We stayed in the Sumida section of Tokyo, near the Sky Tree, on the east end of town, and we walked what we affectionately referred to as our “hood”, each morning. One of things I loved to watch was the little kids heading to school.
Kids walk to school in Japan, or they ride their bikes. They don’t have school buses. You go to the neighborhood school and your school is always within easy walking or biking distance.
Let’s start with the schools themselves. They are usually three floor, tile and glass buildings with an institutional apartment look flanked by a play yard with stuff to climb on, a ball court and a small field for soccer. There are no barbed wire fences like we have seen in so many cities around the world. They are open and airy. If you stand and listen, you will often hear laughter coming from the classrooms. And they are usually encircled by colorful flags and pennants. They are an inviting place.
The elementary children usually walk hand-in-hand with their parents to school at about 8:30. And they are all smiles. School officially starts at 8:45 and runs until 3:15. They don’t force children to board a school bus in the dark at six in the morning, so they suffer from sleep deprivation all day. And let me just say that a Japanese child resembles a little smiling doll. They wear colorful cotton berets and are so cute you just want to squeeze them.
The kids are met at the entrance of the school by the smiling principal who is dressed quite formally and who knows the name of every child. There is a warm handshake and they are welcomed. Everyone bows and says “Arigato” (thank you) . And then the children make a beeline for the playground because there is a play period before school, so the kids can meet and greet and run around. This is fun for the kids and ensures that when they go to class they have expended a lot of nervous energy and are ready to learn. What a cool idea.
The middle-schoolers and high school students also walk or ride their bikes to their schools and they all wear dark blue uniforms that are always clean and pressed. We saw them on the streets all over Tokyo and the other cities we visited. They tend to travel in packs of five-to-seven and they are always quiet and well-behaved nothing like the screaming kids that go to school in my neighborhood and who are yelling profanely and walking in the middle of the street, daring cars to hit them. That sort of behavior would simply not be tolerated in Japan.
Americans are like exotic creatures to Japanese children of all ages. They begin taking English classes at a young age. And they love to practice on the real thing.
When we encountered a line of elementary children on an outing, walking in pairs and holding hands — it seems like teachers are always taking them out to see something like a museum, or to one of the sky towers — they would squeak “Hello” to us and giggle as they passed. And when we would respond in kind, they would all break into gleeful laughter, including the teacher.
The older school kids would often come up to us and practice their English. That was always a hoot. And on several occasions, they asked us to sign something — it didn’t matter what — they just wanted our autograph. And after we signed their notebooks or a school book, they would run back to their friends and show it off like they had just gotten the autograph of some famous rock star.
Japanese kids have two school terms. The first term begins in April and runs to July 20th. Then they get a summer vacation. The second term runs from September to December 25th. Then they get winter vacation until January 6th, and they end the school year with spring vacation from March 25th to April 5th. Then they start again.
Japanese schools used to operate from Monday to Saturday, with Sunday off. But they recently went to a Monday tthrough Friday schedule.
Schools and books are free in Japan and they have one of the highest participation rates in the world at 99.8%
So, where do the Japanese schools rank in relation to the rest of the world? They are rated #3, right behind Finland and South Korea. The United States comes in at #16 between New Zealand and Ireland. Russia is #5.
As with seemingly everybody in Japan, whether it is someone working in a shop, or at a train station, or sweeping the street, the school kids were happy. That’s the Japanese secret to success in life. Be Happy!
