Nayoro City University's predecessor, Nayoro Women’s Junior College, was established in 1960. In 1990 it was renamed Nayoro City Junior College and became coeducational. The college gained university status in 2006 and became Nayoro City University.
There is only one faculty at the university, the Faculty of Health and Welfare. There are four departments within the faculty offering courses in nutritional sciences, nursing, social welfare, and social childhood education.
The university’s mission is to "open the future of care", which not only refers to the care of humans but also to innovation and the development of technology. By collaborating with professionals and researching the care that humans require, the university hopes to enrich the lives of people in the north Hokkaido area.
In 2016 the university opened the Centre for Research and Education in Community Care. This was in response to local issues such as a decreasing population, caused by an aging society and less children being born. The university seeks to share its expertise in the fields of children and education, food and nutrition, healthcare, and social welfare with the local community to resolve issues and improve the standard of living.
The university is located in Nayoro, a city in Hokkaido, one of Japan’s main islands. Hokkaido is known for its natural hot springs and volcanic regions. In winter the weather in Hokkaido is harsh with lots of snowfall and below zero temperatures, which attracts increasing numbers of skiers and snowboarders every year. In the summer period, the island becomes a popular destination for campers, cyclists and hikers.
