Nursery School in Tokyo for April 2027: How to Apply, Fees and Local Lists (Setagaya, Nerima)

This page is general information from official ward and Tokyo Metropolitan Government pages. It does not decide whether your child can get a place. For your own case, ask the nursery section of the ward where you live.

If you want your child in a licensed nursery school (認可保育園, ninka hoikuen) in Tokyo from April 2027, you apply in autumn 2026. In Japan the school and nursery year starts in April, and the April intake has its own schedule. Each of Tokyo’s 23 wards runs its own intake, with its own deadline and rules.

You apply to the ward where your address is registered (住民登録, jumin toroku). The conditions on the ward pages are about where you live and why your child needs care, for example because the parents work. They do not mention nationality or status of residence. This page covers how to apply in Setagaya City and Nerima City in detail, what nursery costs now, and where to find each ward’s list of nurseries.

In short

Setagaya: first round closes Thursday, November 5, 2026 by post or online, or Tuesday, November 10 at a counter (section 2).
Nerima: first round closes Friday, November 6, 2026 at 17:15. The ward asks families to apply online (section 3).
Places go to the highest score, not to the first to apply.
In both wards, the basic monthly fee at licensed nurseries is ¥0 for children who live in the ward, at every age. Extended hours still cost extra (section 4).
Setagaya has an English guide and English sample forms; you still fill in the Japanese forms (section 2).

Checked with official pages on October 12, 2026.

1. When are the first-round deadlines?

Depends on the ward

Each ward has its own deadline, and in some wards the post deadline is earlier than the counter deadline. Here are five large wards for the April 2027 first round.

Ward	First-round deadline (2026)	Note
Itabashi	Fri, Oct 23	Must arrive by this day
Setagaya	Post or online: Thu, Nov 5. Counter: Tue, Nov 10	Post: postmark counts
Nerima	Fri, Nov 6, 17:15	Post: postmarked by Nov 2
Ota	Counter or online: Mon, Nov 30	Post: must arrive by Nov 9
Suginami	Mon, Nov 30, 17:00	Post: must arrive by Nov 30

Itabashi, Setagaya and Nerima have published second-round dates for places left after the first round. Ota’s online form is only for families who want nurseries in Ota alone; if you also apply to nurseries in another city, use the post or the counter.

Suginami plans to post first-round offer information on its website around the evening of Friday, January 15, 2027, and mails the result to every applicant.

Nurseries in Tokyo fill from the top score down. Each ward turns your household’s situation (work hours, health, family) into points (指数, shisu). Japanese words you will see are “first round” (一次, ichiji) and “provisional offer” (内定, naitei).

2. How do I apply in Setagaya City?

Setagaya City

Setagaya’s first round closes on November 5, 2026 for post and online, and on November 10 at the counter. Setagaya’s English guide says there are no exceptions. You can apply online, by post or at a counter.

Read the English guide. Setagaya publishes a brief English version of its nursery guide, “An Admission Guide to Nursery Services for Your Child or Children” (issued September 2026), with English samples of the application form, work certificate and other forms. The ward says to use the samples to fill in the Japanese forms; the English forms themselves cannot be handed in.
Get papers from each parent. Working parents hand in a work certificate (就労証明書, shuro shomeisho) filled in by the employer. If the ward has no tax record for you, for example because you lived abroad on January 1, 2026, the English guide asks for documents showing your 2025 income, such as a salary certificate, with a Japanese translation for anything in a foreign language.
Apply. Online, through the ward’s LoGo Form (LoGoフォーム) service; first-time users register an applicant ID (申請者ID). By post or at a counter, hand the forms to the Children and Family Support Division (子ども家庭支援課) of your district office (総合支所). Forms and the Japanese guide are also handed out at these counters and at licensed nurseries.
Wait for the result. The ward plans to send first-round results on Monday, January 18, 2027. If you get a provisional offer, the nursery holds an interview and health check. If these are not done by the end of March, the offer is cancelled.

Until October 30, 2026, advice sessions at the district office counters need a booking, but you can hand in an application without one. Families who apply by the deadline may add missing papers until November 24. Everyone not placed in the first round moves to the second round automatically. The second round closes on January 27, 2027 by post or online, or February 1 at the counter. For April only, you can apply before your baby is born if the baby is due by February 24, 2027.

Tip

Setagaya’s English guide lists the Foreign Residents Help Desk. Its phone is 03-5432-2892. The ward’s flyer on multilingual help says it offers in-person advice in English and Chinese.

Questions about applications and screening: Nursery School Eligibility and Coordination Division (保育認定・調整課), phone 03-5432-1200. April 2027 admission (Setagaya City, Japanese) · English guide and sample forms (Setagaya City)

3. How do I apply in Nerima City?

Nerima City

Nerima’s first round closes on Friday, November 6, 2026 at 17:15, and the ward asks families to apply online. The ward says more than 85% of families already apply online, so it no longer hands out paper forms. If you need paper, you print the forms from the ward’s website. We did not find an English guide on Nerima’s nursery pages.

Get the FY2027 guide. The guide “Hoiku Riyo no Goannai” (保育利用のご案内, FY2027 edition) is on the ward’s website. It is also handed out at the Childcare Section (保育課) on the 10th floor of the main city hall, and at the welfare offices in Hikarigaoka, Shakujii and Oizumi.
Apply online. The online form uses the LoGo Form service. You enter your household’s situation and upload papers such as the work certificate and tax certificate, and you get an email when it is received.
Or send it by post. Post counts only if it is postmarked by Monday, November 2. Use your own envelope and pay the postage. The ward does not take forms by fax or email.
Wait for the result. The ward plans to announce first-round offers on Friday, February 12, 2027 and send a notice to every applicant.

The second round runs from November 9, 2026 to February 19, 2027 at 17:15, with offers on March 10; only families who get a place are notified. For a baby born on or after October 25, 2026, the deadline is December 18. From October to November, the counter wait can be up to about two hours. You can book the Childcare Section counter online, up to the day before you go.

The ward’s LINE account has a “nursery score simulation” (保育指数シミュレーション) that estimates your points. The ward says the estimate can differ from the real score. Nerima City also has a Foreign Language Advisory Service (外国語相談窓口) at city hall; see the ward’s page for foreign residents for details.

Questions about applications: Admission Consultation Unit, Childcare Section (保育課入園相談係), phone 03-5984-5848. Applying for April 2027 (Nerima City, Japanese)

4. How much does nursery cost in Tokyo now?

Tokyo Metropolis

Across Japan, nursery fees for ages 3 to 5 have been free since October 2019. For ages 0 to 2, the national rule makes fees free only for households that pay no resident tax. From September 1, 2025, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government supports wards and cities that also make the first child’s fee free. Tokyo calls this its own measure until the national government acts.

4.1 Setagaya and Nerima

Setagaya City / Nerima City

In both wards, the basic fee at licensed nurseries is ¥0 for every child who lives in the ward, and you do not need to apply for this. Both wards also say meals are free for children who live in the ward.

Some costs remain. Extended hours (延長保育, encho hoiku) are paid by parents in both wards. Setagaya also lists materials and event fees, and Nerima lists items each nursery collects, such as hats and event costs. If you live outside the ward but use a nursery there, your own city decides the fee.

Your tax still matters. The ward uses your resident tax (住民税, juminzei) to set a “fee band” that is used for extended-hours fees. Setagaya says that if it has no tax record for you, for example after you move in, you should hand in a tax certificate; otherwise you are put in the highest band.

4.2 If you use a certified or unlicensed nursery

Setagaya City / Nerima City

Tokyo-certified nurseries (認証保育所, ninsho hoikusho) and other unlicensed nurseries are not part of the ward’s screening; you apply to them directly. Nerima raised its subsidy for these nurseries to up to ¥80,000 a month from September 2025, for the first child aged 0 to 2. In Setagaya, a household that pays tax and uses a certified nursery for 0 to 2-year-olds on a monthly contract of 48 hours or more can get up to ¥80,000 a month with the ward’s childcare-need certificate (給付認定, kyufu nintei), or up to ¥52,000 without it. Setagaya says to get this certificate before you start using the nursery, because it cannot be backdated.

5. Where can I see the list of nurseries?

Depends on the ward

Free places change month by month, so check each ward’s own page before you choose. Lists and maps are in Japanese.

Setagaya. The ward lists licensed nurseries and their planned capacity for April 1, 2027, in five areas: Setagaya, Kitazawa, Tamagawa, Kinuta and Karasuyama. Our Japanese list counts 286 places, including 45 public and 213 private nursery schools. For April 2027, the ward plans to post the number of first-round places from October 20 and the number of applicants per nursery on December 28. Vacancies (Setagaya City, Japanese)
Nerima. The ward has a map and list of licensed nurseries and a list of small-scale nurseries for ages 0 to 2. Our Japanese list counts 206 licensed nurseries (58 public and 148 private) and 43 small-scale nurseries. Nerima does not post vacancies for the April first round, and it asks you to apply to the nurseries you want whether or not they show a free place. Map and list of licensed nurseries (Nerima City, Japanese)
Our Japanese lists by area. They show each nursery’s name, type, address and capacity: Setagaya (Japanese) and Nerima (Japanese).

Nerima also has “Nerima kodomo-en” (練馬こども園): private kindergartens that offer longer care. For these, contact each kindergarten.

Important

Counters get very busy just before the deadline; Nerima says the wait can be up to about two hours. Apart from Setagaya’s English guide and help desk, the ward pages on this page do not say that English help is available at the nursery counters.

Common questions

Does it matter when I apply? No. Itabashi says screening is not first come, first served and not a lottery. Places go by score, and if you qualify for more than one of your choices, you get the one ranked highest.

I missed the first round. Is April over? Not always. Setagaya, Nerima and Itabashi hold a second round for places left after the first round. In Setagaya, families not placed in the first round move to the second round without applying again.

Can I apply for a nursery in another ward? Setagaya says residents hand the papers in at a Setagaya district office counter, at least one week before the other city’s deadline. Post and online are not accepted for this. The other city screens the application, and Setagaya tells you the result. Ota’s online form cannot be used if you also apply to nurseries outside Ota.

Should I keep copies? Yes. Setagaya’s English guide says submitted papers cannot be returned and asks you to copy them first if you need them.

Next steps

Register your address first: Moving into Tokyo’s 23 wards (2026).
Child allowance and medical costs: Child benefits and children’s medical costs in Tokyo (2026).
Free play groups while you wait: Children’s halls in Setagaya Ward.
If your child gets sick at night: Your child is sick at night in Tokyo.

Sources (checked October 2026)

20 pages we checked

Dates and fees may change. Checked with official pages on October 12, 2026.