"You need at least
210 days lead time (from first vaccine to day of arrival), if not more, prior to your move to prevent your animal being held in a quarantine facility in Japan. If you are serious about bringing your pet with you, begin quarantine procedures NOW. Find a vet that specializes in international pet travel, or research an independent pet travel specialist in your area to help facilitate the process. There is a tremendous amount of paperwork that must be completed
exactly as requested by the Japanese quarantine officials, and
one wrong piece of paperwork results in an automatic 180 day quarantine."
"If you do not want to have your pet quarantined but must arrive in Japan before the 180 day period is complete, you can use a pet shipping service to handle everything for you — assuming you can leave the pet in your home country with a friend or family member. This can cost about $2000-5000+ USD, not including the expenses outlined below."
"Finding pet-friendly housing in Japan is
extremely difficult — especially in city-center areas or high-demand neighborhoods."
"If you are receiving housing from your employer (ie: You are an English teacher and your employer provides a teacher apartment) it is
very unlikely the housing will be pet-friendly. Please note that
finding pet-friendly housing on an English teacher's salary will be very difficult."
"Expect to pay an additional month or two month deposit
in addition to your other deposits (key money, insurance, etc.) if you move in with a pet."