Enrolling your child in Japanese public or private school.
Japan's public elementary school explained for international families — the school day, 給食 lunch, 掃除 cleaning, school events, PTA, and language support.
June 9, 2020 · Updated: June 9, 2026
Daily LifePublic school charges no tuition, but lunch, supplies and trips still cost money. Every city in Japan runs a system that helps families who are below its income line, and nationality is not part of the test. What it covers, how to find out whether your household qualifies, and why the month you ask changes what you get.
August 6, 2026
Daily LifeHow summer vacation works at Japanese elementary schools — who sets the dates, the homework packet and 自由研究 project, the report card that needs signing, radio taisō in the park, and how working families cover six weeks without school.
July 24, 2026
Daily LifePublic elementary school has no tuition, but materials, dues, and trips still come home in envelopes. What the school actually collects each year — and why most of that ballpark ¥370,000-a-year average is cram school, not the school's bill.
July 24, 2026
Daily LifeA guide to the paper and app notices Japanese schools send home — the monthly newsletters, the reply slips with next-day deadlines, the handful of words that signal action, and how to keep on top of it all without reading fluent Japanese.
July 21, 2026
Daily LifeOpen class, individual meeting, class meeting, home visit — five parent events, five very different expectations. This guide sorts out which is which, when each one falls in the school year, what to take with you, and what to wear.
July 21, 2026
Daily LifeHow to tell a Japanese elementary school your child will be absent, arriving late, or leaving early — the app and phone deadlines that vary by school, who is allowed to pick up a child mid-day, and why the school calls when no report comes in.
July 21, 2026
Daily LifeWhat happens when a Japanese elementary school sends your child to the health room — who the nurse-teacher is, when the school calls you, the rules on medicine, and the accident scheme that pays for injuries at school and on the way there.
July 21, 2026
EnrollmentEverything a first-grader needs, in the order you'll actually need it: the randoseru a year ahead, the supply list that only arrives in winter, the labeling, and the municipal help available if money is tight.
July 17, 2026
EnrollmentThe autumn health screening every child has before starting first grade. What is checked, what to take, what happens if something is found — and why it is not a test your child can fail.
July 17, 2026
Daily LifeWhen flu spreads, a whole class is sent home for several days, healthy children included. Why it happens, how it differs from being sent home sick, the return-to-school rules, and the leave working parents can use.
July 16, 2026
Daily LifeA set meal the whole class serves and eats together, with almost no opting out. How kyūshoku works day to day, what it costs after the 2026 reform, and how allergies and religious diets are handled.
July 15, 2026
Daily LifeJapanese six-year-olds walk to school without a parent, often in neighborhood groups. How the system works, what keeps it safe, when adults do step in, and what is expected of you.
July 14, 2026
Daily LifeMost families encounter Japan's PTA within the first few weeks of elementary school. Here's how the committee system works, how roles are assigned, and what to expect as an international parent.
July 3, 2026
After SchoolWhen your child starts elementary school in Japan, hoikuen is no longer an option. Gakudo hoiku — government-funded after-school care — fills that gap. Here is how it works, how to apply, and what the 小1の壁 means for working parents.
June 16, 2026
EnrollmentHow to enroll your child in a Japanese public elementary school — required documents, the enrollment process, and what to expect on the first day.
June 9, 2020 · Updated: June 9, 2026
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