Children may start Japanese kindergarten at three years old. Classes are divided into 3 year old, 4 year old and 5 year old sections. Kindergartens, called Yochien in Japanese, are supervised by the Ministry of Education, but are not part of the official education system. Approximately more than 8,000 Kindergartens are private, 5,000 kindergartens are public, and 50 kindergartens are national in Japan. 2-3 teachers handle a class of 20-30 students. The Japanese kindergarten year is from April to March.

Daily schedule　(Depends on Kindergarten)

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday

8:50-9:00           Arrival
9:00-9:20           Free play
9:20                   Choice of Outside play or indoor play
11:40-12:40       Lunch / Book time / Music time
13:40                 Clean up and prepare to go home
14:00                 Dismissal

Wednesday: Most kindergarten do not have lunch time on Wednesday, going home before 12:00 noon.

Lunch
Most kindergartens do not provide school lunch, therefore children need to bring a lunch box (Obento) instead.

Enrollment
From September to November, Japanese kindergartens have an open house and orientation for the applicant family. After deciding which kindergarten you want your child to enter, visit the kindergarten and pick up an application for enrollment. Fill in a form, and submit it by the deadline. As the number of available openings for any particular age group may be limited, a lottery may be held to determine admission, and most kindergartens require potential students or their families to attend interviews. Please contact each school directly about enrollment.

Fee
Enrollment Fee: JPY50,000 – JPY100,000

Monthly Fee: JPY10,000～(public)  JPY30,000～(private)

The other fees such as school uniform (where applicable), text books and actual cost for activities (day trip etc.) will be charged separately.

School Holidays
Summer: Middle of July through the end of August
Winter: 23rd of December through 6th of January (Depends on the calendar of the year)
Spring: About 2 weeks (the end of March to the beginning of April)
The above information will be different for International schools. Please check the website and contact them directly.

The Japanese education system consists of 1-3 years of kindergarten (yochien), 6 years of elementary school, 3 years of junior high school, 3 years of high school and either 2 years of junior college or 4 years of university.

Japan has both private and public schools and universities, and the language of most of these schools and universities is Japanese.

Most elementary and junior high schools in Japan are public, while most kindergartens, colleges and universities are private.

The school year begins in April and ends in March of the following year.  It is divided into three terms – April to July, September to December, January to March, with holidays between the terms.

Japanese public kindergartens, elementary and junior high schools are accessible for almost no cost to any resident of the school district. A few schools offer classes for returnee children with special attention in terms of Japanese language skills, readjustment to life in Japan, etc.

There are many excellent international schools, most of which operate an English program, though there are a variety of other schools operating in French, German, Korean, etc.

Almost all the international schools run from September to June, and some of the preschool or kindergartens offer a summer school program in June and July.

It is important to understand the characteristics and style of education before you choose a school. Some of the schools offer school buses. The more popular international schools always have many applicants who often may be put on a waiting list. It is therefore best to submit an application as early as possible.

Currently there are over 100 international schools in Tokyo, ranging from pre-school (ages 15 months to 5 years) to high school (up to grade 12) . International pre-schools continue to grow in number and popularity to meet the increased demand by expatriate families as well as Japanese families who want their children to go through the international school system.