Japanese Scenes

Before the call

💡 What to know before you call

Extended daycare () fees are not covered by free preschool (化), and rules differ by ward and by public vs private daycare. Shinjuku's public daycares, for example, offer monthly use (10+ days/month, ¥4,000 for 1 hour), daily booked use (under 10 days, ¥400/day for 1 hour), and (also ¥400 for 1 hour) for sudden overtime if you don't already have a monthly/daily approval — same-day request by phone or in person by 5 p.m. (3 p.m. at 富久), only if there's space (usually up to 3 families that day). At private daycares, ask the daycare itself. Ask your own daycare for the cutoff time and fee before you need it.

Words this call depends on

のがあるので
"I have overtime planned, so…" (recycled [[ので]])
をできますか
Could I ask for extended daycare?
までていただけますか
"Could you look after (him) until 7 p.m.?" (pattern: 何時まで預かっていただけますか; [[〜ていただけますか]])
they'll ask!
one-off extended-care use (same-day use depends on the daycare’s rules; vs monthly or booked daily) (new 〜だけ（＋の）: 今日だけのスポット利用)
はいくらですか
How much is the fee?

Grammar you'll use

ので
because / since (soft reason)
Plain form + ので / い-adj + ので / な-adj・noun + なので
🧩 Try it
残業の予定がある
Hint: because / so
〜ていただけますか
Could you please ~? (polite request)
Verb-て + いただけますか
🧩 Try it
預かって
Hint: polite request
〜んですが
soft opener: explains the situation and invites the listener to help
Plain form + んですが (な-adj/noun + なんですが)
🧩 Try it
今日ちょっとお願いがある
Hint: soft opener

The flow of the call6 steps · orange = they'll ask you

1Greet the teacher; they ask what's up (they ask you)Lines 1–2
2Say you have a favor to askLines 3–4
3Explain the overtime and ask for extended care; they ask until when (they ask you)Lines 5–6
4Ask them to keep him until 7; they check it's one-off spot use (they ask you)Lines 7–8
5Confirm and ask the feeLines 9–10
6Thank themLine 11

Up next · step 2 of 4

Listen to the call

Continue to Listen