I have to re-do this form...

In order to bring beloved Fido (in this case, Wylee) into Japan, one of the first steps is to complete the form entitled:

"Application for import Inspection of Dogs Under the Rabies Prevention Law and the Domestic Animal Infections Diseases Control Law"

I kid you not, this is the entire name of the form.

Time to digress a little.....I allow myself one "cheat" website in which I read all about other people like me living in Japan RIGHT NOW...specifically people living in Yokosuka RIGHT NOW. As stated in a previous blog post, I don't actively seek out information about moving to Yokosuka, simply because I want all my experiences to be "untainted" by the bad experiences or good experience of others. However, in this day and age, completely cowering under a rock never did anybody any good, because chances are I'll miss a lot of good information. My "cheat" website is japanbases.com. While it might not be of much interest to anyone, the people on that forum are helpful and have a lot of good information. Although some of it is a little dumb like, "Can I have the names to all the bars and clubs in Japan? My husband is going there alone and I just want to keep track of him..."

Now, back to the form. One of the things the people on this forum repeat is to make sure you have your pet paperwork in order before arriving in Japan. This ain't America! Where sometimes someone kind of heart might make an exception because you're missing a signature on one page. NO! The Japanese are sticklers for paperwork and official business. So in order to avoid any delays, all paperwork should be in impeccable order.

So, I messed up on my first go-round with this form and I hesitate to white or scratch out anything...so new form it is...then I mail it to Japan and they e-mail me with any further questions...and then they issue me an approval notice to carry the pet into Japan...but only as far as the airport.

For some fun reading, here's a blog taste from a guy who moved to Japan to work on video games. He was the only American who flew from the US to join the company. I think he breaks through some common misconceptions that Japan is a nerd's paradise...afterall, Hello Kitty, anime, Gundam statutes, manga shops...all are rampant in Japan....but getting there to revel in all it's marvoulesness is...well...kind of a pain...