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Nishimachi International School — It Ends at Grade 9. Plan the High School Step Separately

Tokyo, Japan

A historic, small school in Motoazabu — but with no high school of its own, so a transfer after Grade 9 is built into the plan, not an exception.

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

Nishimachi International School is a small, historic school in Motoazabu, Minato-ku, founded in 1949. Across Kindergarten, Elementary and Junior High it has a capacity of roughly 516 students from more than 40 countries. The single most important structural fact: the school ends at Grade 9 (equivalent to Japanese 中学3年) — there is no high school here.

At a Glance

Location	Minato-ku (Motoazabu)as of: 2026-09-24
Grade Range	Kindergarten–Grade 9 (no high school)as of: 2026-09-24
Capacity	516as of: 2026-09-24
Accreditation	WASC, CISas of: 2026-09-24
Tuition (all levels)	¥3,129,000/year2026 · as of: 2026-09-24

Why "No High School" Should Be the Starting Point, Not a Footnote

The Tokyo Metropolitan Portal's grade structure for Nishimachi lists exactly three levels — Kindergarten, Elementary, Junior High — with no high school row at all. A student who completes Grade 9 has to move to a different school for Grade 10 onward, whether that's an Article 1 Japanese high school or another WASC/CIS-accredited international school.

William Prep’s Analysis

This isn't a judgment on the school — it's a structural fact. But it matters most to families who assumed they were choosing one school through graduation. If Nishimachi is on your list, the honest way to plan it is as two separate decisions from the start: Nishimachi for the junior-high years, and a deliberate, separate high-school search to follow.

Fees: Only the Annual Tuition Figure Was Confirmed

The Tokyo Metropolitan Portal records a single annual tuition figure of ¥3,129,000 across Kindergarten, Elementary and Junior High. One-time fees — application, enrolment, facilities — were not confirmed this session. Getting the real first-year total means asking the school directly.

University Entrance Eligibility in Japan

School-accreditation route	No not publicly confirmedNot directly applicable — Nishimachi ends at Grade 9, so university eligibility depends entirely on whichever high school (Grade 10–12) a student transfers to afterward, not on Nishimachi itself.
Student-qualification route (IB, etc.)	No not publicly confirmed

Nishimachi runs Kindergarten through Grade 9 only — there is no high school. University eligibility is not established during enrolment here at all; it depends entirely on which high school a student transfers to for Grade 10–12. This is the single most important practical fact for a family evaluating Nishimachi.

Fees & Estimated First-Year Cost

academic year: 2026

Tuition (all levels)

¥3,129,000The Tokyo Portal lists a single annual tuition figure across Kindergarten, Elementary and Junior High. One-time application/enrolment fees were not confirmed this session.

What Makes This School Distinctive

Daily Japanese instruction for every student

Every student receives daily Japanese-language instruction alongside English-medium classes

The Tokyo Portal explicitly states "a minimum of one lesson per day in Japanese."

For families prioritising Japanese-language maintenance, this is a real differentiator from schools where Japanese is elective or minimal.

University Pathways

Since Nishimachi ends at Grade 9, the relevant "outcomes" data is really destination high schools, not university matriculation — and this was not confirmed this session.

Where graduates typically go for high school (Article 1 schools vs. international schools) was not confirmed this session.

Admissions

Cycle	未確認 not publicly confirmed
English requirement	生徒に学年相応の英語力が求められる

What Japanese Families Should Know

Who Might Find This School a Good Fit

Might suit — Families comfortable choosing a separate high school after Grade 9, and those prioritising Japanese-language maintenance

Might not suit — Families wanting one continuous school from early years through high school graduation

William Prep’s Analysis

The most important part of researching Nishimachi was putting a seemingly unglamorous fact — no high school — right at the top, not buried in an admissions FAQ. Structural constraints like this affect a family's actual decision-making more than most "what makes this school distinctive" content does, and many write-ups skip past it in favour of describing the school's appeal. We've deliberately led with it instead.

Questions to Ask the School

1.What are the one-time fees beyond tuition — application, enrolment, facilities?
Why this matters: Only the annual tuition figure was available on the Tokyo Portal — one-time fees were not confirmed this session.
2.Where do Grade 9 graduates typically go for high school — Article 1 schools, or other international schools?
Why this matters: This wasn't confirmed this session, and it's arguably more useful for evaluating Nishimachi than any single-school "outcomes" figure would be, given the school ends at Grade 9.

Sources & Verification

Nishimachi International School — school profile — Tokyo International Schools Portal (Tokyo Metropolitan Government)official source · as of: 2026-09-24Capacity by level (K-Elementary-Junior High, 516 total), class sizes, 40+ countries, 95 teachers, curriculum (US Common Core), accreditations (WASC, CIS), tuition (¥3,129,000 flat across levels), admissions incl. parent-English expectation, facilities (no bus, no pool).
Search synthesis on Nishimachi founding and grade range — Multiple (incl. Wikipedia, US Dept. of State fact sheet)third-party source · as of: 2026-09-24Founded 1949; K-9 only (no high school — students transfer out after Grade 9); JCIS/EARCOS membership. Not independently confirmed against nishimachi.ac.jp directly this session (direct fetch 404'd).

Last reviewed by William Prep: 2026-09-24

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