The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the time and place of outdoor motor play and the actual physical environment used by 1–2-year-olds in urban nursery in Tokyo, as well as the consciousness of nursery teachers toward outdoor motor play, which may have an influence on these factors. The survey was administered by questionnaire, and responses were received from 228 teachers in 63 nurseries, 115 classes. The median duration of outdoor play was found to be 40.0 minutes, but there is a large variation among nurseries and classes. In this study, approximately 20 different types of physical environment were used, but there is a bias toward “sandboxes and sandbox play equipment” and “playground conditions, nature and equipment”, suggesting that there is also a bias in the movements experienced during play. In addition, the teachers expressed priorities with regard to “enrichment of the physical environment,” “enrichment of motor play,” and “emphasis on movement,” which positively influenced outdoor motor play time and the degree of enrichment of the physical environment, while “emphasis on rules instruction” negatively influenced such play. It is important to balance the teaching of rules and the enrichment of overall motor play.
