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Guide

How to apply for a special nursing home in Yokohama

In Yokohama you do not apply at the ward office or at each home. All applications go by post to a single city-run reception centre, and admission is decided by assessed need rather than by the order of application.

How the application works

How one application reaches several homes

  1. One application form

    Sent to the Special Nursing Home Application Centre, by post only. Not to the ward office, and not to the homes themselves.

  2. Name the homes you want on it

    You do not file separately with each one. The single form covers all of them.

  3. Each home scores you separately

    Scoring follows the city’s published admission guideline — care level, dementia, the carer’s situation, how long you have lived there.

  4. Each home has its own queue

    Contact comes from the home itself, to the people highest on its list.

    Filing early does not move you up

    The order is by assessed need, not by date. Applying sooner does not get you in sooner — but it does mean you are already on the list when your situation changes.

    If your circumstances or your choice of homes changes, file a change notice — that is what updates your score.

You do not apply at the ward office

Yokohama runs a single intake for special nursing homes. Applications go to the Special Nursing Home Application Reception Centre — not to the ward office and not to individual homes.

Yumeooka Office Tower 14F, 1-6-1 Kamiooka-nishi, Minami-ku, Yokohama 233-0002
Phone 045-840-5817 / Fax 045-840-5816
9:00–17:00, closed weekends and public holidays

Applications are accepted by post only — you cannot hand them in at a counter.

Who can apply

  • Normally those certified at care level 3–5 who do not need hospital treatment
  • Care level 1–2 applicants may apply if they meet the criteria for an exceptional admission

Documents

  • Application form (with consent), sides A and B
  • A copy of a valid long-term care insurance certificate

Admission is not first come, first served

Priority is set by a points system under the city's admission guidelines, weighing the care level and the household's situation. Applying earlier does not move you up the list.

Where to get advice first

A Community Care Plaza will discuss options with you at no charge.

Find your support centre Official page (Japanese)

Source: Yokohama City · Last verified 2026-09-12. Rules change. Check the source page before you act on this. This is a plain-English summary of public information, not an official translation.

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