Job relocating me to Japan – Help

13 comments

1. Komaki is quiet and suburban. Very safe, clean, slower pace. You’ll rely on trains and plan things more.

   Bringing a dog is doable but paperwork-heavy. Rabies tests and strict timelines. Start early.

   Big surprises: small apartments, intense garbage sorting, very little English. Basic Japanese helps a lot.

   If you’re okay with structure and calm living, it’s a solid two-year move.

2. Discuss tax equalization and preparation, work that into your contract. If you have significant US liabilities like a mortgage then I’d make sure the salary is close to equal to make up for currency volatility. 

3. My spouse is JP. I moved there from Canada for work with 2 pets and a 9 yr old (back in Canada now).

   Start the pet work asap. If it’s as it was when I did it, the process takes many many months.

   You need a baseline rabies antibody test (and some other stuff). Then a fresh vaccine, then wait like 90 or 120 days and another antibody test.

   Plus the usual stuff like digital chip insert etc.

   When you arrive in Japan the pet gets looked at along with the documentation by an inspector which is harmless and quick.

   Also finding a rental – as 2 foreigners with a pet could take a bit. Use an agent for sure. Some people in Japan don’t rent to non Japanese (yes that’s allowed in Japan) and won’t rent if there’s a pet.

   Otherwise you’ll have fun. Just a few bumps inbound. Then smooth sailing. I’m envious and really enjoyed my time there.

4. They only have 17 different categories for garbage collected by the city, so perhaps better than some places.

   [https://www.city.komaki.aichi.jp/material/files/group/21/202510_gomigaiyou_e.pdf](https://www.city.komaki.aichi.jp/material/files/group/21/202510_gomigaiyou_e.pdf)

5. I moved with a cat a couple of months ago. You will need multiple rabies vaccinations and another one for dogs that I don’t recall. You will also need an antibody test from a designated lab (Kansas), your vet should be able to send in the blood sample. You will have to quarantine the dog for 180 days from the blood draw date. You will need to apply for a pet import 40 days or more before traveling and you will need a usda endorsed Health Certificate that is issued within 10 days of the travel date.

6. Prepare yourself mentally for the work culture. My American branch works 8-12 hours a day. Japan side? 14-17 hours a day. I’ve lived and worked in Japan for years in environments where I’m the only foreigner. The work culture is usually intense at some companies.

7. You’ve got good advice on the pet situation. I would say try and spend as much time as you can learning Japanese. You said you know the bare minimum which is good but being able to speak Japanese at least conversationally makes your life so much easier. 

   Especially in a smaller city where people will be more likely to talk to you in bars and English services will be much lower. 

   Might be a good idea to find any foreigner communities within the city as well, Facebook groups if they’re still a thing.

8. Big dog as a renter is not going to be easy unless you have a very large budget or are super flexible to get an older somewhat run down house.

   As others said paperwork for rabies is 6mo+ and costly do prepare early

9. Bringing a dog into Japan is a lengthy process.

   First of all, a Labrador is too big to be in the cabin, so the only way to transport him is in cargo which can be dangerous and extremely stressful for the animal. That’s something you should consider.

   The import requirements for Japan are the following 7 month process:

   Get international microchip > get first rabies shot (must list microchip on certificate) > wait 30 days > get second rabies shot > get rabies titer test (must be analyzed at a specific lab designated by Japanese government) > wait 180 days quarantine period > 40+ days before flight, send documents to animal quarantine service at arrival airport to get approval (and make sure they have space for the animal) > get health certificate 10 days prior to flight and government certificate > after arrival, pet is quarantined for 12 hours

   Make sure that all documents have the same spelling and birthdates etc. Or else you may get problems coming into Japan. Typically, if the 180 dayquarantine period isn’t over, the pet will be quarantined at the airport for the remainder. In a worst case scenario, if documents are missing or something is wrong, they can send the pet back to the exporting country. Vets often advise to hire a travel agency and some even require it because of this but travel agency costs several thousand dollars. I was quoted $8000 per cat which was not possible.

   If I were you, I would go on the USDA website and call every vet listed on their website in your area and ask whether they do health certificates to Japan because some who do international certificates don’t do Japan because it’s such a headache. If yes, ask if they require a travel agency to be involved. Then ask about the costs for health certificate + 2 rabies shots and one rabies titer test. The costs can vary wildly. My regular vet would have charged me over $6000 for my 4 cats. I ended up driving 40 minutes to a vet who did it all for a little over $3000 total

   Also, in Japan getting a pet friendly apartment can reduce your options by a lot.

10. it is a incredibly different culture. Most things you see online about Japan will be based on people’s trips that were under a month long. 

    Just be prepared for a completely different lifestyle than America 

    Incredibly nice people, but a very serious work culture and social norms are pretty strict and you’ll be expected to follow all the rules.  Just have to think about what that looks like as an American 6 months to a year in 

    My girlfriends family is Japanese and my trips felt different as a tourist than they did on my trips with her family 

    There will be a major language barrier so keep that in mind with making close friends 

    It’s one of my favorite places in the world but the longest I’ve been in one stint is 3 weeks 

11. Don’t assume that you’ll find accommodation that allows large dogs.

12. Komaki is quite close to Nagoya, which is cool. Lots of good restaurants and shopping.

    Is there anyone your dog can stay with in your home country. The process is quite dramatic and troublesome for only two years. Finding a pet friendly apartment, especially for a larger dog will be tough.

13. I’d recommend exploring if there’s someone in your home country who can look after your dog for you while your gone. Other people have explained that it definitely is possible to bring your dog over, but the move is a really unpleasant and honestly traumatic experience for the dog. Because your dog is larger, he’ll have to go in the cargo hold of the plane. It’s cold and dark and it’s a *long* plane ride. Doing that twice in 2 years will put a lot of strain on your dog. From the point of view of what’s in the pet’s best interest, I usually recommend that people only bring their pets if they intend for it to be a forever move

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