Japanese for Parents in Japan: Nursery, School Letters and the Contact Notebook
If you move to Japan with children, the nursery or school quickly becomes the place where you use Japanese most. Daily notes in a contact notebook, a steady stream of printed letters, parent-teacher meetings and PTA duties are mostly in Japanese, even in big cities. You don’t need fluency to manage, but a core set of school words, a few phrases for calling in sick and a method for reading letters will make family life much smoother.
Nursery, kindergarten and primary school
Japan’s early-years system has a few different types of setting, and the names matter when you apply.
| Setting | What it usually is |
|---|---|
| 保育園 (hoikuen) | Day nursery, often from babyhood, for families where parents work or otherwise can’t care for the child during the day. Places at licensed nurseries are usually applied for through the city or ward office. |
| 幼稚園 (yōchien) | Kindergarten, usually from age 3 until school, with shorter days. You normally apply to the kindergarten directly. |
| 認定こども園 (nintei kodomo-en) | A centre that combines features of both. |
| 小学校 (shōgakkō) | Primary school, from age 6, with the school year starting in April. |
Children of foreign residents can usually attend the local public school. Contact the city office or the local board of education (教育委員会, kyōiku iinkai) to ask how enrolment works where you live. Application rules, deadlines and waiting lists for nurseries vary a lot between areas, so ask early.
The contact notebook
Many nurseries, kindergartens and primary schools use a contact notebook (連絡帳, renrakuchō) that travels between home and school. At nursery, teachers may note how your child ate, napped and played, and you write about the evening, sleep, temperature and anything they should know. At primary school it is often shorter: homework, reminders and the occasional note from the teacher. Some schools now use an app instead, with the same kind of content.
You don’t need long entries. Short, polite sentences are normal:
- 昨夜は少し咳が出ていましたが、今朝は元気です。 (sakuya wa sukoshi seki ga dete imashita ga, kesa wa genki desu.) He had a slight cough last night, but he’s fine this morning.
- 今日はお迎えが17時になります。 (kyō wa omukae ga jūshichi-ji ni narimasu.) Pick-up will be at 5 pm today.
- いつもありがとうございます。 (itsumo arigatō gozaimasu.) Thank you as always. A natural way to open or close a note.
Reading school letters
Expect a lot of paper. Letters are usually called お知らせ (oshirase, notice) or simply プリント (purinto, handout), and there is often a monthly newsletter, a 〇〇だより (dayori). You don’t need to read every word. Look for these first:
| Japanese | Say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 日時 | nichiji | Date and time |
| 持ち物 | mochimono | Things to bring |
| 提出・締め切り | teishutsu, shimekiri | Hand in, deadline |
| 保護者 | hogosha | Parent or guardian |
| 集金 | shūkin | Money to be collected |
| 雨天中止・雨天延期 | uten chūshi, uten enki | Cancelled if it rains, postponed if it rains |
| 上履き・体操服 | uwabaki, taisōfuku | Indoor shoes, PE kit |
| 切り取り線 | kiritori-sen | Cut along this line (a reply slip to return) |
A phone translation app with a camera mode is a real help for letters. It gets the gist right most of the time but can mangle names, dates and the polite set phrases, so double-check anything with a deadline. Reading improves fast once you know the kanji that repeat in every letter; see how to learn kanji.
Calling in sick
If your child is ill, the school or nursery will want to hear from you before the day starts. Many now use an app or online form; others want a phone call or a note. On the phone, keep it simple:
- 〇〇組の〇〇の母です／父です。 (○○-gumi no ○○ no haha desu / chichi desu.) I’m ○○’s mother/father, from class ○○.
- 熱があるので、今日は休ませます。 (netsu ga aru node, kyō wa yasumasemasu.) She has a temperature, so I’ll keep her home today.
- 病院に行ってから登園します。 (byōin ni itte kara tōen shimasu.) He’ll come in after seeing the doctor. (For school, use 登校, tōkō.)
Nurseries often send children home if their temperature goes above a set level, and some illnesses need a doctor’s note before a child returns. Our guide to Japanese at the doctor covers the clinic side, and phone calls at work helps with phone confidence generally.
Meetings, home visits and the PTA
- Parent-teacher meetings (個人面談, kojin mendan) are short one-to-one talks with the teacher. Prepare two or three questions in advance.
- Home visits (家庭訪問, katei hōmon): some schools have the teacher visit or check your home’s location early in the year, mainly to see where children live and how they get to school.
- Open classes (授業参観, jugyō sankan) and parents’ meetings (保護者会, hogosha-kai), where you watch a lesson and hear from the teacher as a group.
- The PTA, which runs events and volunteering. Many schools expect each family to take a role at some point. If your Japanese is limited, say so honestly and ask for a role that suits you.
Polite です・ます Japanese is right with teachers and other parents. For the basics of being part of the local community, see living in a Japanese neighbourhood.
Common questions
Will the school provide an interpreter?
Some areas offer interpreters, translated documents or Japanese support classes for children. Provision varies widely, so ask the board of education what is available.
What if I can’t understand a letter at all?
Ask. A short note in the contact notebook such as このお知らせについて、もう少し教えていただけますか。 (kono oshirase ni tsuite, mō sukoshi oshiete itadakemasu ka., could you tell me a bit more about this notice?) is perfectly normal.
Learning alongside your children
Children often pick up Japanese faster than their parents, which can leave you relying on them to translate. A little regular practice keeps you in the loop. A tutor can go through real school letters with you, help you write contact notebook entries and rehearse a parent-teacher meeting. If that would help, take a look at online lessons with a native tutor, and see our moving to Japan checklist for the paperwork that comes first.