My husband received orders to Yokosuka. We will be arriving in November this year(2010). We have a pet and I want to make sure I can bring him when we go. I don't want to leave him behind. We do want to live off base but don't know what it will be like finding a place to live. Also I have two children and want to attend school soon after we get set up. Does anyone know of a school I would be able to attend that will be acceptable in the us? and what does child care run in japan? Any information would be great! Thanks everyone!

Hello lindsey.

Welcome.

Please read the reporting to japan section:
http://www.japanbases.com/forums/aff/491.aspx

Arriving to Japan With Pets section and Pets General Chat:
http://www.japanbases.com/forums/afg/50.aspx

There is a wealth of information and the only way you will learn is if you read.

There are plenty of colleges you can attend on base.

Every new member asks similar questions that have been asked by the thousands before you.  The best advice I can give you is read up, try to find what your looking for, and whatever base your coming to (which is Yokosuka from your post), I would also recommend reading that section as well:

Yokosuka:
http://www.japanbases.com/forums/aff/484.aspx

If you have any further specific questions, please just let us know.

Good luck.

Welcome again.

Lindsey,
I would recommend you go to the nearest military vet to get the information that you need. I moved to and from Japan with a dog but he was a little over a year old when we moved to Japan... There are requirements for rabies vaccinations and microchips and I believe that it is more difficult to complete if your puppy is very young... When I was moving I used the Army Vet website..
http://www.usarj.army.mil/organizat...mport.aspx
Good Luck with your PCS!

Lindsey,

Check out the pet forums and school forums Adam mentioned.

I hate to bear bad news, but unless you've already started your puppy's road to entering Japan, it is highly unlikely it will be coming to Japan in November.

http://www.maff.go.jp/aqs/english/a...other.html has information on how to import a dog. Your dog must FIRST be microchipped, and then have a rabies vaccine. If you're lucky, you had him microchipped before his rabies. If not, you have to go back and start from the microchip.

There are schools on the base for all students. Check out the CNIC website, there are links to the schools with all the registration requirements- be sure to look over the vaccination requirements carefully and be sure your kids have what the school wants. Kids usually can start just a day or two after registering. Care for smaller children is extremely limited and can have long waiting lists. There are many great Japanese pre-schools offbase, but they can be pricey.

We decided to wait until we got here to get a dog due to the red tape to bring one here so I dont know much about that process. However, we're going through the housing process now and found that when getting a place out in town, Japanese landlords are reluctant to rent to you if you have a pet. We held firm that we would not rent the house without the option to get a pet. Both landlords we were thinking of renting from, relented when we were firm that it was a condition of us accepting the place to rent.