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Hokkaido International School (HIS) — the IB Diploma Claim Not Confirmed

Hokkaido, Japan

Opened in 1958 after a US Army dependents school closed, renamed to its current name in 1962 — a long-established international school in Sapporo.

Researched by William Prep from published sources. Not yet verified by the school. — Last reviewed by William Prep: 2026-09-24

HIS reportedly opened in 1958 as Hokkaido American School after a dependents school at Sapporo's US Army Camp Crawford closed, renamed to its current name in 1962 and moved to its own Fukuzumi campus. It runs a US-style curriculum, reportedly using the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) at the elementary level.

At a Glance

Founded	1958 (renamed to current name in 1962) (not independently confirmed)as of: 2026-09-24
Curriculum	US-style + IPC (elementary); IB Diploma not confirmed this session not publicly confirmedas of: 2026-09-24
Location	Sapporo (Fukuzumi, Toyohira-ku) (not independently confirmed)as of: 2026-09-24
Est. First-Year Cost (K-G5)	≈¥2.04M2026-27 · as of: 2026-09-24

No IB Diploma Mention Found Anywhere This Session

The legacy William Prep directory listed this school as "US Curriculum + IB DP." This session confirmed the US-curriculum half, but no mention of the IB Diploma turned up in any source, including the school's own site. US-style curriculum and the IB DP can coexist — but for this specific school, at least within what this session checked, the IB half wasn't substantiated.

William Prep’s Analysis

The combination "US curriculum + IB DP" is genuinely real elsewhere — ASIJ (American School in Japan, already profiled by William Prep) runs AP alongside the IB DP, for instance. But for HIS specifically, what was confirmed stops at US-style curriculum plus IPC — the IB DP half couldn't be verified. Rather than assume "this combination is common elsewhere, so it probably applies here too," this profile sticks to what was actually confirmed.

Fees: A Real First-Year Total of About ¥2.04M (Kindergarten-Grade 5)

HIS's own 2026-27 fee schedule lists two one-time charges: a ¥20,000 application fee and a ¥200,000 entrance fee. On top of that, an annual fee (¥200,000), accident insurance (¥5,000), PTA (¥10,000), and a device management fee for K-G5 (¥25,000) apply alongside grade-banded tuition (¥1,584,000 for K-G5), for a genuine first-year total of roughly ¥2,044,000.

University Entrance Eligibility in Japan

School-accreditation route	No not publicly confirmedWhether HIS holds any of the six MEXT-recognised accreditations was not confirmed this session.
Student-qualification route (IB, etc.)	No not publicly confirmedWhether HIS offers the IB Diploma or another curriculum that would trigger the individual-credential route was not confirmed this session.

Whether HIS holds a MEXT-recognised accreditation, and whether it offers a curriculum triggering the individual-credential route, were both not confirmed this session. Families with specific Japanese-university plans should confirm the actual eligibility route directly with the school.

Fees & Estimated First-Year Cost

academic year: 2026-27

Application Fee	¥20,000
Entrance Fee	¥200,000
Annual Fee	¥200,000
Accident Insurance (annual)	¥5,000
PTA (annual)	¥10,000
Device Management Fee (K-G5, annual)K-G5	¥25,000
Tuition (Kindergarten-Grade 5)K-G5	¥1,584,000
Tuition (Grade 6-8)G6-G8	¥1,624,000
Tuition (Grade 9-12)G9-G12	¥1,648,000
Estimated First-Year Total	¥2,044,000

Includes: application, enrolment, other, technology, tuition — Excludes: Excludes optional extracurricular fees. This uses Kindergarten-Grade 5 tuition as the base.

What Makes This School Distinctive

Founded 1958, one of Sapporo's longest-established international schools

Opened after a US Army dependents school closed

Multiple third-party sources consistently report the founding circumstances.

A particularly long-established option among Hokkaido's international education choices.

Admissions

Cycle

未確認 not publicly confirmed

What Japanese Families Should Know

Who Might Find This School a Good Fit

Might suit — Sapporo-area families wanting a US-style curriculum foundation

Might not suit — Families planning around the IB Diploma (not confirmed to be offered here this session)

William Prep’s Analysis

What mattered in researching HIS was resisting the pull to apply a common pattern ("US curriculum + IB DP") to a specific school just because it's a familiar combination elsewhere. Sticking strictly to what was actually confirmed for this school, rather than what similar schools typically look like, was the discipline this case called for.

Questions to Ask the School

1.Does HIS offer the IB Diploma?
Why this matters: There's a discrepancy between the legacy directory's claim and what was found this session.
2.Does HIS itself hold a WASC or other MEXT-recognised accreditation?
Why this matters: Not confirmed this session.

Sources & Verification

Tuition and Fees — Hokkaido International Schoolprimary source · as of: 2026-09-24Fetched directly. 2026-27: application ¥20,000, entrance ¥200,000 (one-time). Annual tuition by grade: Early Years half-day ¥1,028,000 to Grade 9-12 ¥1,648,000. Annual fee ¥200,000, accident insurance ¥5,000, PTA ¥10,000, device management fee (K-G5) ¥25,000 or tech fee (G6-12) ¥3,000, all compulsory.
Search synthesis on Hokkaido International School history — Multiple (incl. Wikipedia, US Dept. of State fact sheets)third-party source · as of: 2026-09-24Founded 1958 as Hokkaido American School after the US Army's Camp Crawford dependents school closed; renamed Hokkaido International School in 1962 and moved to its own Fukuzumi campus. Runs a US-style curriculum with the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) at elementary level — not the IB. This matches the legacy directory's "US Curriculum + IB DP" only partially; no source consulted this session confirms an IB DP offering specifically.

Last reviewed by William Prep: 2026-09-24

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