Hi, my wife and I will be relocating to Tokyo in a few weeks. We have a 2 1/2 year old son and we are looking for long day child care.

We don't seem to be having any luck. Most of the child care places seem to finish at 2pm. As my wife and I are both working, this is not very convenient for us.

We will be working in the Shibuya area and are looking to live in the same area.

Would be very grateful if any one has information that would assist us in finding a facility that provides child care during normal working hours.

Try www.busybees-school.com They have longer hours because they "support working mothers". They are located in Suginami, near Daitabashi station but you can take a bus from Shibuya station (Keio 66) to within a block of the school. You can also take a bus from Shinjuku but I'm not 100% of the number. I think 91. My 3 year old son goes there and he loves it. The website is in English and Japanese

their is a Montessori daycare in shinjuku waseda fronitre kids open till 9 go to google and check the webpage

Hi,

You can try Ai International School in Mita, Minato-ku, about 7 min
from Tamachi station, they have school hours till 6 PM. Their website
is www.aiinternationalschool.com
Tamachi station is about 15 min away from Shibuya by JR Yamanote and
is very convenient to relocate.

Both of my sons are going there and we are very happy with them.

Take care,

You have to get your relocation company to put in the application for you at the ward office of the ward where you are going to live. Then you have to hope that there is a space available. They will want to see contracts that both you and your wife are fully employed. You may have to engage a private nanny until a space becomes available OR you will have to use a drop-in center (which often can run until 21:00 at night). The space in Japanese private daycare is not as roomy as in the West, but the care is generally quite good. Of course the language is Japanese, and your daughter will learn it quickly. In government daycare centers the space is quite roomy and the ratio of caretakers to children is quite good.

P.S. Child care places do not finish at 2pm. Kindergartens finish at 2pm. Child care is not to be confused with Kindergarten (hoikuen vs. yochien).

HI
1 option is to get a full time baby sitter after school hours. You may use Chevous and Tokyo maid service. They have different options available depending on your need, like you mite have your own timings and ask the sitter to arrange the pick up from school etc. Chevous free dial is 0120-699-100.