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Do you own a medium or large dog while living in Tokyo?
Did you have trouble finding an apartment that allows for your dog's size? Do you have trouble bringing your dog to the vet? Do you ever travel (via train, bus, shinkansen) with your dog in a carry case? What are some troubles you didn't foresee having?
My partner and I are moving in a few months, and we want to move to a dog-friendly place so we can get a dog shortly thereafter. Doing some research, we've found that a lot of apartments will specify that small dogs (up to a certain weight) are allowed, but bigger ones, even what I would consider small-medium, are not. We want to stay within the 23 wards, so we're going to have to compromise, it looks like.
Now, my dream dog is a golden retriever or a lab, and I realize that's impossible without moving to the suburbs or being insanely rich, so I've gotten my expectations down to a medium dog instead. However, it's seeming like even that is impossible...
So I'm really curious if anyone has a medium or large dog, if you could share what your experience has been like.
Grateful to hear any experience so we can do our due diligence before choosing a new place, and a new buddy to share that place with us.
the 10kg limit is real but there's a weird loophole sometimes - some landlords will list "small dog only" but if you ask directly about a specific breed they'll budge. we got our 14kg corgi into a place in kichijoji that technically said 5kg max just by having our agent negotiate. it took like 3 weeks of back and forth.
one thing nobody warned me about was the summer heat with a bigger dog. sidewalks get absolutely scorching by 10am and you can't walk them without booties. also most dog runs in the 23 wards have those rubber mats that smell terrible after a rain. we go to the one in shinjuku gyoen sometimes but it's 500 yen entry.
for grooming, we use a mobile grooming van that comes to our apartment. costs about 8000 yen for a full cut but beats carrying a 14kg dog through the station. there's a few companies that do it, just search 訪問トリミング.
honestly, medium is still tough in the 23 wards. most landlords cap it at 10kg or under, and even then they'll wanna see the breed. I've got a 15kg shiba mix and it took us like 4 months to find a place in setagaya that said yes. we went through a real estate agent that specializes in pet-friendly listings, it's worth the extra fee.
for vet access, there's a good 24h clinic in meguro that handles larger dogs fine, but you'll prob need a car or taxi for anything urgent. trains are a no-go unless your dog fits in a carrier under the seat, which means max like 8kg. shinkansen is even stricter, they weigh the carrier at the gate. we just drive everywhere now.
one thing i didn't expect was how many parks ban dogs or have leash rules that make it hard to let them run. yoyogi park has a dog run but it's tiny and always packed. we mostly walk along the tama river now, way more space.
Yeah the size thing is brutal. We have a 12kg beagle and even that was a battle. Most pet-friendly listings we found had a 10kg limit written in the contract, and once they see the dog they can still say no. We ended up in a place near Nakano that didn't have an elevator, which was a pain for the first year but honestly fine now. The real surprise was finding a groomer. A lot of them won't take dogs over 10kg either, and the ones that do charge way more than I expected. We found one in S
Best disco nights at Strobe in Tokyo 2026
saturdays are the one, but nothing happens before midnight tbh, last train crowd rolls in around 12:30 and it runs till first train from shibuya
yeah that 12:30 wave is real, the last train from shibuya dumps everyone right there. only thing id add is fridays can be decent too but its hit or miss depending on who's spinning
fridays hinge on the guest dj honestly, check the flyer first or u might walk into a wedding reception vibe
also check who's spinning, some sat lineups are weak