What the German curriculum offer actually looks like
Tokyo and Yokohama share a single full German curriculum school. The Deutsche Schule Tokyo Yokohama, known as DSTY, is located in Kohoku New Town in Yokohama and serves the German speaking community across the wider metropolitan region. It is the only school in Japan offering a continuous German curriculum from kindergarten through to the Abitur, the German university entrance qualification. The school operates under the recognition of the German Ministry of Education and follows the standard programme used by Auslandsschulen worldwide.
Outside DSTY, there is no second option for full German curriculum schooling in Tokyo. A handful of international schools offer German as a foreign language or, in a small number of cases, German Language A inside the IB Diploma. Those routes keep the language alive but do not deliver the German curriculum or qualify a student for the Abitur. For families who want their child to sit the Abitur and target a German university directly, DSTY is the only available route.
Fees and German government support
DSTY tuition runs from approximately JPY 1.6 million per year in kindergarten to JPY 2.3 million per year in the upper secondary years. Pricing is significantly lower than most other international schools in Tokyo because DSTY receives operational and staffing support from the German federal government as a recognised Deutsche Auslandsschule. The school also benefits from teacher secondments arranged through the Zentralstelle fur das Auslandsschulwesen.
Add the standard one-off enrolment fee, school bus contracts from Tokyo, lunch programme and residential trips. Total annual outgoings for upper secondary families sit close to JPY 2.7 million. Our Tokyo fees guide benchmarks DSTY against the other Tokyo international schools.
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Illustrative example school
The school below is illustrative of the only full German curriculum option in the region.
Deutsche Schule Tokyo Yokohama in Kohoku New Town enrols approximately 400 students from kindergarten through the Abitur years. German is the language of instruction, English and Japanese are taught as core foreign languages, and the school offers both the Allgemeine Hochschulreife (Abitur) and the German International Abitur (DIAP) at the end of upper secondary. Class sizes are small, the staff is largely seconded from Germany, and the school maintains active links with German universities and apprenticeship pathways. Outcomes into German higher education and dual training are well established.
Where German families live in Tokyo and Yokohama
German speaking families in the metropolitan region cluster in two distinct areas. Yokohama, particularly Aobadai, Tama Plaza, Azamino and the Kohoku New Town area, is the natural choice for families who want a short school run. The school bus network serves these areas directly and a meaningful German speaking community has grown up around the school. Central Tokyo is the alternative, with families based in Hiroo, Azabu or Meguro using the longer school bus route that connects central Tokyo with the Yokohama campus. The Tokyo bus typically runs 60 to 80 minutes door to door, so it tends to suit older children better than five year olds.
Admissions calendar
DSTY runs a rolling admissions process aligned to the German academic year, which begins in late August. Applications for the August 2026 academic year typically open in autumn 2025. Capacity at DSTY is relatively limited because of small cohort sizes, so kindergarten and Klasse 1 entry points fill quickly and families on confirmed assignments should apply as early as possible. Mid-year admissions are accommodated where space exists.
Plan to apply 9 to 12 months ahead for kindergarten and Klasse 1. For upper secondary, 4 to 6 months is usually adequate, with the caveat that Abitur preparation in the final two years can complicate late transfers.
What to do if DSTY does not fit your family
Because DSTY is the only full German curriculum option in the region, families who decide against it typically pick between three alternatives. The first is enrolment at a Tokyo IB school that offers German as a Language A at Diploma level, which keeps academic German alive even though the rest of the curriculum is taught in English. Only a handful of Tokyo schools run German A at Diploma, so check current availability before committing.
The second alternative is a British or American international school in Tokyo combined with weekend German language tuition through the Goethe Institut Tokyo or private tutors. This route works for families with younger children who can be moved into the German system later if needed, and for families on short two to three year postings where the cost of switching curriculum twice is high.
The third alternative, for families based in central Tokyo with secondary age children, is to use the DSTY school bus service from central pickup points and accept the longer commute. Many families combine this with a flexible work pattern that keeps one parent close to the school for emergencies. None of these alternatives recreate the Abitur pathway, so families who specifically want their child to sit the Abitur and target a German university directly will need to enrol at DSTY itself, regardless of the commute burden. Our relocation cost calculator helps weigh the tuition saving against the housing trade-off if you move closer to the school.
Frequently asked questions
How many German schools are in Tokyo?
Just one. The Deutsche Schule Tokyo Yokohama is the only school in the metropolitan area delivering the full German curriculum from kindergarten through the Abitur.
How much does DSTY cost?
Tuition runs from JPY 1.6 million in kindergarten to JPY 2.3 million in upper secondary, with school bus, lunch and trips adding roughly 15 percent. DSTY is meaningfully cheaper than most Tokyo international schools because it is supported by the German federal government.
Is the Abitur recognised by Japanese universities?
Yes. Japan's leading universities, including the University of Tokyo, Waseda and Keio, recognise the German Abitur for entry. DSTY graduates more commonly continue to German and other European universities.
Can non-German families enrol at DSTY?
Yes. DSTY accepts students of any nationality, though instruction is in German and applicants are expected to have sufficient German language proficiency to follow the programme.
