So I’m the non-Japanese spouse and am less useful at these sort of things.
We’ve gone through the local city government services and are waiting to apply again in February.
I’m hoping to find somewhere in Setagaya or Minato-Ku to send our 1-year old.
Any advice? We have to move soon as well so I’d like to get this dialed in before that.
8 comments
You just have to wait or try next year.
When this happened 10 years ago in Yokohama, they fixed this problem very quickly and created many daycare centers close to train stations. Tokyo never solved it.
Alternatively, you could move to Yokohama or another city in Kanagawa that has available childcare but be close enough to a train line that would take you to Tokyo very quickly.
Private but certified by government day care is pricer but usually has open spots if you absolutely need daycare to go back to work
Last I heard, Setagaya had the longest waiting list for daycare.
Are you looking for a public daycare?
It’s very competitive and very hard to get a spot if both of you aren’t working for example.
Usually most openings are in April because it’s the start of the school year.
It’s better to aim a daycare with no 0 year old class in your case because basically the 0 year old go automatically in the 1yo class if their parents situation haven’t changed.
So there are only a few openings for 1yo in that case.
For the April admission, usually the procedure is quite long and you need to apply around October. 2nd round is in February but most spots are already taken.
If you don’t manage to get a spot in a public daycare then you can also look into private ones.
In that case the city office is unrelated so you would speak directly with each daycare
If you haven’t done yet, check the below page and make a phone call. Now.
https://www.city.setagaya.lg.jp/mokuji/kodomo/003/004/d00160133.html
Setagaya is too big which station/area/train line should we be looking at?
* best option: getting a place through your ward — yes they are all full
* 2nd best: private, but certified by the gov’t — typically all full as well
* so-so: private and not certified — there are places, e.g. [mira-nursery.com](https://mira-nursery.com) but do your research and visit in person to see if this suits your expectations
* int’l schools: e.g. [kpischool.com/eedu01.html](https://www.kpischool.com/eedu01.html) expensive though
P.S. join the Odakyu parents group on fb; folks there are pretty knowledgeable
P.P.S. with both parents working, you’ll be at the top of the list when you apply, the only trick is to apply well in advance. Like half a year in advance.
If you are on tha waiting list, call the city office regularly to ask if there are any places. It gets you moved up the list
Is the area near Aoyama Cemetery too far? DM me if interested.