Nurseries and Kindergartens

Nurseries

Nurseries are facilities that take care of children from 0 years of age on behalf of parents who are unable to provide childcare during the day because of work, illness or childbirth. There are municipal and private nurseries, and in Nakano City, there are 27 municipal and 9 private licensed nurseries. Four of the municipal nurseries are managed by contracted private companies as Designated Management Nurseries.

Childcare Hours

Within the nursery hours between 7:15 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. (some private nurseries are open from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.), parents discuss work hours, commuting time and the child's conditions with the nurseries to determine the basic childcare hours for each child. (Not applicable for Designated Management Nurseries.)

Extended Childcare

Extended childcare can be used on a single-day basis. If you will not be able to pick up your child from nursery school on time because you suddenly need to work overtime, please call your child's nursery school directly to apply for this service. The fee is 500yen per hour each time. If you are enrolled in a Designated Management Nursery or private nursery, please ask the particular nursery about this service.

Childcare Fees

Childcare fees are determined according to the child's age and the tax amount of each family. Municipal nurseries and private nurseries charge the same amount, and in both cases, the city collects the fees. Accordingly, the parents, as a rule, pay the fees to the city by monthly bank account transfer. Furthermore, extended childcare fees of private nurseries and Designated Management Nurseries are collected by the particular nursery.

Application Locations

Applications are accepted at the Children's Comprehensive Consultation Counter (Nakano City Office 3F) and local community centers on an ongoing basis. Please file an application before the 15th of the previous month (the previous weekday if the 15th is a Saturday, Sunday or national holiday) you would like to enroll your child in nursery school.
After filing an application, admission is determined after investigation and deliberations, giving priority according to need for childcare.
*However, there is a separate application period for admission from April 1.

• Inquiries: Enrollment Consultation Desk, Kindergartens/Nurseries Section
• Tel: 3228-8960

Kindergartens

Kindergartens are educational institutions for children before entry into elementary school. There are four municipal kindergartens and 22 private kindergartens in Nakano City.

Subsidies for Private Kindergarten

Guardians who have children attending authorized private kindergarten can receive financial aid for part of child-care cost from Nakano City.

Those entitled to receive financial aid (those who meet the following requirements completely)

• Guardians and their children live in Nakano City and they have been registered as foreign residents (citizens of Nakano City).
• Guardians have children attending authorized private kindergarten and have paid admission fee and child-care cost.
• Their children are 3 years old or over.

Kind, amount, and time of delivery of financial aid

Financial aid for admission fee

Amount of financial aid: 30,000 yen per a child (only once)
When to be delivered: in the end of October

Financial aid for guardians

Amount of financial aid: 11,000 yen a month
When to be delivered: in the end of October for the amount for the first half of the fiscal (April through September), and in the end of March for the amount for the second half of the fiscal (October through March)

Financial incentive aid for entering kindergarten (income-tested)

The amount of financial aid varies according to the amount of inhabitant tax on income basis, and there may be some people who are not entitled to receive financial aid).
When to be delivered: in the end of January for the amount for the fiscal (April through March)

Application procedure and deadline for the submission

You are required to submit application forms, which you can get through your children’s kindergartens, by the end of June (by mail, in principle).
※If your children enter kindergarten midway through the fiscal, you are required to apply as promptly as they enter. We wouldn’t accept applications if you applied in the following fiscal. Please don’t fail to complete procedure by the end of the fiscal.

• Inquiries: Private Kindergartens, etc., Support Desk, Child-Rearing Support Section
• Tel: 3228-5681

Municipal Kindergarten

• Application Procedures: Applications are accepted every year around September for admission from April of the following children: 3-year-old children (3-year childcare) and 4-year-old children (2-year-childcare). Vacancy (second-call) recruiting and waiting-list registration are conducted in March.
  Vacancy recruiting is conducted for 5-year-old children on an ongoing basis at municipal kindergartens.
  
• Requirements: Children between 3 and 5 years of age who will be entering elementary school within three years and who live together with their parents in Nakano City.

• Inquiries:
  • Municipal Kindergartens: Enrollment Consultation Desk, Kindergartens/Nursery School Section
    Tel: 3228-8960
  • Private Kindergartens: Please call the particular kindergarten.