Flying with a dog in Japan is a bit tricky. There are no airlines that allow pets to fly in cabin with you. So they have to go in the hold. We will usually try to do all of our trips on the train or by car. But as Japan is so huge, sometimes a flight is the best option if we want to explore the whole country. So for a short flight, we are OK on the hold as we know I travel well. You can check out this video of me in the hold from a past flight which shows how calm I was. For more information on the various airlines policies for flying with pets in Japan check out my recent blog post here.
For our first flight in Japan we chose to fly with Skymark as they had good flight schedule, relatively OK price considering we booked last minute and were flying around Obon holidays (¥32,000 per person / US$224) and we could also hire a crate from the airport. This meant we didn’t have to buy a new plastic crate or cart it with us on our journey. Instead, we could simply travel in my Sturdibag to the airport then swap into their crate for the journey.
Cost & Rules
It costs an extra ¥5,000 to fly with a dog and the process is pretty simple. It says to turn up with the dog at the check in counter at least 30 minutes before departure. You can check in up to 2 hours before the flight but the dog only has to be actually handed over 30 minutes before the flight. Which means the time you are apart is actually pretty small. It also means they go straight onto the plane. So no hanging around wondering what’s going on.
We checked in the humans bags first. Then we went outside to pee and just hang around. We went back to the check in desk about an hour before the flight where I got put in the crate from the airline and paid the fee.
They can only take a certain number of pets on each flight. The website does say you can just turn up but we didn’t want to take the risk in case there were others travelling. Especially close to a public holiday. So we called up as soon as we booked our tickets (we asked for an English speaking agent who was great). They added the pet to our booking no problem and confirmed we wanted to rent a crate.
The size of crates they have available are actually pretty small. The biggest they have is 51cm x 69cm x 48cm which weighs 5.5kg. This is the biggest carrier they allow even if you bring your own. So whilst they say the dog can be up to 32kg, realistically it’s only for smaller dogs. We had to rent the L size and it was still quite tight!
The Flight
The flight itself was great. Everything went super smoothly. After the humans boarded the plane the crew came over and confirmed that we had a pet on board. They asked what kind of dog we had and when mammy showed a picture she said Schnauzer? So we were a bit worried they had the wrong dog. But I think she was just confused at the breed.
When we got to the baggage carousel at Sapporo airport we only had to wait about 5 minutes. Then the ground crew carried me over in my box and I was free! They had cable tied the box to make sure that I couldn’t escape. So the humans were happy to know that they take good care of the animals when flying.
Flying with a dog in Japan isn’t the easiest since you can’t fly in cabin. But if I have to go in the hold then I’m very happy with Skymark.
Woof woof, Wylie x
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This is a helpful guide for dog owners flying within Japan. Airline pet rules can be very different from country to country, so it’s important to check carrier size, pet handling, booking requirements, temperature rules, and comfort before the flight. Planning early can make the trip much safer and smoother for both the dog and the owner.