# moving to Japan soon, need help please



## Austin85 (Oct 17, 2014)

Hey everyone,
I am moving to Japan to work for three years. Could you please help me by answering this question?

What do I need to know regarding education for my children? 

Thanks


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## larabell (Sep 10, 2007)

There's not enough information in your post to answer your question but, taking a wild guess, I'll assume they're school age and don't speak Japanese. If that's the case, you'll obviously want to look into International schools. There are several around Tokyo and Yokohama and if you scan through the archives of this forum you'll find a number of discussions on which schools various forum members seem to prefer. Most of the schools also have a website that you can find via Google.

Other than that, I can't be of much help. My two sons were both born here and have been in Japanese schools and day care facilities since they were 6 months old. If your kids are really young (like no older than 2 or 3) and you plan to be here for a while, that's another possible solution.


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## jimmulcahy (Oct 27, 2014)

It's great that you're preparing, because there are many differences you might never suspect until you do your homework. For example, public high school is not a given. If your kid doesn't make good enough scores to enter a public high school, you'll have to foot the very high bill for a private one. In the Japanese school system, it's very competitive starting from junior high school, and most kids study every day until late at night...
Also beware of sports. I was involved in multiple sports as a kid in the States, but my son in Japan can handle no more than one sport (baseball) because it's like year-around boot camp that takes all his weekends.

Good luck!


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