What it's like to get your education in Japan

My class of sixth grade Japanese students.

In my three years of experience teaching K-12 in Japan, I learned more about the Japanese education system and school life than I could ever have from any book. Just as my homestay at a high school in Kobe, Japan taught me, there are plenty of similarities between school in the U.S. vs Japan, but plenty of things that are different, too. Although it was never my intention to become a teacher, it’s the most popular method to live and work in Japan, and it was an eye-opening experience that taught me a lot about Japanese people and their culture and beliefs than if I had had a regular job.

Education system

Organization of education in Japan.

The structure of education is very different in Japan compared to America. Elementary school is divided into grades 1-6, and junior high and high school are only three years each, and are called by 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades (ichi-nensei, ni-nensei, san-nensei). Thus you encounter some confusion when trying to figure out the equivalent grades back home: a junior high second year is the equivalent of an eighth grader, a junior high third year is what we would call a freshman, and high school first year is a sophomore. College is a normal four years. In addition, there is no skipping or repeating of grades in Japan, period, and no higher level courses for more gifted individuals to ensure that everyone is treated the same. Elementary through high school is divided into three semesters: spring, fall, and winter.

Spring time is back to school season in Japan.

The other thing that sets apart Japanese education from the U.S. is this: the school year starts in April and ends in March! Thus, they have year round school, which is grueling in the heat of July (most schools don’t have AC, or if they do they don’t use it to save on costs!). Summer vacation starts at the end of July and ends at the end of August (just in time to enjoy the “opening” of the beach, fireworks, and summer festivals!), winter break starts the day after Christmas till around January 6 to enjoy New Year’s, and spring vacation lasts for about two weeks from the end of March soas to enjoy the beautiful cherry blossoms.

That’s not all: there’s school on Saturdays, too! It’s typically just for the morning, but there are club activities afterward so they’re basically there all day. There was a trial of having Saturdays off from school called the “yutori generation”, but students’ performances slipped, so it’s been nixed since 1999.

Also, compulsory education is only through junior high! Once students graduate at around 15 years old, they can decide to go to a trade school or continue to high school, the entire cost of which must be born by the parents. Still, almost all continue on to higher education. However, students must endure the rigors of “examination hell” for third year junior high and high school students in order to pass the entrance tests to their school of choice.

Curriculum

Calligraphy class.

All students take core classes of math, science, social studies, P.E., music, art, and Japanese (kokugo, their version of Language Arts). However they also may have calligraphy, home ec, and English (gaikoku katsudo). They also study morals, which is probably why they are all so considerate and well behaved. The one good thing about having class in summer is swimming lessons for students at all elementary schools! Still, the rate of being able to swim is quite low in Japan. Schedules are about the same every day. Teachers rotate from class to class while students stay in their classrooms –sounds pretty cushy to me!

A typical English lesson in elementary schools in Japan.

Students are required to take English from the first year of junior high school (equivalent to seventh grade in America) through high school, but with the 2020 Tokyo olympics approaching many elementary schools also include English, and kindergartens may even have foreign, English speaking teachers or guest visitors. In just elementary school, students are expected to learn 1,006 kanji, as well as hiragana and katakana. Lastly, almost all classes are lecture-style, meaning students don’t get much of a chance to learn communication, public speaking, or presentation skills.

School Life

A Typical Day

A typical class includes lectures and taking notes.

School typically starts at 8:30 and ends at 3:15. An assembly is held before class the first day of every week, and opening and closing assemblies are held at the start and end of each semester. Classes are 45 min in elementary school, 50 for junior high and high school. There are 30-40 students in a class, and classrooms are pretty low tech, with blackboards and chalk to teach with. Students also have mandatory home room before class every morning, even in high school.

School Lunch

School lunch is very nutritional in Japan – no pizza and fries!

There is no cafeteria in elementary and junior high school, so everyone eats at the exact same time in their classrooms. This school lunch is called “kyuushoku” rather than the standard “hirugohan”. It consists of soup, a heaping portion of white rice, bread, or noodles, a vegetable and protein side dish, and always milk, which is a little fattier than normal since this is probably the only time of day they drink milk. A group of students for each day are assigned to carry the bins of food in and out, portion out the food onto plates, and deliver it to each student.

Students serve each other during lunch in Japan.

In high school everyone has to bring their own lunch, but there is also a cafeteria. After lunch, there is recess. Jump rope or tag is popular, but don’t underestimate the extreme playground courses! Unicycles are also popular!

Time for extreme playground! These kids could all probably join the circus.

Mandatory cleaning time follows recess, in which all students must participate, because there aren’t any janitors! This may seem strict, but it does build discipline and character.

Uniforms

Typical junior high uniforms.

Students are also required to wear uniforms from junior high school. Uniforms typically consist of blue, gray, or black jackets, trousers, and skirts, and white shirts. The school insignia is displayed on their bags of uniforms so people can call the school to complain about behavior (or just tattle on them). Girls’ uniforms vary the most between schools, and the stereotypical outfit is a sailor uniform. It’s easy to distinguish junior high uniforms from high school: junior high girls are forced to wear super long, shapeless skirts to hide any glimpses of puberty, and boys wear suffocating button-up jackets. If you can see legs, it’s a high school girl! There are also summer versions of uniforms and P.E. uniforms for all grades. Students even wear them on the weekends and for Halloween or at Disneyland!

Because you just can't get enough of wearing uniforms.

School Events

Sports day is a huge event for Japanese schools.

Of course there are also many school events spread out through the year, including Sports Day, Chorus Competition (junior high), and Culture Day (high school). Sports Day is not your typical track and field day! It’s a huge event each class trains for, and includes some really wacky events! There are no school dances or proms – hopefully forcing students to focus on their studies instead!

Students also have physical checkups and body measurements every year (a frequent feature in anime), and teachers visit each of the student’s homes to meet with their parents a few times a year. Field trips are also held throughout the year, and the biggest difference from the U.S. is that there are excursions lasting a few days where the students travel somewhere and stay overnight together, fostering bonds with their friends and teachers. The biggest trips are for third year junior high and second year high school students, and common destinations include Kyoto or Okinawa, and sometimes international destinations!

Clubs

Time spent after school is filled with club activities.

Students can choose from a variety of clubs from elementary through high school. Clubs are a fun outlet and the preferred method of making friends in Japan, but they are also extremely demanding! As in, every single day after school until midnight for the rest of your life. Ok, not that extreme. But they are held pretty much every single day for a few hours, which includes weekends and even school breaks! Basically you will not have a lot of free time if you join a club. While club participation is not extremely mandatory (“going home club”, yay!) almost everyone participates anyway, thanks to the homogeneity of Japanese society.

Students can participate in traditional activities such as tea ceremony, calligraphy, and flower arrangement.

However in elementary school, clubs are held usually only once a week in the sixth hour of the school day, and anyone who is not in the club gets to go home early. It’s not very competitive and it doesn’t consume your entire life, so it’s a pretty good deal. Students can choose from sports teams, cooking, photography, animation/drawing, board games, to traditional subjects such as tea ceremony, koto (Japanese stringed instrument), kendo, and aikido.

In addition, most students attend after school cram-sessions or attend English conversation schools, so they are always busy! But mainly, they are just like any other students around the world!