Pets (for the purposes of this page, this means dogs & cats) ARE allowed to come to Japan; on the other hand, you are highly discouraged from bringing your pets, by all official sources. There is a good reason for this; a pet will make an already limited housing situation considerably more limited. If you have to, or choose to, live off-base, a pet will not only limit your choices (off-base housing rarely accepts pets), but also put you in the higher cost range of available housing. The wait for on-base housing will probably be longer (ours was 4 months; without a pet we could have had housing at 2 months); pets are only allowed in townhouses, which account for only about 40% of the housing. Pets are not allowed in the TLF, so you'll have to make other arrangements for them, until you have a house. Boarding facilities are very limited, when available. All this having been said, this page will assume that you have decided to bring your pet with you to MCAS Iwakuni :-) We did, and so do many others... in fact, I recently had someone write to me and tell me that if it was them giving advice, they'd say "Bring your pet"! It can be done!
If you are bringing a pet (or pets- you are allowed 2) to MCAS Iwakuni, you should read the Requirements for Entrance into Japan, which is a page I put on this site, but is copied from the Dept. of the Army information obtained at the Veterinary Facility here on base. New for the year 2000, cats AND dogs will be subject to the 14 day in-house quarantine, not just dogs.
You are responsible for all arrangements and costs associated with getting your pet(s) to their new home. There is at least one service which offers pet transportation, though it is quite expensive (supposedly starting at 65,000 yen- at this time that's about $500). If your pet is small and quiet, you may be able to carry it with you on the Shin (bullet train). There is more information on these methods of travel with pets on this ArmedForces.com page. The method I would recommend (with or without pets) is for your sponsor to pick you up at the airport in a rental vehicle. You don't have to mess with mass transportation in an unfamiliar country, while you're dead tired and stressed out. And reimbursing your sponsor for the rental vehicle is still cheaper than a family and pet taking the train. Of course, if you're lucky, you might just fly to MCAS Iwakuni.
The on-base Vet Clinic is a military facility, run by the U.S. Army Veterinary Services. Someone wrote a while back to tell me that Iwakuni now has a full time vet! Services such as spay/neuters can be performed; I have not been able to find out if emergencies can now be handled by the American vet on-base. The vet tech, when there is one, can give your pet preventative shots, and heartworm meds, and similar services. There are also pet foods and some supplies available at the vet clinic. There is a small boarding facility, provided on a space-available basis, for PCSing pets, etc.
We did have occasion to take our cat to a vet out in town. A neighbor had recommended the Nishino Animal Hospital if we ever had an emergency. When our cat recently had an abcess, we had to go out in town, so we took him there. The Japanese vet, Susumu Nishino, spoke English well and seemed to have reasonable prices. For the office visit, lancing the abcess, a shot and medication to take home, it was only Y4600, which at the time was about $33.00! Most important, our cat was well taken care of! =^..^= This vet is located on 188; if you turn right on 188 out any of the base gates, it's on the left just over the bridge and before the railroad tracks. The phone # is 24-0701.
There is a brand new Veterinary Clinic out the "C" gate (the gate by the school). I talked to at least one person who had used this vet and was very pleased with him. When we needed exams for the pets to leave Japan, we took them to this clinic. It seemed clean, large and pleasant. The only problem might have been that they will NOT lift your pet onto the table- you have to do it... This was a bit difficult, when I was attempting to lift my almost 100 lb struggling dog onto a shiny, stainless steel table!!! But that was a fairly minor problem. Overall, I was very satisfied with this clinic, and would have continued to use them, if we hadn't left. The clinic is located along the Monzen River, before you get to Rt. 188. (see photo to left)
As we prepared to leave Iwakuni, with our two pets, we did our best to find out the scoop on PCS'ing Pets :-) The rules for shipment of pets on AMC flights changed shortly before our move, and yet most of what I found in writing still reflected the OLD rules. Quite confusing. I wrote here what I heard as the new rules, even though I can't give you documentation, until I find some!
First, shipment of pets on AMC flights is limited to passengers in a PCS status only; pets are defined as DOGS and CATS ONLY; Only two pets per family are authorized; travel is on a Space-available basis only. Next, read Pet Exiting Requirements from Japan on this site, copied from the information acquired at the U.S. Army Vet here on base.
The size limitations are what hit us, in taking Dodger back to the States with us. The new rules are that if the pet and crate together weigh 70 lbs. or less, you pay a fee of $87.00 per pet on an AMC flight. If the pet and crate weigh 71-100 lbs., you pay twice that. If the pet and crate together weigh OVER 100 lbs., THEY CANNOT FLY ON THE AMC FLIGHT!!! For what it's worth the old rules were: up to 100 lbs would cost $87.00; over 100 lbs. cost twice that. Dodger COULD have gone in the past, but... The only real solution was that one of us (Paul) had to fly commercial with Dodger, and the rest of us were forced by other new rules to go on the "Freedom Bird". The things we do to keep our family together! Interestingly enough, it was cheaper for Paul to fly a 100 lb dog back commercially ($75), than it was for me to fly a 13 lb cat back, via the Military Air Command ($87)!!! I should have sent BOTH pets with him!
Links to other sites on the Web
Military Living's Military Dependent Pet Page
Pets in the Military
14 Aug 02 VERY HELPFUL SITE from Military Spouse Business Network
NetPets Foster Care 14 Aug 02 After Sept 11th, it was seen that there was a need for foster care for military pets (except cats- see below for cat fostering), whose humans were deployed. This is one group that addresses that need
Operation Noble Foster 14 Aug 02 This foster care is related to the one above, but is the cat-only site
Liberty Paws 14 Aug 02 A Military Pet Rescue and Foster Organization. Their mission is "To help the Military Pet while owners PCS (Permanent Change of Station) or go TAD/TDY (Temporary Duty)"
Healthy Pet by a veterinary group
That Pet Place also reptiles, birds, fish, and ponds
Acme Pet
PetSmart 14 Aug 02 Pet supplies; they deliver to APO/FPO at standard shipping rates
PetCo 14 Aug 02 Pet supplies; they also deliver to APO/FPO addresses for an extra charge.
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