Is there an international school where we live? For most families in Japan, school research starts with that single question. This page lists all 47 prefectures of Japan, with the international schools in each prefecture, typical annual fees, and what to do when there is no school within commuting distance. Pick your prefecture below.
22 of 47 prefectures now have an English guide (47%). We add more every week.
International schools in Hokkaido
International schools in Tohoku
- Miyagi
10 schools - Fukushima
Japanese guide only - Iwate
Japanese guide only - Aomori
Japanese guide only - Akita
Japanese guide only - Yamagata
Japanese guide only
International schools in Kanto
- Kanagawa
30 schools - Tokyo
Coming soon - Chiba
20 schools - Saitama
34 schools - Ibaraki
13 schools - Tochigi
10 schools - Gunma
16 schools
International schools in Chubu
- Aichi
30 schools - Shizuoka
17 schools - Nagano
13 schools - Gifu
13 schools - Niigata
Japanese guide only - Ishikawa
12 schools - Toyama
Japanese guide only - Yamanashi
Japanese guide only - Fukui
Japanese guide only
International schools in Kansai
- Osaka
Coming soon - Hyogo
25 schools - Kyoto
12 schools - Mie
18 schools - Shiga
13 schools - Nara
11 schools - Wakayama
Japanese guide only
International schools in Chugoku
- Hiroshima
17 schools - Okayama
14 schools - Yamaguchi
Japanese guide only - Shimane
Japanese guide only - Tottori
Japanese guide only
International schools in Shikoku
- Ehime
Japanese guide only - Kagawa
Japanese guide only - Tokushima
Japanese guide only - Kochi
Japanese guide only
International schools in Kyushu / Okinawa
- Fukuoka
Coming soon - Okinawa
12 schools - Kumamoto
15 schools - Kagoshima
Japanese guide only - Nagasaki
Japanese guide only - Oita
Japanese guide only - Miyazaki
Japanese guide only - Saga
Japanese guide only
Three things to check when you search by prefecture
- Is it in the prefecture, or actually within reach? A school two hours away by car is in the same prefecture but not a realistic daily commute. Always check the address and the door-to-door time.
- How far up does it go? A preschool that ends at age six and a school that runs through to Grade 12 are completely different decisions. Look at what happens after.
- Can the fees be sustained for years? Getting in matters less than being able to stay until graduation. See what international school fees actually cover.
If there is nothing within reach
In most Japanese prefectures, international schools cluster in the largest city. If there is not a single school you can reach, that is a fact of geography, not a failure of effort on your family’s part.
NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY (NGA) is an online international school opening in September 2027, operated by NIJIN Inc. Our sister school in Japan, NIJIN Academy, already has more than 1,000 children learning with us. We are building a school that does not depend on where you live and does not rank children by test scores, with small-group dialogue at its centre. We aim to keep fees at roughly one fifth of a face-to-face international school.
See how learning works online →
We have not opened yet, and online will never be identical to a campus. But we do not want “there is nothing near us” to be the reason a family gives up on an international education.
