Hello everyone! I’m going to be studying abroad at Waseda and have a bit of a unique situation.
I’m a single mom and have my two year old that I need to bring with me. The school itself is already in contact with me and we’re working some paperwork stuff out, but they told me that I’d have to sign my son up for daycare and do some of the paperwork for the dependent visa on my own.
Just wondering if there’s any way someone knows how I can go about getting my little guy signed up for daycare before I get to Japan? It’s more than 6 months in the future that I’d need it all done in, but I’m just looking for general tips/tricks.
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At 2 years old your options are going to be hoikuen or private daycares. Hoikuen you cannot sign up for before you’ve received your residence card and know what ward you’re living in. They can be difficult to get a spot in, but as a single parent you’d have more “points” and could hopefully get a space somewhere in your ward.
Private daycares, such as private international “preschools” might allow you to sign up ahead of time, but that’s a big maybe. When I was moving to Japan I briefly investigated such options and the places I contacted were either full or said I could come and talk to them once we had moved there. We ended up using a combination of babysitters and taking time off until we were able to get our child into a private international daycare when we first arrived. Then she aged into the yochien (preschool) system at 3 years old.
Childcare can be rather complex in Japan, but the easiest options (for foreigners who are here short term) are also often the most expensive. However, if you’re coming from the US, you may already be used to that. The expensive international preschool/daycare that our 2.5 year old went to was on par with HCOL daycare costs in the US— but only covered 9am to 2pm.
ETA: are they not applying for the dependent visa at the same time? I would check with them as if they’re not doing the application, then you do the application yourself, once you’re in Japan. This would mean your son would not travel with you to Japan and there would be a delay in his arrival.