Child Care and Education
0-5 years of age
- Play areas and hour day care services
Kanazawa City has various areas where parents can take their children to play. These include children houses (usually associated with elementary schools) that offer morning play times for children under 5, public indoor play areas and many parks, libraries and pools. In addition, there are hour day care services offered at some of the indoor play areas and some day care centers. To use these services, you must make a reservation and in some cases there is a time limit (ex. 4 hours) on how long you can use this service.
For more information, please see the following websites:
Kanazawa Kosodate Net (Japanese only)
- Day Care
Day care services are available for children between the ages of 0 and 5 in the case that there is no one available to care for them during the day. You can apply for these services directly through the day care you wish to place your children in. Please contact them directly for more information. Typically, there are two application periods the first in October for entrance in April of the following year and the second in February, again for April entrance. Depending on available spots it may or may not be possible to place your child in your first day care of choice. Please see the following website for information regarding day care centers.
Day Care Centers in Kanazawa (Japanese only)
- Kindergarten
There are Kindergartens for children between the ages of 3 and 5. Kindergartens usually take children for about four hours a day. Please see the following websites for more information.
- List of Kindergartens in Kanazawa (Japanese only)
- Association of Private Kindergartens in Ishikawa (Japanese only)
6-15 years of age (Elementary School and Junior High School)
Compulsory education in Japan comprises elementary school (6 years) and junior high school (3 years). There are both private and public options available. When you want to enroll your child in elementary school or junior high school (either as a transfer student or for the first time) you will need to fill out some forms with the city hall. Typically, children attend the public schools closest to where they live. Please see the following PDF and websites for information regarding these forms as well as for a list of schools.
- The Introductory Guidebook for Foreign Parents and Guardians of Students Enrolling in Elementary School-Kanazawa City Morinosato Elementary School Edition (7.8MB)
- Entering or Transferring School Procedure Website (Japanese only)
- List of Public Elementary and Junior High Schools (Japanese only)
- List of Private Elementary and Junior High Schools (Japanese only)
15-18 years of age (High School)
High School in Japan is not compulsorily therefore there are many options including private schools, and technical schools. Most schools require potential students to take an entrance exam. Please see the following websites for more information regarding schools in Kanazawa.
- List of Private High Schools (Japanese only)
- High Schools in Ishikawa Prefecture (Japanese only)