One of my earliest worries while on maternity leave was childcare and the lack of understanding the system here in Japan. Furthermore, despite the declining birth rate, there is still a waiting list of about 20,000 children waiting to get into nursery school! So, I began conducting my research early and have compiled a list of the types of childcare offered here in Japan, but more specifically Yokohama.

This first edition is aimed for 0-2 year old children, as that is the age of my own child. As time goes on, I'll start the research on kindergartens and hope to expand this guide to include options for 3-5 year olds. 

I hope this guide will be helpful to new parents, so feel free to ask questions, share information, and your own experience in the comments below! 

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家庭的保育事業 | Home-Based Nursery Schools 

Home-Based Childcare businesses are run out of the homes of licensed and qualified child-care workers in collaboration with the government.  The capacity is between 3-5 and the ratio is 1:3. While home daycares are fairly popular in the States, this style of daycare is not common in Japan, and home-based childcare is a new initiative in Yokohama that only started a few years ago. 

小規模保育事業 | Small-Scale Nursery School

A small-scale daycare is one that is run out of a government approved facility and has qualified and licensed staff. The scale is between 6-19 children and the ratio is 1:3 or 1-5 if there is an assistant. This is the kind of daycare my daughter attends, and it is both a social and intimate setting, which I think is great for this age.

横浜保育室 | Yokohama Nursery  School

A nursery school that identifies as a "Yokohama Nursery", is a daycare that does not meet all of the standards of the government on a national level, but they still fulfill the requirements set forth by Yokohama city. To be eligible, you must be a resident of Yokohama or Kawasaki and cannot watch your child due to reasons, such as work more than 64 hours a month. To apply to a "Yokohama Nursery", you apply directly to the facility you are interested in. 

年度限定保育事業 | Yearly Limited Nursery School

Due to an insufficient amount of daycares, the competition for one year old children is really high. On the other hand, there is a small amount of 4-5 year olds, so to fill in the gap, Yokohama has an initiative where some of these nursery schools that have vacant space will take 1-2 year olds on a limited basis. You apply directly to the facility.

認可保育所 | Licensed Nursery School

A licensed nursery school is a nursery school that meets all of the requirements set forth by the government, and can be used by parents who cannot take care of the children due to work or illness. You apply at the Ward/Government office.

認定こども園 | Licensed Children's Nursery

Due to the number of double income families increasing, there is a need for more long-term childcare. In Japan, nursery school can be attended from age 0-5 and can operate from as early as 7am to as late as 7pm, but there is a lack of academic curriculum. Therefore, most children enter a kindergarten from age 3 to start preparing for school, but kindergarten programs are only around 4 hours long. So, in order to fill this gap, there are now nursery's that aim to solve both issues. Licensed Children's nurseries are nurseries that offer both an academic curriculum and extended childcare. Another benefit is that since these facilities offer care from 0-5 years old, there is a lot of interaction between age groups, which is important for development, especially as the birth rate continues to decline in Japan, with many children lacking siblings.