TokyoParents exists to answer the questions that come up in the first year of raising a family in Tokyo — which ward to live in, how the hoikuen application actually works, what a Dependent Visa does and doesn’t allow, and what to expect at your first ward-office visit.
Why this site exists
A lot of the English-language information available to families moving to or living in Tokyo is scattered across forums, outdated blog posts, or generic "living in Japan" content that doesn’t distinguish family-specific rules from general advice. We built TokyoParents to bring the family-specific pieces — childcare, schooling, visas, healthcare — into one place, organized by the actual decisions families have to make, in the order they usually have to make them.
How we work
Every guide on this site is built around publicly documented processes: ward-office procedures, national visa and insurance requirements, and the way Tokyo’s childcare and school systems are actually structured. Where policy varies by ward — and it often does, especially for daycare points systems — we say so explicitly rather than presenting one ward’s rules as universal. See our Editorial Policy for more on how we research and update content.
Who’s behind TokyoParents
TokyoParents is written and maintained by the TokyoParents Editorial Team. Every guide is researched from official sources — the Immigration Services Agency, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, ward offices and national ministries — and each one lists the sources it relies on and the date it was last reviewed. When a rule or deadline changes, we update the guide rather than publishing a new one, and we welcome corrections from readers who have been through these processes themselves.
Get in touch
Questions, corrections, or a topic you think we’re missing — reach us at hello@tokyoparents.com, or visit our Contact page.