six months, then do another blood test. If it's all clear, they issue you a certificate.

6. Notify quarantine at your planned port of entry in Japan. Tell them the day and time you'll be arriving.

7. Arrive with pets, hand over the documents, let them give the animals a thorough check-up, and you're through.

It's not really like paying to get out of quarantine. It's paying for all the stuff you have to do to prove you're good to go. I'm between step 4 and 5 right now, still bloody waiting for the time when I can bring them over.

I'm surprised the previous poster thought it could be done in six months. Maybe she'd already had them microchipped and kept all the records? I'd have been settled nicely in Tokyo by now if that were the case.

Oh, and by the way, it's not AT LEAST twelve hours at your port of entry. It's twelve hours maximum. That's just the time it will need for them to get a vet there if you don't have an appointment or if there is some other delay. A friend of mine who's station on Misawa was done in 30 minutes.

6810 · Joined: 16 Nov 2003 Posts: 309

In my experience (and my cat's) apartments which allow pets fall into two categories.

1. Shoddy, dodgy, old and decrepit. is - the owners don't care if the place gets damaged by animals because it is already rather run down. Cheap and not so necessarily nice. That said, some of these cheaper, run down places can be quite spacious, especially if you can get a house.

2. Brand new and built for pets. This includes "hard" wall coverings, pet doors in doors, electric outlets off the ground and out of the reach of dogs and a dedicated "bathroom" including shower area and "toilet" for flushing away Fido's fun. This type of pad is becoming more common.

I have experienced the latter. This was more expensive, but then again, the place was only three years old and fairly well equipped with the latest (well 2003's) mod cons.

As the above poster said - most real estate agents have a special set of places listed for "pets ok".

There are also "dogs ok" but not "cat's ok" places.

Have fun.

Gypsy Rose Kim · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 151

Just to update this one.

I got my cats through quarantine at Narita in about 30 minutes, too.

There were two mistakes on my paperwork. Tiny ones. One was that one of the forms said one cat was "calico" and the other said "brown/white/black". They want everything to be consistent. I don't remember the other mistake, but it was something along the same lines.

This resulted in the usual Japanese-style lecture, and lots of bowing and apologizing on my part. They told me they could have sent my cats back over the mistakes, so be careful. I doubt they would, but they law states that they are supposed to.

I let my Korean vets handle all the paperwork, and their English skills probably accounted for the errors. I was negligent not to have double checked.

Everything went well, but try to learn by my mistakes.

And good luck to everyone who is bringing in pets. My cats are well-settled and totally happy here. And I am soooo happy to have them.

flicknut · Joined: 03 Jul 2008 Posts: 8

I'm in Korea. It's November and I'm planning to move my cat to Japan in March. I guess I'm already behind in the game since my cat has to have an ID chip for 180 days before moving? Is that right?

Quibby84 · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 643 Location: Japan

It depends if Korea is a rabie free country or not.

JL · Joined: 26 Oct 2008 Posts: 241 Location: Las Vegas, NV USA

Korea is not on the list I link to below, so no, you cannot get around the 180 day rule (the 180 days only count from once the lab gets a blood sample from a pet ALREADY ISO-compatible micro-chipped). If you try and skirt around the rules, your cat will be quarantined at your port of entry, until the quarantine period is met. And you will be paying for each and every day that your pet is in their care.

http://www.maff.go.jp/aqs/english/animal/dog/index.html