Well, this really wasn't my intention...to write on my blog...but why not? I guess that's what most blogs are for, to write one's thoughts down and share them with others. My blog was very much not that, however. I started out with a clear purpose (to declutter), which evolved, two years later, into another, very different purpose (to begin the packing process to leave Japan). Both purposes involved merely putting up photos of items to give away or sell.
Leaving Japan, or any country in which you've been an expat, after many years of residence is not easy. It involves different levels of addressing many different issues and I thought it might help if I document some of these issues. The one that is most stressful for me right now is the one of leaving with pets.
Never having much confidence in my parenting abilities, I left the continuation of our species to other more capable individuals thinking cats would be less challenging. They are in many ways--we don't need daycare, they're mostly quiet and undemanding, and they have not yet developed a hankering for designer kitty wear, driving the family car, or wild parties whilst we are away from home. So, I mostly considered that cats were the wise choice for us...that is, until we decided to move house to another country. I'm suddenly envious of the ease with which parents travel on airplanes or over borders. It seems very straight forward to travel with children after you have a passport for your child (parents forgive my naivete if it really isn't that simple). But the real sticking point for those who love their pets as if they were children is that no one ever asks you to leave your kid in a cage in the cargo hold or in quarantine for several hours without you.
So, here I sit at my computer brainstorming ways to search for advice on how best to leave Japan with two older cats in tow and what exactly needs to be done to make the entire process bearable for them and us. The results haven't been reassuring. I'm not going to go into the horror stories depicted online and the contingency plans outlined by more official sites for unforeseen problems. I'm just going to focus on the laws/rules/regulations for exportation/importation of pets into Canada from Japan and my confusion with the process thus far (thankfully we started the vaccination process after the Tohoku disaster last year).
Looking at the Canadian website for information: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/imp/petani/felqueste.shtml it seems an easy process (get rabies shot or certification saying Japan is rabies free and skip happily through immigration to your new life with your pet in Canada). I checked this process months ago and was greatly relieved, yet, perhaps I wasn't aware of the full story>>>Reading this Japanese website: http://www.maff.go.jp/aqs/english/animal/dog/index.html one discovers a different set of expectations one must fill out a form and submit it 7 days in advance of leaving so that 12 hours before said departure the pet may be inspected at quarantine at your airport/seaport of departure. Yikes! I'm a little freaked at other info on the site as well (not going into detail) and in a bit of denial. I'm clinging to the hope that this is a poorly translated site for animals that are leaving AND returning to Japan (i.e. not just leaving).
I'm still searching the internet for any snippets of info/advice. If anyone reading this post has returned to live in Canada with their dog or cat (or knows someone who has) in the last year or so, could you write a note detailing your experience was and what the actual procedure was at the time you left?
Thanks a bunch,
Paige
