Founded on September 20th 1904, The Deutsche Schule Tokyo Yokohama (hereinafter referred to as DSTY) is the oldest still existing German school abroad in East Asia. The history began in a bourgeois house in Yokohama with only nine girls and boys from three countries in the first grades. The school managed to overcome many hard situations like the great earthquake of September 1923 and the two world wars. The first school year after the Second World War began on December 1, 1953 with seventeen pupils, and as early as 1960, the first high school graduates received their high school diploma. On November 23, 1967, the school relocated into the new building in Omori. And after 1970 when Japan and Germany continued to intertwine, it outgrew its campus so rapidly again, which resulted in another relocation to the new building in Nakamachidai/Yokohama, where the school still is now. The number of students has exceeded the 500 mark now and the school serves as a place for human and cultural encounters like it always has been.

The kindergarten of DSTY consists of six groups: mole, hippopotamus, rabbit, bear, lion and penguin. Each group offers space for children from the age of three to school entry and everyday situations are consciously used as learning situations in the spirit of learning by playing – playing by learning.
DSTY's pedagogical concept is based on the Thuringian education plan for children up to 10 years of age, which aims to cover seven areas of education below:

- Language education
- Motor and health education
- Scientific and technical education
- Mathematical education
- Musical education
- Artistic education
- Socio-cultural, moral and religious education

The school attaches significant importance to promoting the German language, which takes place for the most part through the pedagogical offers and the conscious use of the German language in everyday life, as a German kindergarten abroad with a high proportion of multilingual children.

The elementary school focuses on enjoying learning process. The school's philosophy of child development and learning in primary school is that everything takes time and therefore the actual learning process is much more important at this age than the end result in the form of grades and certificates. They strive to meet students' special needs and also to support the parents as well by regularly talking to the parents' representatives in the PTA meetings about current topics.

​​DSTY's priority in the secondary education is to convey a realistic picture of Germany. But as a school in Japan, they also give the students Japanese language lessons and as much insight into Japanese culture as possible. Native Japanese speakers can choose Japanese as a second foreign language, non-native speakers learn Japanese until the end of the 10th grade offered as an elective and can be chosen as an AG in the 11th and 12th grade. The school covers mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and computer science as well as history, geography, economics and social studies. DSTY also offers excellent opportunities for a wide range of artistic subjects, where the students learn to express themselves through design and train their aesthetic perception.

DSTY is the only German school in the middle of Japan to get excellent German education in all types of schools from kindergarten to high school together under one roof. The school encourages curiosity and joy in learning and support students individually to grow together by mastering new challenges confidently and creatively. At the DSTY you will find a home where they live cultural exchange on a daily basis. They see diversity as a strength and enrichment.