Japan with 2 young children

Hi,
Looking for some information about moving to Japan (Tokyo) with 2 young children, a 3 year old and a 10 month old.....Options available and cost involved. We are more concerned about the 10 month old as we imagine the 2 year old could possibly get into a Japanese nursery?

Any information you can offer from a family perspective would be very useful!

Thank you.

Some nurseries (I assume child care facilities as against kindergarten) accept children as small as 6 months old, some other places from 1-year-old.

Please note that for child care facilities (at least for the municipal government-accredited ones, that is all I know), you need to provide proof that both parents are working, and that there are many local working moms who want to use such facilities that there is a lot of screening done, and some parents really struggle to find a spot for their children.

A few years ago (I’m a Japanese woman, no kids) I helped a non-Japanese young friend of mine in Tokyo apply for and secure a spot at a child care for her child, and the process was somewhat tedious - getting employment certificates from the parents’ employers, getting actual work hour record for the past months, etc.

I don’t know how long you are planning to live in Japan (I assume for work?), but please plan well - for schooling in the future, you might consider some sort of international school as well. Best wishes.

tedious ??
acceptable and easy to collect documents if really working , to exclude non-working parents, because a lot of tax is supplied for nursery.

I don’t know if you have done it yourself. For a non-Japanese to navigate the whole process, and to fill out all the forms, and collect all the documents (even with the help of a local) it was not that easy. Maybe i am not smart enough to keep up with these procedures as I have never done it for myself before.

I might have misunderstood though... As well as this word "保育園落ちた日本○ね", I have heard that nurseries or facilities for babies and toddlers are very busy and it is very competitive to be accepted especially in cities because of high demand by parents of 氷河期 generation (which is said as Employment Ice Age in English Wikipedia) who can't/couldn't have enough savings before making a new family and need to work a lot counting a nursery or their parents (grand parents of the child). There are also childish parents who just have a child but don't want to raise/take care by themselves so just count the others.

Even if there is no issue of nursery, moving is impossible if you don't meet criteria for a visa. There are people who just go to Japan with child/children or have a child while in Japan, saying you will be allowed to be in Japan and be supported financially if you are have a child/children. However it is inaccurate.

Well, a lot of adults in Greater Tokyo today feel sorry for those who have to raise kids here amid the pandemic. I don't know why or how you're coming to Japan, but I certainly hope you are coming from a worse place.

Proper visas, quarantine, guarantor, language barrier and employment are probably the first things you need to clear.

I wish you a good future.

you need to show you "really" have a job.
it is not enough that you have a "plan" to work. you need to show a "solid" evidence for your future working. they will confirm your application by calling the company or sometimes by visiting.

because of a strong filtration, the applicants, who pass over the hurdle, have high chance to get it. so, high hurdle is better for you, after your application is accepted.
「物は考えよう」

also, they will watch the applicant's family income every year for determine the nursery fee.

Looking for a job that frequent leave is accepted (job that leave doesn't affect your boss and colleagues) is better. Workers with children often need to leave because of nursery/school events and child's sickness.

Particularly at first few month or a year, you are expected to leave often. Children, even healthy children tend to be sick due to infection of something till they get used to be in a group of people and develop immunity.