Bringing Pets to Japan – Airport Experience

Disclaimer: this was MY experience as a non military individual who took a codeshare flight (American Airlines and JAL) in October 2025 from the U.S. to Japan. The policies may have changed so I highly recommend verifying everything on your own. This is not meant as the end all be all, but I just want to help out others who are going through this process. Also sorry for formatting or other issues. I've never posted before.

Hi guys. Before I start, I just want to say if you’re just travelling to Japan then I do NOT recommend this. It’s not worth it. This whole process was so complicated and expensive and STRESSFUL. Honestly, I wish I used a pet relocation service instead of doing this myself but since I did, here is my experience. There’s a bunch of discussions on how to prep but I didn’t see anyone talk about what to expect at the airport the day of so that will be my primary focus. 

Since I live in a city that is not a major airport hub, I had to take a codeshare flight in order to arrive in Japan. The codeshare was between American Airlines (AA) and Japan Airlines (JAL). I had 2 legs of the flight. The first leg was from PNS to DFW (this was operated by AA). The 2nd leg was from DFW to HND airport (this was operated by JAL). My layover was roughly 3 hours. I booked through JAL because I wanted the 2 free checked baggage allowance.  

What to expect at the airport:

1. Check In 
2. Arrival at the Connecting Airport + Picking up your pet
3. Rechecking in
4. Arrival at Japan + Animal Quarantine Services

Check In

My flight was first thing in the morning (around 6:45). If you have an early morning flight, GET THERE EARLY. If the ticket counter opens at 3:30 a.m. then make sure you’re there at 3:20 so you’re one of the first people in the check in line. I was one of the first people to check in and quite literally one of the last people to finish checking in for my flight. 

Since you have a pet, you will need to go to the American Airlines special services ticket counter. I think my situation might’ve been uncommon since I was a non military person travelling with a pet, so the staff were unfamiliar with the process. It took over 3 hours to complete the check in and my flight had already begun boarding by the time I arrived at my gate. Please note: My cat flew as cargo since that was the only option for my JAL flight. The process/necessary documents will probably be different if you’re bringing your pet in the cabin. 

When you arrive at the check in counter, inform them that you’re travelling with a pet. You will need to provide your airway bill number, pet documentation for American Airlines, and your passport. The airway bill number was what they used to find my cargo reservation. You can find the pet documentation specific to American Airlines here. 

You need to provide them with 5 documents:

1. Health Certificate
2. Rabies Vaccination Certification
3. Customer Acknowledgement Form
4. Breed Verification Form
5. Acclimation Letter (depends on the weather)

Health Certificate 

• As of October 2025, there is no American Airlines specific health certificate to provide (generic is fine). I was informed by my vet that the AC Form will suffice but I recommend also receiving a copy of the FAVN report as that was what the AA staff seemed to use as the health certificate. They gave the AC form back but make sure you have multiple copies in case they don’t give it back. 

Rabies Vaccination Certification 

• As of October 2025, there is no American Airlines specific rabies certification form (generic is fine). I provided them with the rabies vax certification forms that were required by Japan and they accepted it. I can’t remember if they gave the rabies vax certification forms back so make sure you have multiple copies in case they don’t return them. 

Customer Acknowledgement Form 

• There IS an American Airlines specific form to fill out. You can print it out and sign it. It’s very simple and straightforward. 

Breed Verification Form 

• There IS an American Airlines specific form to fill out. You or the vet can print out this form. This MUST be signed by your vet. They will not accept it if it is not signed. 

Acclimation Letter

• There IS an American Airlines specific form to fill out. My vet initially told me that it was not necessary as they never ask for it but I HIGHLY recommend getting it anyway. It MUST be signed and completed by the vet. MAKE SURE THEY DO NOT LEAVE THE LOWEST TEMPERATURE SECTION BLANK OR IT WILL BE DENIED (I was initially denied check in because the vet did not fill in the lowest temperature. The ticket agents will NOT allow you to write it in yourself).
• Technically since my dates of travel had temperatures above 45° F (7.2° C) I did not need the acclimation letter, however, the ticket counter agents were not aware of this policy and required that I provide one. 

Once they verify that your documents are sufficient, they will begin asking a bunch of questions. 

Your pet must NOT be pregnant or sedated. If they are either of these, you will not be permitted to fly. You will need to fill out a cargo airway form (I’m not sure if this is the official name of the document but it is a small half sheet of paper). They will provide you with the form as I believe this is not something you can print out and complete beforehand. After the staff verified the form was correct, they provided a copy of it to me. Make sure you hold onto the copy as you will need to provide it at the connecting airport when you recheck your pet. They will also give you a live animal sticker form that you need to fill out. They will stick it onto your pet’s crate. You will also need to momentarily take your pet out of the crate in order for them to do a brief inspection (they’re making sure you’re not smuggling any contraband). You must also provide water and food for the pet or else they will not allow you to fly. 

Note: Since American Airlines only handled my pet as cargo for the first leg of the trip (PNS to DFW), the destination was the connecting airport where I switched airlines (DFW); not the actual final destination airport (HND). They had difficulty checking my pet into the system because it would not allow them to input HND as the final destination since American Airlines is only moving them from PNS to DFW.

Once your pet is checked in, you will have to pay a pet fee. I was initially under the impression that I only had to pay the cargo fee for the booking airline, but I was charged an American Airlines pet fee at the ticket counter. The pet fee for American Airlines was $463.44. After you pay the pet fee, you can check in as you normally would. 

Arrival at the Connecting Airport + Picking up your pet

Once you arrive at the connecting airport (airport where you switch airlines), I HIGHLY recommend going straight to the JAL gate that you will be departing from. Explain your situation to the staff at the gate counter (in my case that I flew codeshare with AA and my pet flew as AA cargo, and that now I had to recheck my pet in for JAL cargo). They really helped me out and were the only reason that I was able to make my flight. 

Once you inform the JAL staff of your situation, make your way back to the terminal you arrived at. (Note: I’m not sure if you have to go back to the terminal you arrived at. I was told to go back there because my cat should be waiting at baggage claim but that was not the case. You may be able to just go to the terminal nearest the priority parcel services building and walk/get a ride from there) Go to the baggage claim. You will have to leave the secure area and exit the airport. For American Airlines passengers, your pet will be waiting in the priority parcel services building. This is an entirely separate building from where passengers are in the airport. YOU WILL NEED A CAR/TRANSPORTATION TO THE PRIORITY PARCEL SERVICES BUILDING. IT IS NOT LOCATED IN THE AIRPORT. The free airport provided transportation does not go to this building so you will need to either use uber/lyft or hire a taxi. The taxi is super expensive but if you wait for uber/lyft you will lose precious time so I would go ahead and bite the bullet and take a taxi. It cost me $60 (plus tip) for the round trip. 

The American Airlines Priority Parcel Service Building for DFW is located at 2300 Crossunder #3, Dallas, TX 75261, United States. It is better to find out the address beforehand as the staff at the airport did not provide me with the location and said to “just go to the cargo building”. I believe the cargo building and the actual location where your pet will be waiting are two completely different places so make sure you go to the priority parcel service building. Once I arrived at the priority parcel building, I had my taxi wait outside. This did not cost me extra but it definitely depends on the driver. I also left a larger tip as a thank you. 

Once you arrive at the priority parcel building it should be fairly quick and straightforward. Go to the pick up counter. You will need to provide them with your ID (passport suffices) in order to pick up your pet. If they offer to cut the zip ties, you should take them up on their offer since the agents at the check in counter will need to take them off anyway. After you pick up your pet, make your way back to the check in terminal for your airline (so for JAL I had to go to D17). You will essentially have to check in as if it is your first flight of the day. 

TLDR; Deboard plane-> inform JAL gate agent of situation at departing gate -> pick up pet from Priority Parcel Services Building (MUST HAVE TRANSPORTATION BC ITS NOT IN THE AIRPORT +make sure you have ID) -> go to JAL check in counter 

Rechecking in

I got super lucky with the JAL agent that I spoke to at my departing gate because she was super sweet and helped me out a ton. She had already informed the check in ticket counter agents of my situation so they were already waiting for me when I arrived. (Note: I travelled with my family members but I was the only person who needed to leave the airport/recheck my pet since I was the one who was listed as the shipper on the forms/completed all the paperwork. )

When you recheck in, you will need to provide the ticket counter agents your passport along with additional pet documentation. (Note: There are no JAL specific documents required by JAL as of October 2025. They only needed to see the import documents that the Japan Animal Quarantine Services required. Please please please check what documents are necessary when you go as they may have changed)

For the pet documentation, you will need to provide:

1. AC Form
2. Rabies Vaccination Form 
3. Approval of Import Inspection (the notification approval form)
4. American Airlines Cargo Bill

AC Form 

• You should have received this from your vet. Make sure that it has been endorsed by the USDA. A digital endorsement (aka the vet completed it and sent to the USDA through the VEHCS system and the USDA digitally endorsed it ) is fine BUT you need to have a physical paper copy to provide to the airline. 

Rabies Vaccination Form

• You should have also received this from your vet. It is the same form you already provided to American Airlines. 

Approval of Import Inspection

• You will receive this document from Japan Animal Quarantine Services. I was not able to submit the notification form through the website so all of my correspondences were via email. As a result, when my notification was approved I received the notification approval form as an email attachment. It may be different for those who submitted the notification through the website. 
• I suggest printing out the notification approval so you have a hard copy to provide to the counter. It is much simpler this way. If you do not have a hard copy, you can email them the notification approval as well, but having the paper will save you a bunch of time. The email (as of Oct. 2025) was [org.dfwll.jali@jal.com](mailto:org.dfwll.jali@jal.com). I’m pretty sure this is airport specific so make sure to send it whatever email the ticket counter agents tell you. 

American Airlines Cargo Bill

• I’m not sure if this is what the document is called but it is the small half sheet of paper you filled out when checking in with American Airlines.

Once they confirm your cargo reservation, you will have to pay the JAL pet fee. The fee is $400. From there, my pet was taken to a small back office room where a TSA agent inspected the crate for contraband. You will most likely have to take your pet out when they do this. After the TSA agent finished inspecting the crate, I believe that he wanted to see the American Airlines Cargo Bill. This part of my memory is a bit spotty but I  think that was the only necessary documentation I needed to provide here. 

Once the TSA concluded their crate check, I was instructed to leave my pet in the room and go stand in the TSA security line so I could re-enter the main secure part of the airport. At this point, my plane had already begun boarding and was nearing the cut off time. I was super lucky that since the JAL staff already knew my situation beforehand, they gave me a personal escort through the TSA line. This allowed me to skip the super long line and was the only reason I did not miss my plane. ((The JAL staff were so incredibly helpful and were the highlight of my day. They genuinely cared as if they knew me personally, and went above and beyond to make sure that I did not miss my plane. I am eternally grateful to them and hope they have good karma forever lol.)) My layover was about 3 hours and I barely made it. If you can, I suggest booking a longer layover. If you can’t, I definitely recommend seeing if the JAL agents are willing to escort you to your gate. This made all the difference for me. Once you get to your check in gate, board as you normally would.

Arrival at Japan + Animal Quarantine Services

This was surprisingly the easiest part. When you arrive in Japan, you will need to go through immigration first. As soon as I went through immigration, I was approached by an animal quarantine service staff member who requested I provide him with the import documentation. I gave the staff member the AC form, rabies form, and notification form. I think that was all I needed to provide at that moment. 

At Haneda Airport, they bring your pet to you. It takes a little while so I suggest picking up your bags while you wait. The baggage carousel and pet declaration counter are in the same room so it’s not like you are going far. Once they bring your pet to you, you will need to walk over to the pet declaration counter. By the time I’d arrived at the counter, they’d already reviewed my documents. They did a quick examination of the pet and scanned her microchip. After that, I only had to sign my name on a form (I don’t remember what it was called), then they provided me with the import certificate. It looks pretty similar to the import notification approval letter but it has stamps, a wet ink signature, light green diagonal lines, and a Japanese flag on the bottom right corner. DO NOT LOSE THIS PAPER. If you ever plan on leaving or re-entering Japan, you will need this paper as this is the only copy you will be issued. 

From there you will go to customs then leave the airport as normal. I highly recommend bringing a smaller carrier with you in your carry on/checked bag because the pet crate may be too big to load onto public/private transportation. Since I had a cat, I was able to do this but it may be more complicated if you have a larger dog. I took a limousine bus to where I was staying and kept my cat (in the carrier) in my lap the whole time. We used the yamato carrier service in the airport and had the crate shipped to our accommodations. 

TLDR; deboard-> pass through immigration -> provide docs to animal quarantine service staff ->pick up bags from the carousel ->reunite with fur baby -> go to animal declaration counter & declare pet import -> pass through customs -> leave airport

Closing Remarks:

To whoever is reading this: goodluck. This is a very long and hard process. Be prepared to spend literal days on the phone coordinating your move. Make sure you know the airline policies (i.e. what documents are required, crate requirements, food/water requirements, etc.) so you can advocate for yourself and/or so you can ensure things go smoothly. I encountered a ton of airline staff (it was mainly issues with American Airlines) who did not know what to do/gave me the wrong information. You need to double triple check everything so you are not denied boarding due to a small mistake. I also suggest saving the links to the airline pet import policies so you can easily access them if there’s an issue with the airline staff. Make sure you have your airway bill number, American Airlines confirmation number, Japan Airlines confirmation number, and a TON of copies of the necessary docs so you are able to get to Japan with your pet.