Our American kids have grown up in Japanese schools — first in a local Japanese kindergarten then in our local public elementary schools after that, graduating into Japanese junior high school. So what is it really like being foreigners in Japanese junior high? Today we’re talking to the twins to find out on this Life in Japan. [Life in Japan Theme Song] Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas! Becca's home! Welcome back.
I'm home. So life for a junior-high child is — I mean the schedules are kind of the same But what they take to school and what they do at school are very different because now they're almost adults. Their old junior high school had a uniform backpack but this current school does not have a uniform backpack So they can do whatever they want, so we got them hiking backpacks because it helps because of their back And they take so many books to school. There's no books in my bag right now.
There's hardly any books. There's no books in your bag? How's it weigh so much?! Because I have my jacket. Oh yea, and I have two books. 3 books! And they can take any pencil box that they want. Awww- what's yours, Anna? Normal. Casual. Oh let me see it!
Normal/casual?! So what they write everything in is folders instead of notebooks. Oh there's Anna. Oh yes, alright Anna. So this is next week. This is what you have everyday?
Yeah. Monday is this box right here. Tuesday, Wednesday... OK so this is very interesting: this is what the subject is, And this tells you how many minutes each class is. So three days next week they have 50 minute classes and two days they have 45 minute classes Then they get out earlier on those days. And this tells you if they have "kyushoku" which is lunch And if they have "soji" — they have to clean on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Oh boy. We cleaned today —
Oh did you? The bathroom.
Oh! How about the "kyushoku" [school lunch], is it the same as elementary school? Kind of...
Yea, but there's more. There's more because you're bigger now? Yea but do you go and get the "kyushoku" [school lunch] or do they bring it to you? So it's kind of strange. They bring it to your floor but then you need to take it. So they bring it up to your floor and leave it parked outside the elevators? Do they have your class number on it? Well there's like a little room for them to get it ready, and we just go to that room and pick up ours. And you wheel it over?
Yeah, I wheel it over. How many people wheel it? There's four, and I'm one of those people. And that's my only job on "kyushoku toban" [lunch duty] Just wheel it over and I'm done. Nice.
Do you have to take it back then? Is it like buffet style so you grab your tray and go and get your food?
Yea. So you grab your tray, what's the first thing that you get? Rice.
Like today... Rice or bread. And then it was like "yasai" [vegetable] And then what was it?
It was curry. Ooo!
Soup. And then what?
And then the milk. Milk every meal? Yeah, like every meal, but today was special. We had like a little yogurt drink! Besides the milk?
No. Instead of the milk.
If it was with curry... It's probably lassi, huh? No it wasn't lassi Oh it wasn't?
I wish it was lassi, but it's not. But you have to take your own napkin and "hashi" [silverware] So every kid has to take their own placemat and silverware. Placemat. I just take two every week and I just keep "koukan koukan" [alternating] So then it's not like I use the same one everyday, It's "mendokusai" [bothersome]
And you don't spill. And I don't spill. Nobody knows. Oh no, now... Nobody? Everybody knows! Ok, let me see what else is in your bag. What's this?
"Eigorabo" [English studies] I'm trying to finish it to the end. Look how much there is.
I already finished it. You finished yours, Anna? I finished all of my "kanji"
I already finished this and this. What's this "Eigo" [English]?
That's like the answers. And then what's this massive file folder? That's all my papers, you don't need to look at it. Stop touching my hair!
And then they take a water bottle. There indoor shoes are different because when they started 1st grade middle school their shoe color was green. So their indoor shoes have a green stripe on them, Their tennis shoes, their actual tennis shoes, everyone has the exact same tennis shoe, Those indoor shoes they hardly bring them back, Like elementary school, you bring them back every week and I wash them every week. They take them back at major breaks is all! So these shoes, when they get back home, they are...nasty!
PU! So what you have on now is your "seifuku" [uniform] But you also have "jyaji" [jerseys], which is like workout clothes. Which is my favorite. Do you have a "jyaji" there? So they take those when they have sports. Oh yes. Oh yeah. So for sports, they also have a uniform for judo. Just a white uniform
You have a special one just for judo?! Do you guys like judo?
No! Oh, but I actually kind of like it now because I can do the thing that I couldn't do. Oh, well that's cool. So you get to school, You go in, take off your shoes, put on your "uwabaki" [indoor shoes] and then what do you do? Go to the classroom, sit down. "Asa no kai" [morning meeting] Yeah, we have "asa no kai"
Oh. Students, good morning... That's usually it. Yeah, that's usually it. And then first class? Yea and then you have 5 minutes before the first class. And then after the 1st class, is it immediately the 2nd class? No, we have 10 minutes between every class except the 1st class. Do you have a "hiro yasumi" [lunch break]
Yeah, you have 20 minutes. What do you do?
Sit. Just sit?
Yea, just sit. Go out and play ever?
No. And just sit and do the things that...
You want to get done. I just sit down and daydream. Third class and fourth class are kind of right after each other with ten minutes in-between? 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th is like [straight through] And then lunch..
And then lunch and 5th and 6th. But you have "hiro yasumi" [lunch break] before the 5th and then between the 5th and 6th just 10 minutes. And then on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays we have "soji" [cleaning]. Do you always clean the same place? No, you change every two weeks. Every week for me. So today you cleaned toilets.
Yea. Sometimes you clean toilets, sometimes you clean what? Classrooms, hallways, ahhh.....
Shoe place. Shoe place — "uwabaki" place. Oh yea, and like the place where you wash your hands. So what P.E.'s have you had? Um, we had...
Judo. "Tetsubou" [horizontal bar] That's a very interesting P.E. because that's um...
My favorite. The bar...
Yea, the bar that you just swing round and around. It's the best!
I'm the best girl in my class. I was the best girl in my class too. And then they have basketball, volleyball, soccer, swimming, Did I say judo?
Yeah. Yes! "Tobibako" [vaulting box] And the "heikindai" [balance beam] "Tobibako" is like these boxes that you have to jump over, And "heikindai" is like the skinny bar that you need to walk across. But "tobibako," "heikindai," and "tetsubou" you get to choose one of those. I chose "testubou" — duh. Of course! Oh one very interesting fact about their school, about any school here is: If their hair is short, they can leave their hair down, But if their hair is long, they have to have it pulled back. Oh, not at this school.
Not at this school?! This school you can leave it down, but it you have like P.E. or something you need to put it up. OK, but you have to have dark hair things
Yea. One time — one time when I was walking to school, yea yea yea I had a — what color was it?
Like bright pink. Yea, bright yellow—or something— hair thing in my hair, and my hair is yellow so I thought it was OK, I was going to school And the teacher was like "Becca, your hair thing is yellow, you have to take it out." I was like "OK..." Take it out, and I didn't have a hair thing so I needed to borrow one from a friend. Oh my! So then about "bukatsu" [after school clubs] Those are after school, so everyone changes and goes to their "bukatsu." So what kind of "bukatsu" are there? "Bukatsu's" are their clubs. Running, swimming, basketball, soccer, Badminton, table tennis, volleyball, we mentioned soccer, Music clubs... Drawing, Oh, robot!
Robot?! Yea, they actually make robots! Oh cool!
[Sarah] I want to go in that! Sarah's like "I want to do the robot club!" But those then, they get out between 5:30 and 6:00, depending if it's winter, it's probably 5:00. 4:30 in winter 6:30—no—6:00 at summer when the day is long. A lot of the supplies they get in elementary school they use again then in middle school, Like their wood-carving set and their paint set, But a lot of those the school lets you use theirs, so there's like no reason for you to take it sometimes. Oh you guys did like a woodcarving — a wood cutting... in "chugako" [junior high]
Yea! Yea, I actually made my own shelf!
Oh, cool! It's like... this big. This big.
What did you make, Anna? A bookshelf.
A bookshelf also? "hondana" [bookshelf] Did you guys do your sewing? You do a lot of sewing too, don't you? No, we actually didn't sew anything in "ninensei" [2nd grade] We're going to cook in "ninensei" [2nd grade] I think. I'm not looking forward to that that much. It's just chop chop chop chop chop chop. And more chopping chopping chopping chopping — probably. And you do a lot of "shuji" [calligraphy] Calligraphy but I think we're done now. They do have tests four times a year, And we like test days—we don't like the test weeks. Two weeks before pretty much they start test practicing, They don't have "bukatsu" [after school clubs] and everything, they just come home and study study study study. Lots of study...
And then... They have 2 or 3 days of tests, but those days are kind of nice because they're short. They're only morning, like three or four tests in the morning, And then no lunch — they come home and eat lunch. And then the next day the same thing and the next day the same thing. So the first two days are kind of blah because they have to study for the next day, But then the third day they get out early and there's no test the next day so it's like vacation for the afternoon. Some kids have "bukatsu" [after school clubs]
On that day then? Yeah, uh.
That's like the worst. [Sarah] I had so many tests today and I didn't come home early! You had so many tests today and you didn't get out early! Are there any international people at your school? Yea, there's 3 other kids who are from America— no "gaikoku" [other countries] Just 3 other people are from other countries?
Yea. We're the only blond kids.
Yea, we're the only blond kids in our school! There school is large, Their classroom—how many kids are in your class?
40 kids and there's 5 classes. But in the 1st and 3rd grade there's 6 classes. Oh wow.
They have the smallest grade. 200 kids. So let me ask you Anna, what is your favorite part about Junior High School where you're going? [Joshua] "Tetsubo" [horizontal bar]
P.E. That was your favorite in elementary too, wasn't it?
Yea. Some things have not changed What about you, Rebecca? Same thing?
[Joshua] arts and crafts. P.E.? Wow. P.E. is popular!
What about you, mommy? Mine? Probably Home Ec. [economics] It's Momma chan after all... Well girls, good job! You're the first ones in our family to do junior high school in Japan. Did you hear that monkey, we're the first ones! We're the first ones! Thanks girls! Thanks girls for talking about junior high school in Japan! Coming up on Life in Japan, we create the next installment of one of our most popular and most requested series… Today is the first day in a long time that we will
have a Japanese-only day but it's not just today, this whole weekend
will be Japanese only. Let's do so! Let's do so! How about dad? How was my intro? Well I could hardly hear it, but it was pretty good. Yea, that's right. Good! Japanese-only day!
