Welcome Man's Best Friend

Yes, I am referring to our dog.  Today is a day of celebration as it marks the end of his 180 day (6 month) quarantine.  Explanation below.  Here he is with me on this wet day in Japan...

Appropriately crossing the Freedom Bridge today

I took this photo of him in San Diego years ago

Japan is a rabies-free country, so pets coming from a country that is not rabies-free need to start the process about 8 months prior to arriving if they do not want their dog stuck in quarantine for 6 months here.  We are very lucky that our dog only had to be kenneled for a little over a week because we got base-housing, and base is a quarantined area which allows the completion of quarantine in-home.   Some dogs are in a kennel the entire 6 months because their families do not get base-housing, and/or their families got a late start on the process.  This is one reason why the military does not recommend bringing pets.  Again, we are very lucky.  It was a very complicated process, with many conflicting directions.  If you are trying to bring your pet, look below for the paperwork you will be required to present.  Definitely make sure you have all this, and check if you need more.

1. Bring your dog to the vet approximately 8 months prior to traveling for the first required rabies vaccine and international microchip.    If you are military, go to a military vet if you can, but it is not mandatory.  You will NEED a SIGNED rabies certificate from this appointment to get on the airplane, and when you arrive in Japan.  I recommend starting an 8 1/2 x 11" envelope for all the forms you will need to travel with.

2.  One month later you will need to get rabies shot #2.  Again, you will need the signed certificate for your entire journey.  Keep it with the certificate for #1 and the international microchip number.

3.  Shortly after rabies shot #2, they will do a "Rabies Titer Test."  This is a blood test that makes sure there is no sign of rabies in your pet.  This is the official start date of the quarantine.  (Quarantine can be completed at home in the states as long as your pet does not come in contact with any other animals.)  When you receive the results of the titer test, keep it with your rabies #1 and #2 certificates.  It will be required prior to boarding the plane.

4.  Send an advance notice form (http://www.maff.go.jp/aqs/english/animal/dog/pdf/notification-dog.pdf) to the airport you will be touching down in in Japan.  (They say 40 days prior, but that is not always required.  Check with your airport.)  Most military airports do not require an advance notice, but check with them just incase they want it.  A receipt notice should be faxed or emailed back to you.  If you do not hear from the airport, make sure to call to see if they got it.

5.  Within 10 days prior to arriving to Japan (I believe 2 days for civilian airports) you need to schedule a vet appointment for a "Veterinary Health Certificate."  For this certificate they will ask for all of your previous paperwork mentioned.  It can be a civilian or military vet.  If you use a military vet, you do not need to go to a USDA office.  If you go to a civilian vet, you will need to have your paperwork stamped at your nearest USDA office.  You will also need a civilian vet to sign form: C-3 below...

5.  If you have to go to a USDA office, you will need all these ORIGINAL forms:
     -Veterinary Health Certificate-Signed and dated within 10 days with international microchip number
     -Signed Rabies Certificate #1
     -Signed Rabies Certificate #2
     -Rabies Titer Results
     -Quarantine Form A: http://www.maff.go.jp/aqs/english/animal/dog/pdf/CertificateA041126.pdf
     -Forms C 1-3: http://www.maff.go.jp/aqs/english/animal/dog/pdf/certificatec100415.pdf
I recommend calling the USDA prior to your appointment to make sure you have all the forms they currently want.  (We had to make an extra trip back to the vet to sign form C-3.)

6. To get on a plane, bring all your paperwork.  Most importantly, they will be looking at your 2 rabies certificates, and making sure your veterinary certificate is stamped by the USDA within 10 days of flying.  (Our flight was delayed a day, and we barely made it, so plan ahead!)

7.  If your dog has not yet completed the quarantine, it will either need to be completed on approved base housing, or in an off-base kennel.  (No dogs allowed off base anywhere without completion of quarantine, except approved kennels.)

8.  If you are finishing up quarantine in Japan, your dog will have an exam when entering the country and exams every 30 days thereafter until the final quarantine exam.  And good news, KENNELING DUE TO QUARANTINE is reimbursable up to $500 for family pets on PCS moves. :)

This may be a helpful link... http://www.usarj.army.mil/organization/vet/index.aspx

That is it!  Best of luck bringing your pet to Japan. :)

The Language Barrier...

As soon as I found out we had orders to Japan, I ordered a Japanese for Kids DVD, 2 picture dictionaries, a full Japanese-English pocket dictionary, and my favorite, Instant Emersion Japanese CD-Rom.  Before we arrived, I could count to 100, I knew words for basic phrases, colors, foods, body parts, clothes, and greetings.  As soon as I got to my first store off-base, I got to the check-out stand, and didn't understand a word!  I panicked a little until I could see the price on the cash-register, then fumbled through the unfamiliar coins I had and handed her the appropriate yen.  Then, finally, I recognized a word, "Arigato!"  (Thank you!)  I smiled, said "Arigato" back, and realized everything would be okay.

Then... I tried looking at cars.  Ha!  When you come to a car you like and "think" is in your price-range, but the tag says something like this... 

Oh boy.  Where to start?  It was very clear that the Japanese spoken words I had learned were not going to help me much without learning to write.  Therefore, I bought a book on learning to write Japanese, and another on Kanji symbols.  This particular vehicle has 92,000 km on it, and is listed for 180,000 yen (around $2200.)  Other than that, I'm still not sure. ;)

What I have learned is that Japanese use a combination of 3 writing styles, Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji, with occasional Romanji (sounds spelled out with Roman letters.)  Hiragana and Katakana are two different writing styles of the same "alphabet."  Though unlike ours, their alphabet has 46 basic sounds, that can be changed into different sounds with diacritic markers (shown below).  Kanji is not based on sound, just complex symbols than mean specific things.  There are thousands of Kanji, adopted from Chinese characters.  If you're curious, look at the "cheat sheet" I have made below, which you can print at home  (makes 2 to fold in half on letter sized paper)...

Hiragana/Katakana, with a Few Basic Kanji Symbols

Now you or I can read anything written in Hiragana or Katakana.  Though unless the meaning of the word is known, (or phrase since they do not separate words) it'll require further translation.

Winter Climate and Plant-Life

It is a good thing I followed a friend's advice to "Bring warm winter coats!  If you don't have them, buy them BEFORE you come."  It has been below freezing most of the last month, with multiple light sprinklings of snow.  Just near the end of February, there has been a few heavy rains, and some temps up to 50ºF (10ºC).  Here is a photo of my children on a cold train/ferry visit to Miyajima Island...

We definitely were not over-dressed for the weather.  It was rather windy, which made us anxious to escape the cold.  We will surely return when it is warmer.  The island is a beautiful place to visit if you ever have the opportunity.  This is where I took my title photo for the blog.

As for locally, Lotus fields have been freezing, and most plant-life looks dead.  It was almost depressing arriving to such an absence of color.  Despite the winter darkness, every once in a while we'll come across beautiful winter blooms such as these...

And another adventure leads to the Kintai Bridge.  It is normally photographed with beautiful Cherry Blossoms in the spring.  I promise to return and take more colorful photos at that time...

 From upstream above, and downstream below...

So, this is winter!  I would compare the climate to that of the East Coast of the United States.  Winters are cold, and summers are hot, with beautiful spring and fall seasons between.

Culture Shock?

If you arrive to Japan at a US Military installation, the "culture shock" is not too bad.  Yes, you will see Japanese employees all over the base, many of them only speak a tiny bit of English, and everyone drives on the Left side of the road, but on-base the currency is still US Dollars, there are a few American fast-food restaurants to eat at, and you'll do just fine without knowing a word of Japanese.  For the most part you will be comfortable.  Within a couple days, you will have seen the base and be bored or homesick.  So, you have to get out!  Here is where the "culture shock" lies.

First bit of advice before arriving, learn to count to 10 (or better yet, 100+) and every word or symbol for your gender's restroom.  Women, you'll come into a room with a thing like this, and think you ended up in the wrong one...

Yes girls, you're supposed to SQUAT, facing the toilet paper.  They say it is much more sanitary than Western toilets because your rear doesn't touch the seat.  (Just don't slip or accidentally splash. ;)

As for the driving, stay to the left, "hiney to the liney," and don't really pay attention to what color the center line is, just make sure there's no one-way arrows.  Yes, they have yellow or white, dotted or straight lines as the center lines.  Sometimes they add extra lines just for fun. ;)  Here's a couple examples...

So, if you're planning on getting a driver's license in Japan, I recommend you start studying signs and rules early, WALK and pay close attention to the movement of traffic, then do a lot of riding in the passenger seat before you set out driving on your own.

Incase you are wondering, I DID pass my driver's license test... but have no car... yet. ;)

Welcome!

I've always thought blogs were a bit silly, or egocentric, people writing about themselves.  Now, here I am, adding to the drama of "ordinary" lives.  Then I realized, I keep getting asked for photos, fitness advice,  now even recipes, what better way to share them for free?  So here we are.  I will try my best to keep the drama short, and the photos coming.  As a personal trainer, I plan to include some fitness information, and healthy food ideas.  I know you all want to see Japan.  Therefore, I have added a search bar so you can easily "jump" to your favorite topics.  I hope you have fun. :)