Machida Kodomo MURA

A small-group nursery in Machida, a seven-minute walk from Tamasakai station on the Keiō Sagamihara line, with its own car park. Being small is the point: it is what lets the staff stay close to each child. The heart of the week is forest kindergarten — days outdoors using all five senses, which the nursery sees as building immunity, imagination and sensitivity. English and glimpses of cultures from elsewhere are part of the ordinary day rather than a separate lesson. Staff read each child's temperament and adapt to it, an approach the nursery calls order-made care. Lunches are cooked from Oisix ingredients, chosen with children's physical and cognitive development in mind. The building is solid natural timber, chosen with allergies and eczema in mind. Families are told carefully what their child did each day. Day-to-day care is in Japanese, and one member of staff can help in English.