I’m planning to adopt a dog/cat once I move out but I heard from my friend that adopting is a very long process, and that the rent for apartments that allow pets are significantly higher..
What is the process like, and how much is your rent? And how much did the adopting fee cost??
I’ve lived here for 5 years and have saved up a lot of money for this!! So I’m excited to say the least
33 comments
Yes rent is higher, deposit might be higher if you have a pet. It’s not really possible to say how much exactly. It depends on the location and size just like any other apartment without pets.
If you want to adopt, please don’t go to a pet shop at the mall. Please look for a rescue service. For cats try the Japan Cat Network. You can find them on Instagram and Facebook. There also is blueeyes_catrescue on Instagram.
People who work at pet shelters are like batshit crazy. Like the whole volunteer service, half of them are just crazy cat ladies with poor social skills.
I can give personal experiences but if you just google in Japanese, even people in Japan have bad experiences. Where most countries people would be glad for someone to come rescue a cat and save it from being put down at the shelter, the people here get in the way with all sorts of requirements.
They will require you to spend a ton of money getting stuff and it will have specific requirements you MUST meet, if you try to cut corners they will question your ability to take care of a cat. Meanwhile the cat in question is just living alone in the shelter. That might sound all well and good, you would want the cat volunteer service here to ensure that the cat goes to a good home but it’s not like that, it’s like they are bullied kids turned police officers who are far to happy that they got some authority in something and will take a smug/moral high ground. Plus, let’s not forget this is Japan, there are rules and they must be followed, they can never be questioned or altered or factor in common sense. They were having me installing fencing around the cooker because they were convinced the cat would turn it on and set itself on fire and sending weekly photos months after the cat was adopted just to make sure it was not dead. Lady just started knocking on my door at weird hours also.
If you don’t believe me take to Japanese twitter or Yahoo questions. This person gives a good account:
[https://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q12138512102](https://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q12138512102)
Rental properties that allow pets have about the same rent as other apartments, but in Tokyo,
especially, you almost always pay a non-refundable pet deposit of one month rent on top of the regular deposit and key money. (Source: I’m an agent)
The real reason to carefully consider getting a pet is that very few landlords allow pets. The pet-friendly places will specify what size dog is allowed and will usually forbid cats altogether. Japanese landlords absolutely hate cats, so if you are a cat owner and a foreigner your choice of properties will be ridiculously small. You can assume you will not be able to find something of a specific age, size or location. You are basically committing yourself to the most random property there is.
i did not adopt here but bought a dog here.
rent isn’t necessarily higher, but usually +1 month deposit.
also, apartments that allow pets will be significantly lesser than those that doesn’t (considering you want other housing conditions).
I just moved to Mizonokuchi, new apartment 2LDK at 174k. Tried so hard to find an apartment that fits everything I want but I just had to give up on the distance to the station.
w/o pets: search result was about 600+ apartments
w pets: 7
now, if you are looking at apartments, a lot only willing to accommodate small size pets like cats or 小型犬 (I have a mame-shiba which is officially classified as 中型犬 but since she is only 4.5kg, the landlord allowed it).
I think it’s easier the more countryside you are. I live in Wakayama and when I was looking for a house to rent the realtor happily kept reminding me that my chosen house allows pets (and pianos!!). When I decided to adopt a cat my landlord only asked that we make a new contract that says I’ll pay an extra month’s rent to cover damages when I move out.
I adopted from Save Cat Café in Osaka. The rules were strict, but the staff and foster mom were nice about it. They wanted me to buy everything my cat would need in advance, which seems fair.
They did ask for photos and check ins, but I’ve got Twitter and the café owner follows me. So that was enough in the end. And now I’m debating adopting a second cat to keep my cat company while I’m working.
If you’re the sort who thinks cats need outside time, you’ll get turned down by most rescues. Cat flu and feline aids are rampant here. Lots of cats roam the street making it easy for our pets to get into fights or pick up diseases. People can be cruel too and drivers are maniacs. Plus all the wildlife… I’ve always been of the mindset that house cats belong in the house, so it was easy for me. But I have coworkers who think I’m being cruel keeping my cat indoors.
I’d advise getting a pet friendly place first. Then adopt. If you’re planning to stay in Japan forever like me, find a place you’re comfy with and start saving so you can eventually buy your own home and make whatever rules you want.
Also I’m like 99% sure there was a lonely death in this house, plus it’s in a flood zone. So that probably helped with the cheap rent and easy pet approval.
Rented this super cheap house in Tokyo, it’s pet friendly and I had to pay an extra one month amount of rent for non refundable pet deposit.
Just adopted a dog last year from a shelter in Saitama. The requirement and the interview/survey questions are a bit over the top, like for example: you can’t be single, you can’t be a couple who is in the age of conceiving children, have a relative around the neighborhood in case you have an emergency and the dog needs a home, cant be families who have kids who are still in elementary schools, can’t be over 60 years old, etc. obviously if you can speak Japanese fluently you can lie.
We went to the shelter, run by what they call them “mama”, but basically they have system where each “mama” will foster some of the dogs and we go visit her in her backyards and play with them. I think the “mama” that I dealt with me was quite nice and reasonable. I know other poster mentioned about batshit crazy volunteer person running the shelter, mine is just maybe mild paranoid and just following protocol. She called our landlord to make sure our house IS actually pet friendly, contacted our “relatives” to make sure they can be the emergency person, have pictures of our house and made suggestions on how to make our house ready for the dog (she made us buy two dog gates and mats because our floors were too smooth, and the dog would’ve had trouble walking by). At the end of the day these ladies just really love dogs and wanna make sure they have a forever home.
So when they decided that we’re the suitable candidate, they came to our house with the dog and bunch of contract and paperworks that needed to be signed. Had to pay 90,000, it includes health check, vaccine fee, teeth cleaning, and grooming. He’s a 5 years old miniature schnauzer, with really bad teeth condition so he had most of them taken out. Then you get what they call the trial period, usually 2weeks-1month, but if you decide the dog is not for you, you get the money back. During the trial period they’ll check in with you to make sure the dog is in safe house and asks for pictures quite frequently. We decided within 3 days that we want to keep the dog. After a week she stopped inspecting us and just trust the dog is in a good hand. But for some reason they managed to find my social media handle, and followed me and liking every single posts out there that has something to do with my dog hah.
Today actually marks one year since he came to our house. My life is so much happier with this lil angel.
https://preview.redd.it/71ncthddec5c1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e39518d0d041683a7bea6ea0429b6c921d0b1432
Hello I am an owner of a now 10 year old adopted cat. We first got our kitten back when it was only 2 months old, from a foreigner lady that fostered cats in her home and had a registered NPO with the city.
The requirements were sending photos of the kitty and signing a contract saying we’d agree to take good care of it for life and never abandon it, return it, or pass it to someone else. The contract also required us to spay/neuter it and send proof.
In regards to apartment hunting, we found one through Suumo. There are many other apps for hunting for renting or purchasing homes, and filters you can enable for “Pet OK” places. Unfortunately, listings for pets are quite rare, and search results will go down tenfold when you apply the filter.
My recommendation is to start apartment hunting in a casual way for a few months, until finding an ideal looking place for it, then contacting the company responsible for said listing. From there, if the place you found doesn’t meet your expectations, the company might help you find other apartments that are alternative options, sometimes cheaper, sometimes older, but overall, don’t be afraid to ask questions and voice your concerns.
Good luck and I hope you get to live with your pet happily and comfortable someday 💜
I adopted my dog and brought them to Japan with me.
Country side and city… both the same. Fewer options, higher rent, higher move in fees. Having only one small dog is okay, but things are more difficult if you have more or a larger dog. In the country side… cats have a bad rep so it can be more difficult to find a place.
Edit: want to have a pet but make renting easier? Only have one and make sure they stay under 10kg. Under 10kg is what most apartments would consider as a small cat/dog.
My boss back in Osaka found a flyer for a cat circle at the vets office so I went to their event where the cats are displayed for 1 day in individual cages.
I chose 2 cats, wrote their names on a paper and was interviewed right there. They decided to let me trial option 2 and visited my home with the cat another day. They took a little look around and were satisfied with the 2ldk at the time so I paid the 3.5万. Afterwards they kept in touch for a month.
The process was rather easy and direct but I seem to have been lucky that it was so easy. 4 years later I still have my cuddle buddy. Apt was sorta in the Osaka countryside so it was easier to find pet friendly. Now bro wanders a house so I exercise him by going up and down stairs for no reason because he’ll follow.
My wife and I adopted / rescued an old dog who was abused and abandoned. The shelter had to make sure we have enough income to support the dog, and needed info on how often he would be alone in the house. A couple meetings with the shelter owner and where the adoptee would meet my other dogs to see if they were compatible, some paperwork and about a month is what it took for us
Adopting pets is easy. I had zoo with about 20 of various kinds in Okinawa. Less choices for places to rent of course but they are out there. They might ask you to put down an extra payment at the beginning for having pets. I only live in rural areas though. Never in the cities. Here in the rural north (Iwate)it’s very cheap. You can rent a huge place for 10,000-50,000 a month thats pet friendly.
We adopted our wonderful dog from ARK earlier this year and the process was very easy. We filled out an application and went to some adoption events to meet their animals, and they interviewed us there and answered our questions. The adoption fee was ¥20,000 plus a few thousand to transport him (optional).
The hard part was finding a pet- AND gaijin-friendly place. Neither of us has PR yet, some of the places listed as pet friendly only accepted cats or renters who already have pets, and there just wasn’t a lot available in our area. Our rent is about 1/4 more expensive now (and he’s worth it but I did like our old place).
If you’re thinking of a dog, check whether the parks around you actually allow dogs—depending on the ku, lots don’t. Also have a plan for where they’re gonna pee in bad weather: typhoons, scalding asphalt in the summer, etc. Anyway, there’s been some challenges I failed to predict but it’s so beyond worth it and the impact on my mental health has been huge. Happy to answer any questions.
I’ve adopted three cats and some rats – it’s been pretty smooth. I went through pet-home.jp, as it consolidates a lot of NPOs and people looking to re-home. Typically, you’ll have to pay a fee to cover at least some of the animal’s medical expenses, and you’ll likely have to fill out a questionnaire. Difficulty depends on who you’re adopting from…. I’ve had some come straight out and say no bc I’m not Japanese, but there’s such an abundance of animals that need homes on the website, so it’s not the end. There might be more “competition” for younger animals/pure breds/etc.
Finding a place to live, like people have said, is effected. Options are narrowed down by places that don’t allow animals, and some only allow on or two, so that can further narrow it. If you’re okay living in a bit of an older place that may not be right next to the station, though, I don’t think you’ll have too much trouble. Like others have said, extra deposit up-front, but the rent doesn’t really change.
Obviously it varies a lot; I can only give my own experience so please take it with a grain of salt. We used my city’s private shelter; after looking online at the cats that were available, we called and made arrangements to go view the cats. The center was only open on Sundays for people to come in and see cats/do the adoption stuff
We did 1 visit to see the cat we wanted and start the paperwork to adopt him. Then we needed to do a 2nd visit to come back with the completed paperwork (we were in the process of moving to a new apartment that allows cats and needed paperwork from the management company as proof).
On the second visit the staff gave us a short lecture about how to care for cats in general and we got to bring the cat home for a no strings attached, week long trial run; if we felt like he was a good fit we could officially adopt him, if not we could try another cat instead. Obviously we fell in love with our boy so no problems there!
One the third visit, we decided we wanted to adopt him, so they had us pay for the neutering and vaccinations the cat had had while under their care (around ¥20,000). It was pretty chill and the lead staff lady was very nice; she added us on Line and said we could reach out if we ever wanted to ask questions or whatever (but she never has contacted us first)
So overall it took about a month for us to officially find and adopt and bring home our cat. We had to suddenly leave the old apartment in a rush, meaning we were doing last minute apartment hunting starting in the last week of February with 3 weeks to move out. Pickings were slim but we managed to find a couple apartments that would allow a cat and a hedgehog. Probably a plus side is that hubby is Japanese, so possibly I would have had a harder time renting a place for foreigners and pets.
The room is old and on the first floor; we pay ¥45,000 a month in rent which is still fairly cheap in my area, so overall we are pretty content. And love the big window the bedroom has since every day driving home from work, we can see our kitty in the window haha
I can’t comment on the apartment situation but we adopted 2 cats through ARK and 2 more through Neco Republic. You have to be patient during the application process as both charities are very thorough in checking that you are able to adopt and look after the cats.
The good thing about Neco Republic is that it operates an ethical cat cafe in central Tokyo so you can get to meet most of their cats and choose one that’s a good match for you.
Satoya-Boshu is person to person adoption and the contracts are written out by the giver and the adopter.
Adopted 2 pets from them and rehomed maybe 30 strays with great success.
pet.home.jp is similar.
I have cats, but I didn’t adopt them. A friend rescued feral kittens from a park and I took them in. I’ve heard it can be pretty difficult to adopt from most shelters here. As for rent there are quite a few pet friendly apartments and houses. I pay 2k a month extra pet rent. It’s a pretty good deal.
We got our cat from Ark and had a great, painless experience. The fee was minimal. Renting is a challenge in that your options are limited and the fees are ridiculous but the upside, in my experience with mansions, is that pet-ok landlords and their tenants tend to have a more laissez-faire attitude to everything.
You’ve already got a lot of good answers. I’ll add in some things I didn’t see in the responses.
Once you have a pet, some things to consider.
If you go on a trip, pet sitting or pet boarding can be quite expensive anywhere from 5000 yen to 10,000 yen a night.
If you move out you will pay a non -negotiable pet cleaning fee of something like 20,000 yen. Also, it’s not uncommon for landlords to say your pet damaged the apartment. So like normal. Take lots of photos and video when you move in.
Because this is Japan, there will be a lot of unnecessary paperwork and tasks. For example, Japan is rabies free. Animals that come into Japan have to be certified for being rabies free. However, if you have a dog every year you have to get the rabies vaccination. It’s fairly cheap but yeah Japan.
When looking for apartments be ready to be flexible. Like people have mentioned, you will find much fewer places that allow pets. However, in addition to this, you will not be as preferred a renter once they find out you plan to bring a pet. So if it’s between you and someone that doesn’t have a pet you will not get the apartment. It doesn’t matter if you’re willing to pay more money, having the pet and being a foreigner or two pretty big strokes against you
I’d recommend pricing out the things you’ll have to buy on regular and add it to your budget. Unless my dogs needed a specialty diet, I wouldn’t buy them food from a pet store. It’s quite overpriced. Dealing with pet waste is another fun learning experience. For a dog, it’s very typical that you buy poop bags with tissue paper lining. Grab their poop, dump it in the toilet and flush it there. You can also throw it in the combustible but then the smell, and neighbors might complain. Having a convenient way to carry your pet will make your life easier, we got a stroller because we have two dogs. The pet must be in some type of enclosed space on public transport.
Also do yourself a favor and get a small pet under 10kg. Very common requirement to that apartments only allow smaller breeds.
That being said, I strongly believe that having a pet is quite awesome. Most things that are worthwhile are a little challenging. Live the life you want to live. It’s also a great way to meet new people.
Just listen around your local parks in the evenings in summer. There are plenty of babies to rescue and adopt.
I’m reading the comments in this thread and I have to say, I haven’t had quite the same experience. I’ve adopted 2 dogs from [Guardian in Kobe](https://kobeguardian.com/) and had a fantastic and easy/friendly experience both times. Two things I learned in my search for a rescue dog was that some of the “hogoken” cafes have deals with breeders to give kickbacks for adopting out the dogs they can no longer breed for profit. One particular “shelter” I found online was actually the breeder herself selling off old dogs under the name “wan wan rescue”. I wouldn’t have figured it out had I not reverse googled her phone number after she tried to pressure me into taking a dog ASAP. A reputable shelter would never do that.
I’ve also adopted many hamsters online. That experience has been completely different because all of those animals came from individuals with various circumstances.
Finally, I want to thank you for considering adoption. The pet shop industry is truly horrendous here with miserable conditions for the parents of the pups as well as poor conditions during transportation and at the shops themselves. Most recently the biggest pet shop “[Coo & Riku](https://www.dailyshincho.jp/article/2023/08301152/)” was in the news for abuse and mistreatment, many dogs dying.
If I can answer and other specific questions, let me know. I can also help you with interpretation if you don’t speak Japanese and live in Kansai.
I easily adopted 5 cats in total. My local shelter is fine. The rent for a pet friendly apartment wasn’t that different, but I bought an apartment now.
I follow this Foster cat youtuber and watch her videos pretty regularly because her own cats are too damn cute.
Apparently, there are adoption drives held regularly, typically, Fosterers will bring their cats that they want adopted to the drive and people will come in and take a look at them, when the owners decide they would want to adopt, it would be a 3 interview type process where the pet will meet the potential owner 3 times before the fosterer allow the new owner to bring them into their house. No mention of costs or anything tho.
I had heard horror stories of how difficult it was to get a pet here but my experience was surprisingly breezy. I was already moving so I just added pet-friendly as a condition I was looking for. After I had the place organised I went to a few 猫譲渡会 events where a number of rescue cats were available and you could start the process while you were there. I applied for a few cats at different events. The first few approved me for the first interview but ended up choosing someone else. I was able to do a trial for the third cat I applied for (admittedly I don’t think anyone else applied for her), and it all worked out easily. Paid the fee, they brought her to my house, I sent regular photos for a while. Now she’s been with me for two years.
I have two Shibas(not adapted) in Tokyo, but basically most places only allow one small dog. Some places allow pets but not cats, so you should decide which animal you want to adapt before you look for a place to rent.
In the case of dogs that need to be walked, maybe it’s because I’m a woman, but in residential areas I frequently get complaints about not letting dogs walk (of course they have no right to say that).
So now I’ve found a rent near a park that allows two dogs and I’ve moved.
I hope you find a good property and a dog or cat to adapt soon.
Have you checked out jmty.jp?
I don’t have enough energy to explain the horror story of what it took to adopt my cat…
However if you PM me I can put you in touch with people I personally know that trap and rescue cats that are also not batshit insane.
I have cats that I’ve trapped that are now living a happy life in a shelter that I pay for on a monthly basis for them to be taken care of until they are adopted.
I would be more than happy to introduce you if you are interested in adopting and can provide a safe environment and a happy cat life.
On rent, for my experience it doesn’t change much. Usually if you live in a bldg that already allows pets, it is just the same. For normal mansion rentals that are pet ok, usually I see you have to add one month to the security deposit. Oh and usually for aparments, size/weight limits are a thing.
My adoption process with this NGO [日本アニマルトラスト](https://happyhouse.or.jp/) in Osaka was very smooth. They are a proper shelter that has about 200 dogs and about 400 cats. Doesn’t cost much (about 40k yen in total for the microchip, registration, doctor visit, vaccination, etc). Process to adopt is about 1-2 months depending on how many times you can come visit. First part is to visit at a visitation to find one that matches with you. Then you have to go about 3 times more in adopting a dog to acclimatize and take them on walks, see if they properly go to the toilet during the walk and see if they properly eat food when you’re around. This part took me about 1 month because I just go on weekends. During this period as well, you’re getting all the documentation ready for adopting, as well as your apartment’s acceptance of having a pet.
Finally, there is a final one month trial period where they bring the dog to your house, properly inspect your house for living conditions. If everything is smooth during that one month, you have to bring the dog back at the end of that month for a proper “graduation” from the shelter.
They are quite knowledgeable and try to make sure you will be able to take care of the rescue.
Basically find a shelter that you can connect properly with. There are some stores that are not proper shelters as well, usually hogoken cafe’s that resell dogs that were not sold through normal pet shops. Good luck!
Yeah it’s difficult in my experience. I was looking to adopt for awhile but almost every cat available near me required a house check, a visit to where the cat lives, a “trial period,” and many of them even said that single people can’t adopt or that that i need to adopt more than one cat. There’s a pretty hefty fee sometimes too so they know you’re serious about it. It was all so much trouble and I live in the middle of nowhere so I wasn’t willing to go through that entire process.
A friend of mine ended up finding a stray kitten so i took him in and it’s been mostly a breeze. My apartment didn’t raise the rent, but they asked for a vaccine certificate.
https://preview.redd.it/nhx4a0l0nf5c1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dcd0d03ac25929aea4f0d9fa5b4d2db61edcf96c
I’ve adopted 2 cats from Animal Refuge Kansai. They have fosters in Tokyo as well. The fee was ¥20,000 and the only requirements were that my apartment was pet friendly, though they did ask some questions to ensure I would treat the cat well–if you go back to your country, what will you do with your cat? etc. Definitely nothing crazy. They also wanted to see photos of my place. The process was not long, I went into the shelter to meet some cats and choose one, then they were delivered to me not long after.
I also had a large dog, which made apartments a lot more annoying. I did still manage to find places pretty easliy because I’m not picky, but they’ve all been fairly old (my current place was built only 30 years ago, the 2 before that were 50+). My current place’s rent went up ¥10,000 per month because of my pets, but my previous two places just increased the key money by something like ¥100,000. The previous 2 places were about ¥70,000 a month, my current one ¥85,000, all within city limits of Osaka or Kyoto, but 2 out of 3 were a bit far from downtown.
I live rather rural but with property boom driving prices up. When looking for pet friendly places it did drop my choice by about 30 places so did parking. Found 5 that allowed. 2ldk brand new, with parking at 74,500 was my choice. The additional cost was pet key money, and pet cleaning money (total 100k). They allowed a second pet later even if one was only allowed. Now own my house, and increased the count to 3. I gave up on adopting, unless a puppy from hokenjo itself ( ensure the cats are safe) cuz the rescue people a bat crazy. Can’t be single, can’t be a couple, can’t be married or childbearing age ( I hate kids) but also can’t be elderly. Whaaaaaat
I don’t think the rent is that much more expensive depending on where you live, but you’ll pay something like one months rent extra for the pet deposit. Japans renting fees are ridiculous as it is so why not get a pet friendly anyways.
Ensure the pet policy allows the pet you actually want. Our dog died and now we realized we can’t have cats or any dog breeds over 10kg size. Furthermore the breeds are specific to a list of 20 odd dogs with no exceptions regardless of their weight.
For example I want a mameshiba or a shiba, zero chance they’ll let it slide – super annoying. Full size shibas barely grow over 10kg, anyways just review the pet policy before hand. We rent from shamaison
Cats are easier than dogs in both adoption and renting places. But I wanted a puppy and a specific breed, and all the places offering adoption denied me because I’m a foreigner. I went to a reputable breeder instead and I’m going 3 years strong with my amazing doggo. It’s surprising because I see all kinds of people who treat their dog’s like accessories or toys rather than a member of their family yet just because foreigners are flight risk they go overboard with screening for adoption.
Also I would recommend finding an apartment which is pet and foreigner ok which can be a problem. Where I live only a few places were available and I just got really lucky with the place I found. Expect to pay a premium on rent too for having pets.