How to Find an English-speaking Babysitter in Tokyo: Our Recommendations

As a parent, entrusting your child to someone else’s care is hard, especially if your children are still very young. Naturally, you want to leave them in good hands. Someone you can judge by your own means and decide whether they’re fit to care for your child.

Plus, as a foreign resident in Japan, especially if you aren't yet fluent in Japanese, you want to be able to communicate with the person taking care of your child as efficiently as you can. This makes finding an English-speaking babysitter a necessity for many foreigners living here.

At Japan Dev, we’ve conducted extensive research to create a list of English-speaking babysitters in Tokyo and other cities in Japan that can assist you in finding reliable childcare options that meet your requirements. 

Let’s check out the top services that offer an English-speaking nanny in Japan. I’ll also talk about some alternatives at the end, so make sure to stick around.

Hiring Babysitters in Japan: How Does It Work?

Let’s start by exploring what hiring a babysitter is like in Japan. 

The job of babysitting varies across cultures, and how it’s conducted changes from country to country. 

In the United States, a babysitter can be anyone who sits with the kids for a few hours until the parents arrive. While professionals do this as a full-time job as well, the definition is more loose.

In Japan, however, babysitters are strictly professionals who get paid to take care of children either part-time or full-time. You still may find some listings out there who want to do it as a “side job”, but hiring a professional through an agency or via a friend’s recommendation is much more common.

Another common option in Japan is hiring foreign help. You can have someone work for you full-time or even offer live-in arrangements. 

However, keep in mind that you will have to sponsor their visa and navigate a more complex relationship with the person you’ve brought over.

I’ll provide resources for this option below, but first, let’s start with English-speaking babysitter services in Tokyo.

Little Hug: English-Speaking Nanny Tokyo

Little Hug provides experienced babysitter services in the Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba areas. 

The service includes English-speaking nannies for full-time, part-time, and even one-time care. The best part about Little Hug is that they’re very reliable.

In addition to offering 24/7 support, they vet their nannies through a long process that includes background and reference checks, resume and certification checks, an in-person interview, and a training session. So, you know you’re getting the best service out there.

Little Hug offers pickup services to pick your kid up from school, and they can even take your kids to their piano classes. They take care of your kids in your own home, where your child feels most comfortable.

To sum up, this is an all-rounder option that handles everything for you and is reachable all the time. 

Non-regular use at Little Hug costs 3,250 JPY hourly with a minimum of three hours for English-speaking nannies, and transportation costs aren’t included. Monthly plans start from 19,800 with the Bronze Plan and go up to 102,960 yen/monthly.

Keep in mind that there’s also a one-time enrollment fee of 33,000 yen, and an additional annual fee of 5,500 yen charged per family.

Mamy Tokyo: English Speaking Babysitter Tokyo

Mamy Tokyo is another great option for those living in Tokyo. The company provides Japanese and English-speaking babysitters at a moment’s notice, offering service 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Just like Little Hug, Mamy Tokyo also exclusively takes care of your children at your home. This is a part of their company philosophy, and they state that they do this to take anxiety and stress out of the equation, providing your child the best care possible.

The company offers a trial if you’re unsure about the services, and they listen to your requests to develop a schedule and plan that suits you.

Mamy Tokyo’s hourly fees change depending on the time slot you’re receiving the service. The rates start at 2,230 yen/hour (1,730 yen + 540 yen for English support), and an additional 320 yen and 540 yen are added when you get the service on the weekends or between 9 PM and 7:00 AM, respectively.

Keep in mind that the company charges only half the price for the second child of the same family.

The best thing about Mamy Tokyo is that transportation fees as well as drop-off and pick-up fees are included in the price. In fact, they can even set up an emergency nanny service for you for an additional fee if something comes up at the last minute, which is a lifesaver. 

All babysitters provided by Mamy Tokyo are certified by the National Baby Sitter Association and are trained specifically in child care.

Chez Vous: English-Speaking Nanny Tokyo, in French Fashion

A fitting name for its various home services, Chez Vous means “at home” in French. The company has been helping international clients with home tasks, including childcare, since 2004. 

As the name suggests, the company mainly provides babysitting and nanny services at your own home, but it also provides on-location services such as hotel babysitting at 4,500 yen per hour. 

Hotel babysitting is especially great for those visiting Tokyo for a short time. You can get a nanny in your hotel room and take care of your business outside while your children are taken care of. This also allows you to see the sights while your kids are taking their mid-day naps.

There are also long-term options. Chez Vous also provides postnatal and prenatal care, doing house chores for you and helping you with your pre- and post-birth childcare needs for one to three months. 

For the regular babysitting service, you have the standard 3-hour minimum service for 3,200 yen per hour plus a 1,000 yen transportation fee, which you can get between 9:00 AM and 18:00 PM. The price goes up after work hours.

The service is available even on weekends and holidays, and you can also get a drop-off and pick-up service for your kids’ school and special tutoring sessions, which cost 4,500 yen hourly, with a minimum of two hours.

Chez Vous either hires people who raised their own children or are kindergarten and school teachers qualified in childcare. The company also allows you to request specific staff members, so you can request someone who’s taken care of your child before on repeated use cases.

English Speaking Nanny in Japan: For Those Living in Other Cities

Now that you have two reliable options in Tokyo that are both available 24/7, let’s branch out and talk about babyisitting services that operate in other areas of Japan. 

I’ll start by introducing ones that operate across Japan including Tokyo, and I’ll also introduce a couple of services that are only available in certain regions that house other larger cities in Japan such as Osaka, Kyoto, Yokohama, and Fukuoka.

CareFinder: Babysitting Services Across Japan 

CareFinder is a babysitting service that covers multiple locations across Japan, including Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Aichi, Kyoto, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Osaka!

The company provides Japanese and English-speaking nannies and has employees who can also speak French, German, and Chinese. 

This is one of the biggest babysitting services in Japan, and you can check all of the babysitters’ detailed profiles on the website, along with useful reviews and a rating system. 

To ensure that you’re getting the best help available, CareFinder applies a detailed onboarding process that includes an interview, and all of their nannies are government-registered according to the latest government regulations on childcare.

At CareFinder, you also have the option to interview the babysitter you pick before receiving the full service, which can be done online or in person, and decide your budget and the scope of the service you require. However, the service is only offered at your own home, as they don’t offer on-location or hotel babysitting.

Alternatively, you can also get a premium monthly pass for 4,980 yen (2,980 yen if you subscribe to automatic monthly renewal). This pass gives you access to all sitters in the database, from which you can select your favorite.

Keep in mind that the minimum hourly price is 1,500 yen, plus transportation and transaction fees.

Poppins: Babysitting Services in Kanto and Kansai Regions

Poppins is an all-around nursing service that provides care to newborns, toddlers, small children, and even the elderly. 

The company offers services in the Kansai and Kanto regions and even exceeds the country’s borders with an office in Hawaii, USA. Of course, they provide English-speaking nannies without a problem.

Poppins is especially great for short-notice cases where you need an emergency nanny, as the company proudly states that it is the only company that vows to reply to all same-day requests.

Poppins trains all of its employees according to a specifically tailored program that incorporates the education principles of the renowned British school specializing in childcare, Norland College.

The prices are available upon request, which you can do through the website's contact form. The company provides at-home childcare but also has multiple institutions for babies’, toddlers’, and older children’s education, which are worth looking into.

Babysitters: Nationwide Babysitting

Another service with a large scope, Babysitters offers nationwide babysitting services. The nannies, of course, all speak English, and the service is available 24/7.

You simply submit a request, and the company will connect you with someone who matches your request as quickly as possible. The base fee is affordable at 3,000 yen per hour, but a minimum of three hours must be booked to receive service.

As it’s available 24/7, you can request a nanny on national holidays too, but it costs extra depending on the hour and day. While the service fee is for one kid, you only pay 25% extra for each additional child.

The great thing about Babysitters is that the transportation fee and the booking fee are included in the price as long as the commute is no longer than two hours.

Babysitters also allow you to get babysitting services at your hotel. The company can dispatch employees to all hotels in Tokyo, Yokohama, Kyoto, and Osaka, but they can also assist in other cities upon request.

Rainbow Kids Care: English Babysitters in Tokyo and Osaka

Last but not least, Rainbow Kids Care just may be offering the most versatile babysitting services in Japan. In fact, they do more than just babysit and offer “companions” to your child as well.

Their “Explore Buddy” program, for instance, is perfect for when you’re traveling. A babysitter can be your exploring buddy, accompanying you in Tokyo or Osaka as you do sightseeing with your kids, making things easier for you. 

Alternatively, hotel babysitting is also available when you and your spouse want to leave the kids at home for a romantic night out in the town. Rainbow Kids’ nannies not only take care of your child’s basic needs but also engage them in fun activities that benefit their development.

Likewise, this service is also available at theme parks like Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. You can book on short notice, which the company does its utmost to accommodate.

With a minimum booking period of three hours, the base hourly rate here is 28 USD per hour for one child and 38 USD for two. Prices increase after hours, and a transportation fee of 20 USD is charged for every visit.

All sitters have CPR certifications, and the company also does a background check and makes sure all employees have prior childcare experience.

Closing Thoughts: Alternatives to Babysitters and Additional Resources

Getting a regular babysitting service can be great, but not everyone can afford it. Plus, the agencies I shared above are barely the only ways you can find English-speaking babysitters in Japan. 

So, before I go, let’s talk about some additional resources for childcare you may find useful.

First off, you have social media right at your fingertips. You can go on Facebook to find countless babysitter contact groups, and here are some of the most notable ones:

• Tokyo Helpers Connect

• Tokyo Kanagawa Helpers Employers Connect

• Tokyo Babysitters

• Tokyo Helpers and Employees

In the ones with “helpers” in their titles, you can also find housekeepers and house cleaners in the Tokyo Metropolitan area.

Alternatively, if you aren’t necessarily looking for an at-home babysitter and just need someone to care for your child while you’re at work, you have another option, which is free! 

All over Japan, there are government-subsidized daycare centers for children between 3 and 5. For instance, here are Osaka, Hokkaido, and the Tokyo government’s official pages for childcare support, and you can find many others by searching your city’s name and the keywords “childcare” or “child rearing” online.

That’s it for today’s post, but if you’re a foreign resident with kids, my posts on the best international schools in Japan, childcare leave, and Japan’s school holidays may come in handy.