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living in Tokyo with a labrador 2008/1/16 13:01
thinking about taking an expat role and we're wondering about how easy it is to rent accommodation with a 30kg dog, and day-to-day details, eg. english speaking vets, off leash parks etc. Anyone had the experience?
by Oznic  

... 2008/1/16 21:26
There're many threads on living with a dog. Please use "search" function of this page.

A labrador is one of the best popular dogs in Japan but as it is not easy to find a house with a garden large enough to keep a big dog, people make it a habit to walk a dog every day. (once in the morning and another in the evening)

Off-leash parks are not many but increasing. Komazawa Park in Setagaya Ward is the most popular one.
by JLady rate this post as useful

. 2008/1/17 05:30
Thanks for response. Yes I saw other threads, but wasn't sure about the size of dogs. Thank you for info on off-leash park.

As far as accommodation goes, it appears that apartments will only allow dogs under 10kg so they can be carried in public areas - is this true? If so, I guess we would have to rent a house, but wonder how easy this would be?
by Oznic rate this post as useful

... 2008/1/17 06:31
Generally about living with dogs:
There are more and more people living with pets - either cats or dogs, large and small. So it has been becoming *easier* compared to before to find a place to rent that allows pets. However, there might be some preference among landlords about the size or number of pets kept, and this needs to be checked with the estate agent/landlord beforehand. We live in the north-western part of Tokyo (not Setagaya ward mentioned in
the post above). We used to rent a "pets allowed" apartment, and there the largest dog I've seen was a golden retriever, which I assume to be smaller than a labrador. People seem to find it OK living with a golden retriver in an apartment (keeping the dog indoors during the day). (Also there was one couple who kept three medium-sized dogs.) In the current apartment unit that we bought, which is also a "pet OK" place, also the
largest dog I see is a golden retriever. When they take the elevator or stairs with the dog, they simply keep the dog on a short leash, but they do not carry the dog... I guess that depends on the policy of the apartment.
For renting, the deposit/key money you need to pay when you rent will be 3-month worth of rent instead of the normal 2-month worth if you come with some pets. This is in view of the extra normal wear and tear people (or their pets) might incur.

For off-lease parks: The couple with the retriever living in our apartment buliding told me that on the weekends they drive out a bit to go to a "dog run" park where they can let the dog run off leash. So off-leash parks seem to be around, here and there, so you will want to find a place close by one. (Sorry I cannot give you more specific information as we have cats but no dogs).
by AK rate this post as useful

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