The single most stressful thing about moving to Japan was how to go about getting our two Cats there too. Just the thoughts of doing it, right from the inception of our decision to move over 2 years ago, right through to actually doing it have been as stressful as anything I have ever done.
Aside from it keeping us topped off with feelings of worry at the thought of the trauma our Cats would undoubtedly endure, but the cost of it all was around equal to the travel costs of the 3 of us AND our shipment of belongings!
Here is an account of how it all went, from planning through to executing of moving our two cats from New Zealand to Kyushu in Japan. I hope you may find our experience insightful or useful if you are planning to move Pets abroad.
Approved Pet Transporters
The first restriction when flying to Japan (directly) from New Zealand is that you are limited to just one airline and one destination: Air New Zealand flying into Narita, Tokyo. To fly an animal with Air NZ it is mandatory that you use an Approved Pet Transporter - you are not allowed to organise it yourself. This is to ensure everything is done properly and reduces complications.
Back in 2024, in the early planning stages I sent an email to a number of these approved companies outlining our requirements. Our trip requires transiting in Tokyo, and there never seem to be connecting flights to Kumamoto on the same day whenever we travel and therefore an overnight stay is required, adding another level of complexity as we would not be there to collect them in Tokyo and take them onto the next flight. If we were moving within driving distance of Tokyo this would have been so much easier!
Every single company that responded to my initial enquiries was really only interested in putting them on the plane in Auckland to Tokyo, which as I just mentioned would be the easy bit, the easy dollars. Not one of them had any interest with helping us at the other end for import and transit for the next flight, and as the cats would be travelling unaccompanied it was a real worry about what happens to them when they arrive in Japan. Disheartened, I put the problem aside for a year (whilst regularly stressing about it that entire time)
The Japan Agent
Last year in April we started planning in earnest, and getting the question marks around the cat's travel put to bed was the top priority.
After plenty of research I found a company based in Japan who would take care of the Japan side of things; import, transit and domestic flight. Surprisingly the quote for that part of the journey was not too dissimilar to the cost to fly them from NZ to Japan, ie. rather expensive.
The company's name is Economove. They are an international moving company that deals with animals too. Their website is available in English and the staff member I was in contact with was able to communicate in English aswell. Lots of back and worth ensued to satisfy my questions and that the Japan side of things will be handled smoothly. That was a huge weight off our shoulders.
Now that the Japan agent was setup, I had to select an NZ agent. This time when I contacted them all I mentioned that Economove will handle the Japan side of things and that I need someone who can liaise with them to oversee right through to delivery. Funnily enough all of the agents now wanted to help me, and all claiming they have a Japanese agent to assist too - in reality they were all contacting Economove for pricing and claiming them as their Japan agent... This annoyed Economove a bit when they noticed they were getting identical requests from many different companies when they had been dealing with me directly already.
In the end we went with Karla and Carla at Pet travel NZ, they were easy to deal with and seemed to have that nice personal touch and the way they conveyed themselves and their experience really put us at ease.
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| Chelsea (left) Preston (right) |
Travel Plan
As I mentioned before, the two flights was always going to be an issue. At the time we had it first quoted it was based on using the NZ95 flight; an overnight flight that leaves late at night in NZ and arrives early in the morning in Japan. They can then be flown to Kumamoto arriving late in the following afternoon resulting in a travel time close to 24 hours in total.
Unfortunately for some reason we are not allowed to send them on NZ95. It's funny as this flight exists yet whenever I go to book my own travel I can never select this flight, it's always NZ99 which leaves in the morning. Anyhow, this change in flight adds some complications. The flight leaves around 10am in NZ and arrives in Japan around 6pm local time.
Problem #1 is that the import desk for animals at Narita Airport will be closed for the day when they arrive, so there is no option (even if I was there in-person) to have them cleared through import. They will have to stay overnight at the airport until the desk re-opens the following morning and they can be processed. They cannot come out of their cages until that time, which would be close to 24 hours. During the import check they will be out of their cage during which time we are told they will be cleaned out.
Problem #2 is that for some reason they cannot fly from Narita to Kumamoto like we do, only from Haneda Airport. They will need to be transported the 77km between airports to then meet a flight that will then arrive in Kumamoto around 5pm in the evening where they will be collected by Tomomi.
Total travel time is looking to be around 36 hours. I'm not happy for our cats at all, it will be a traumatising experience for them, and then when they finally get to their new home would be kept in a large cage with restricted freedoms as my in-laws house is not pet friendly. The Cats would not be able to avoid succumbing to the temptation to destroy all of the Shoji (paper screen doors) and Tatami (woven floor mats)
Quote
Now seems like a good time to show what we were quoted in 2025. I expected the final costs to be at least 20% higher due to the War with Iran pushing up fuel prices. It was also quoted on the previous flight plan which has now changed too.
With the current exchange rate, the total NZ cost of the below quote is around $9,200 for 2 Cats. I was bracing myself for this to end up as high as $12,000.
In the end the NZ side ended up at $5,140 and the Japan side ended up being exactly as quoted, and with an improved exchange rate versus back when we had it initially quoted, puts it at around $3,795 NZD, taking the total to $8,935. This was a good result considering the initially quote was well over 6 months ago and we are now in the middle of a fuel crisis due to events ion the Middle East.
Preparation
Paperwork
In December the year prior I submitted the 'Advanced Notification for Import' as this must be done at least 40 days in advance of travel, and I was told that it could be done well in advance. Fast-forward to making the booking (you need to book at least a month in advance), we were told that is not true and therefore the 40 days would 'reset' and push back our entire time frame for moving by 2 weeks. Then we were told it doesn't matter and the 40 days is just a guideline. It didn't matter and we didn't have to delay our schedule.
Checks
We were all set to have the cats fly on the 3rd of June. Because they have to have an MPI check to issue an Export Certificate within 48 hours of travel (basically the day before) we had to push the travel date out a bit from the original plan of late May due to there being a long weekend at the start of June.
In addition to the MPI export check they need to have Vet checks as a sort of 'pre-export check to the export check' within 4 days of travel. This involved a few simple things such as checking for Fleas and Ticks, Heartbeat, gums and Microchips, and then completing the MPI forms. This was booked in for the 30th of May (the Saturday before their Wednesday flight) The MPI appointment was on the 2nd of June, with the Cats boarding their flight from Auckland on the 3rd of June, with them due to arrive at Kumamoto Airport for collection on the 4th of June late in the afternoon.
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| PP30 Cat carriers |
Cages
MPI have to approve the cages as being suitable to fly. Don't skimp here. I bought some cages from a Pet store that were technically IATP approved for Air travel and they looked the part but then our agent basically said they aren't durable enough for international travel and that there is a good chance they would not be approved, leaving us potentially scrambling to find expensive cages just hours before we need them - no thank you. For Australia and New Zealand you want a Pet One PP30 for a Cat. You could go bigger but there are restrictions on the size that will fit through the aircraft door. In addition to that, like in our situation we have other travel arrangements after the initial flight that also has size restrictions, so make sure you check.
The PP30 cages are big by Cat carrier standards, measuring 62x41x45cm. Roomy enough for a cat to stand and turnaround. They come with a very deep bowl for water to avoid spills, and it's designed so the cat can fit it's head down fully into it to drink. It comes with a funnel which attaches to the cage door so that the water can be filled from the outside. I added an extra bowl and funnel to each cage so they can have the same setup for food.
Inside the cage it is recommended to line the bases with absorbent puppy pee pads and then place a nice blanket on top to make it comfortable. An item of clothing with your scent on it is a good idea too, I put an unwashed sock in each carrier.
Customs entry
When sending animals unaccompanied like we are, you also need to complete a 'Declaration of accompanied articles and unaccompanied articles' when entering Japan. In our case, Tomomi was travelling before the cats and she completed the form when clearing customs. You can either complete the physical form they hand out to you, or you can do the online version that creates a QR code, as even with the online one it will flag up to the Customs Agent to pull you aside to ask you about it. You then need the form with a stamp on it that they will give you. We then mailed that form to Economove as they were the one handling the importation and Japan being Japan, they needed the exact original physical copy of the document.
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| Preston |
Action time
We paid for everything in advance the week before. By that point the planning was all complete and everything was booked. In the final week everything was involving the Cats themselves. The NZ agent sent us the itinerary below, as you can see it is quite involved.
Fit to Fly Checks
Before getting the export certificate from MPI, you have to have a Vet do a pre-approval check. I opted to split this and the MPI visit onto separate days. The Fit to Fly checks are pretty straightward - The Vet did basic checks of heart, gums, weight and also for Fleas. They scanned and validated their Microchips and in Chelsea's case, updated her Vaccinations and worming. Chelsea behaved well and got her 'Fit to Fly' Certificate, whereas Preston was his usual aggressive self (downright psychotic actually), so we were unable to worm or vaccinate him. Fortunately those aren't required for import to Japan. Preston's fit to fly certificate was with the caveat that he must have mild sedation, and as such we had to tick the box on the form that said 'anxiety, aggressive and destructive behaviour'. I was always under the impression that the animals cannot have any drugs to fly, alas they can, they just can be sedated to the point of sleeping. They must be awake and alert.
MPI Export check
48 hours before leaving you must get an MPI export certificate. We did ours the day before flying. This was very straightforward as our Agent and MPI took care of all the paperwork, and the MPI staff just checked the cats for fleas and ticks, felt their paws and scanned their microchips to ensure they are who they are supposed to be. The Vet checks a few days prior would have helped make this faster too. The cages were then checked and approved with a sticker applied to them. We unticked the box on Preston's form as in hindsight his behaviour is acceptable and expected - he's fine unless you stick your hands into his cage and doesn't go berserk just by being in a cage. |
| Cat crates prepped for Travel |
Time to Fly
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| The Cats plane on approach to Narita, and the live wind map |
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