Can You Ask Your Municipality to Cremate Your Pet? Fees and How to Apply in 814 Japanese Cities and Wards

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Most Japanese municipalities will collect and cremate a pet's body for a fee. As a rule, this means communal cremation with no ashes returned. Pick your prefecture below to see the fee and how to apply in your city or ward.

  • We checked the official site of every one of 792 cities nationwide plus Tokyo's 23 wards individually (July–August 2026)
  • Fees range from free to ¥16,500, and ashes are not returned as a rule (Sendai, Miyazaki, Otsu, and Takamatsu are among the few exceptions, offering a paid ash-return option)
  • A few cities — Tsu and Kumamoto among them — have no pickup program at all for a pet you own

Sizing changes what applies: large dogs (roughly 25kg and up) / small dogs and cats

When a pet dies in Japan, many owners' first thought is a private cremation service — but most Japanese municipalities also run a pet-body pickup program of their own. It's less well known, but it's a legitimate option if you want to keep costs down or keep things simple. A municipality typically only cremates the body as general waste; it is a different kind of service from the pet funeral (private cremation) covered on ourcremation costs page.

The biggest difference between a municipality and a private company is whether the ashes come back. Most municipalities use communal cremation — cremating your pet together with other animals — so ash return isn't offered. If you want to keep the ashes, look at private individual cremation, covered on ourChoosing a provider page. Neither option is objectively "better" — it comes down to whether having the ashes back matters to you.

Pick your prefecture

Each prefecture page lists, city by city, how much it costs, how to apply, and whether the ashes come back, with a link to that city's official page. If you're not sure where to start, that's the place to look. Fees come from each city's official site (city.~.jp / city.~.lg.jp, in Japanese); where we couldn't confirm an item, the page says so ("not verified" or "not stated on the official site").

Comparing by price or ash return

If you don't yet know your city's fee, or want to start from price or whether ashes are returned, these two pages are a shortcut.

What we learned nationwide

Looking across all 814 municipalities, the fee reflects a difference in what's actually provided. Most cities cremate pets, together with other animals, as general waste at a waste incineration facility — that's relatively cheap, and ashes aren't returned as a rule. A few cities — Sendai, Yokohama, and Nagoya among them — run a separate, dedicated pet crematorium. There, you can choose individual cremation or an ash-return option, but the fee runs several times to more than ten times higher than the waste-facility route. Some cities offer both counters side by side.

A few cities, such as Tsu and Kumamoto, have no pickup program at all for a pet you own. Tsu only collects wild or unidentified animals on private land; Kumamoto only picks up bodies found on public roads — in both cases, a pet you actually kept is not eligible. In these cities, a private pet funeral company is the option.

Reference: fee table for Tokyo's 23 wards

Tokyo's 23 wards — pet-body pickup and cremation fees (as of July 2026)
WardFeeWeight limitAsh returnSource
Chiyoda-ku (千代田区)2,900円25kg未満記載なしcity.chiyoda.lg.jp (in Japanese)
Chuo-ku (中央区)3,000円25kgまでなし(合同火葬・共同墓地埋葬)city.chuo.lg.jp (in Japanese)
Minato-ku (港区)3,000円25kg未満なし(合同)city.minato.tokyo.jp (in Japanese)
Shinjuku-ku (新宿区)3,000円25kg未満なしcity.shinjuku.lg.jp (in Japanese)
Bunkyo-ku (文京区)2,600円25kg未満なし(合葬)city.bunkyo.lg.jp (in Japanese)
Taito-ku (台東区)2,600円25kg以下記載なしcity.taito.lg.jp (in Japanese)
Sumida-ku (墨田区)2,600円25kg未満記載なしcity.sumida.lg.jp (in Japanese)
Koto-ku (江東区)3,000円(収集)25kg未満なしcity.koto.lg.jp ※オンライン申請可 (in Japanese)
Shinagawa-ku (品川区)3,000円25kg未満記載なしcity.shinagawa.tokyo.jp (in Japanese)
Meguro-ku (目黒区)3,000円25kg未満なし(合同)city.meguro.tokyo.jp (in Japanese)
Ota-ku (大田区)3,100円25kg未満なしcity.ota.tokyo.jp (in Japanese)
Setagaya-ku (世田谷区)3,100円25kg未満なしcity.setagaya.lg.jp (in Japanese)
Shibuya-ku (渋谷区)3,000円25kg未満なし(合同)city.shibuya.tokyo.jp (in Japanese)
Nakano-ku (中野区)3,000円25kg未満なし(合同火葬・埋葬)city.tokyo-nakano.lg.jp (in Japanese)
Suginami-ku (杉並区)有料(金額は公式ページ未記載・要問い合わせ)--city.suginami.tokyo.jp (in Japanese)
Toshima-ku (豊島区)3,000円25kg未満なし(火葬処分)city.toshima.lg.jp (in Japanese)
Kita-ku (北区)3,000円25kg未満なし(動物霊園で合葬)city.kita.lg.jp (in Japanese)
Arakawa-ku (荒川区)2,600円25kg未満記載なしcity.arakawa.tokyo.jp (in Japanese)
Itabashi-ku (板橋区)2,700円25kg未満なしcity.itabashi.tokyo.jp (in Japanese)
Nerima-ku (練馬区)3,000円25kg未満記載なしcity.nerima.tokyo.jp ※オンライン申請可 (in Japanese)
Katsushika-ku (葛飾区)2,600円25kg未満なし(合同火葬埋葬)city.katsushika.lg.jp (in Japanese)
Edogawa-ku (江戸川区)有料(金額は公式ページ未記載・要問い合わせ)-遺骨は戻らないcity.edogawa.tokyo.jp (in Japanese)

Adachi ward is excluded from this table because we could not confirm its program this round. Suginami and Edogawa don't publish a specific amount on their official sites beyond "there is a fee" — contact the ward office directly for details.

3 things to confirm by phone before you ask

The fees and conditions above come from each municipality's official site, but they can change. Before you actually request pickup, it's worth confirming these three things by phone:

  1. The current fee and how to pay. Fees are sometimes revised, and a few offices (Yokohama's individual cremation, for instance) accept cash only.
  2. Whether it's drop-off, home pickup, or both. Some cities offer both; others offer only one.
  3. Whether ashes are returned. This depends on whether it's communal or individual cremation — some cities, such as Sendai, require you to say at the time of your phone request whether you want the ashes back.

Always confirm the latest details directly with your municipality's official site or office.

Municipal or private — how to decide

A municipality is usually the lower-cost option, but as a rule it means communal cremation with no ash return. Many charge nothing to a few thousand yen, and quite a few municipalities pick up an unidentified animal found on a public road for free.

Private cremation companies let you choose between communal, individual (unattended), and witnessed individual cremation, and individual cremation lets you keep the ashes (see Types of cremation for what each tier actually means). That flexibility comes at a higher price than a municipality.

Neither is objectively right or wrong — it's reasonable to choose based on whether keeping the ashes matters to you.

If you decide to go with a private company but aren't sure where to start, Choosing a provider covers what to look for and the questions worth asking on the phone before you book — including confirming a total price with no surprise extras.

If you don't know which company to call first, a nationwide referral service that gathers quotes from multiple providers is one way in. Before you commit, always confirm theall-inclusive total, with no extras.

Request a quote through Pet Sōgi 110-ban

Frequently asked questions

Do municipalities return the ashes?

As a rule, no. Most municipalities use communal cremation (合同火葬, gōdō kasō) — cremating your pet together with other animals — so individual ashes aren't returned. A handful of cities, including Sendai, Miyazaki, Otsu, and Takamatsu, offer a paid option to have the ashes returned. If you want to keep the ashes, consider a private individual cremation (個別火葬, kobetsu kasō) — unattended or witnessed — through the providers covered on our Choosing a provider page.

How much does it cost?

Anywhere from free to ¥16,500, depending on the municipality. Most cities pick up an unidentified animal found on a public road for free, but charge a fee for your own pet. Within the same city, home pickup usually costs more than dropping the body off yourself.

How do I apply?

Normally you call your municipality's waste management division (often called an environmental services office or clean center). Where drop-off is accepted, you can also bring the body to the facility directly. A few wards and cities also accept an online application.

What actually happens during a municipal cremation?

At most municipalities, a waste incineration facility cremates your pet together with other animals, as general waste. Ashes are not returned as a rule, and the remains are disposed of on-site. Some cities — Sendai, Yokohama, and Nagoya among them — run a separate, dedicated pet crematorium, where individual cremation and an ash-return option may be available.

Is the fee the same everywhere in Japan?

No. In our survey, fees ranged from free to ¥16,500 depending on the municipality. Within a given city, home pickup is generally more expensive than drop-off — we found almost no exceptions to that pattern.

Drop-off or pickup — which is cheaper?

Drop-off is cheaper in most municipalities. As a rule, home pickup costs more than dropping the body off yourself, and we found almost no exceptions (as of July 2026, per our research). Chiba, for example, charges ¥1,000 for pickup versus ¥500 for drop-off; Takamatsu charges ¥1,540 versus ¥610. If you want the municipality to come collect the body, confirm the fee with the office — it will likely cost more.

Is there a weight limit?

Most municipalities do set an upper weight limit. Nearly every one of Tokyo's 23 wards caps it at under 25kg (as of July 2026, per our research); Nagano City's limit is 30kg, and Yokohama's individual cremation covers pets under 50kg. What happens if your pet is over the limit varies by municipality, so it's worth calling ahead to check.

Will a municipality take animals other than dogs and cats?

Some will. Yamagata City explicitly lists birds and hamsters as eligible, and Sapporo prices by animal type — dogs and cats; rabbits and monkeys; pigeons and chickens; and mice, hamsters, and similar small animals — each in its own tier (as of July 2026, per our research). Eligible animals and fees vary by municipality, so it is worth checking ahead.

How much does it cost in Tokyo's 23 wards?

Around ¥2,600–3,100 as a rough range (as of July 2026, per our research). Bunkyo, Taito, Arakawa, and Katsushika, among others, charge ¥2,600; Ota and Setagaya charge ¥3,100 — the exact amount varies by ward. Fees and how to apply for each ward are on our Tokyo page.

Do some municipalities have no pickup program at all?

Yes. Tsu City and Kumamoto City have no program for a pet you actually own — Tsu only collects wild or unidentified animals on private land, and Kumamoto only picks up bodies found on public roads (as of July 2026, per our research). In these cities, a private pet cremation service is the option.

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Sources

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