Day in the Life of a Japanese Elementary School w/ Only 8 Students

this is a day in the life of a Japanese Elementary School with eight [Music] students today is a typical Japanese school day for the shirasaka family and the three kids are all just waking up that's IDU she's in fifth [Music] grade this is Rukia he's in third grade and that's ruy he's in second grade they live in a small city called SOI in kagoshima Japan which is where their mom grew up they have a very spacious 4 LDK house a lot bigger than the average Japanese house you'd see in the city a de

finite Advantage living in the countryside oh no it seems like Ido can't find the socks she wants to wear I hope she finds [Music] it ruk is feeding his hamster what's his name oh when did you get him oh he's a new addition to the family is this your room so why do you get to have your own room apparently all three kids have their own room but the other two want to sleep with their mom still typical in Japanese households now the three kids have breakfast together it's pretty common to eat bread

these days in Japan but their family usually eats a Japanese style breakfast with rice and miso [Music] soup hey mornings are always busy huh do you have work today oh so what do you do oh wow after breakfast Rukia walks the dog with his dad oh R is finally done with his breakfast they have time before school so the kids take turns practicing the piano while Mom does ID Do's hair dad cleans up the kitchen interestingly in Japan piano used to be the most popular lesson for elementary school kids

followed by Japanese calligraphy however the popular Trend in the last few decades has been swimming classes with English lessons coming in second an average family spending between 10,000 to 15,000 Yen about $66 to $100 monthly per [Music] child oh that's a traditional Japanese school backpack called Rando seru it's fairly rigid and designed to fit A4 size books without bending them making it ideal for young kids to carry their own books comfortably while Public Schools never officially mandat

ed its purchase it's become so customary that all school children use one to ensure that they don't stand out from their [Music] [Applause] classmates so the kids usually meet up with their classmates and walk together to school while their grandfather accompanies them [Music] it's common for Japanese kids in the neighborhood to commute as a group usually assigned by school different grades are mixed together so big kids watch over the little ones and it looks like they're already having fun goo

d morning everyone I'm back with another day in the life I've been wanting to do this video for such a long time and he finally got permission to do it so the kids should be coming shortly I just got to wait for them right now good morning did you guys sleep well hi so what are you going to do today I know that so the kids walk 2 KET about 1.2 M to school every morning which takes them about 30 to 35 minutes a little more than the average for Japanese Elementary School students taking 24 minutes

oh that's a school principal I guess they're waiting for another student so sweet of them oh here she is so this is cojin shako the public elementary school that the kids attend it's a typical Japanese school but with only eight students enrolled these numbers concerningly becoming less uncommon throughout Japan's countrysides with declining populations with so few students the three siblings almost make up half of the school which has received a special accreditation to even allow students fro

m other districts to enroll to be taught by their 11 teachers before going inside the students must change them to their ouab Baki in Room Shoes typical for Japanese schools which helps maintain a clean school facility while also protecting their [Music] feet now the students separate to their assigned classrooms R is in a combination class of first and second grade all students with their own desks usually in Japan each grade will have multiple classes of 20 to 30 kids but with so few students

this school is forced to [Music] adjust the students have about 30 minutes before the start of their morning home room so each student performs their assigned Duty called toban in Japanese and these two are assigned to take care of the school's [Music] rabbits what's this oh you can grow the one you choose so what are you growing how about you you oh you two are carrot buddies aw now that all the students are finished with their morning duties they use the rest of the time to play running around

jumping rope and anything else that they feel [Music] like at 8:15 the students have their morning Home Room in their own class IDU is the only one in fifth grade so it's just her and her teacher SOI City's declining population and birth rate is not independent but something that the entire nation is experiencing worsening year after year not having enough government support for affordable child care parental leave and child birth encouragement are just some of the issues that Japan must face i

n the future ahead where are you going now every morning before class begins both students and teachers clean the school together today they're cleaning away the fallen leaves on the school grounds this typical morning ritual not only maintains the school's cleanliness but also cultivates a strong sense of teamwork and builds cooperation skills while also setting a positive tone for the day ahead so cleaning the school is common in Japan I guess they're done cleaning in Japan students are taught

to always wash their hands and gurgle Upon returning from outside accustom dating back more than a thousand years as a proactive approach to health and hygiene h at 8:45 finally first period starts but it kind of feels like school already started a while [Music] ago in the first and second grade classroom the students study Koko Japanese language to make it fun and engaging the teacher involves the kids in a theater style format which the kids seem to [Music] enjoy so it looks like they're goin

g to be doing this for a little bit longer so while they're doing that let's go upgrade okay so let's see what else is going on in the other class I think we got to go upstairs the older kids are upstairs okay so I think this is a third and fourth grade class right here oh there's Ria they're also studying Japanese language using their tablets and today focusing on romaji directly translated Roman alphabet in Japan over 96% of schools today use tablets in the classroom a significant change in Th

e Last 5 Years following the introduction of the Giga School concept an initiative by the government which provides one tablet per student and setup of their Network environment in order to help Japan's lagging students catch up with the world in information and communication technology education okay let's go see what id is [Music] doing nice IDU is in the middle of her music class learning the Japanese music scale of course Japan also uses the standard scale like d FTI do but the majority of J

apanese traditional music is based on pentatonic scales consisting of five notes and in this class she's playing a Coto and recorder to learn it [Music] she is it really good I wish they taught me how to play that when I was going to school so let's go check out what's down at this Hall hello what's this room are you a nurse oh do you need a special license for this job ah I see so schools in Japan are required to have an infirmary room hok and shitsu in Japanese like this one what did you study

in University to get this job job are you from [Music] here cool [Music] thanks nice they have a quick break [Music] between classes the students get a 10-minute break to prepare for the next class and go to the bathroom and schools usually have a long 15 to 20 minute break after second period what are you looking at hey are they allowed to browse anything okay that makes sense now that the break is completed second period starts I guess they're having a kanji character quiz today today are you

[Music] [Music] prepared since a girl is in first grade and the two boys in second the teacher reads the questions for each grade one after another so kanji is one of the three writing systems used in the Japanese language which is known to be the most complicated one students are required to learn 10,26 of basic hji during Elementary School and given that to read an ordinary book you need to know the most frequently used kanji which is 2,136 and there are 7,234 kanji in total so it's just the

beginning of their kanji Learning Journey good job so in Japan a typical elementary school day will consist of six periods each 45 minutes long in addition to Home Room starting and finishing the [Music] day now the students divide by grade and study separately as they use different learning material you don't see this often but their teacher seems to be handling it quite well guys having fun huh meanwhile in the fifth grade classroom IDU is having a Japanese calligraphy class called shuji calli

graphy becomes a mandatory class from third grade in Japan writing characters with a brush and charcoal ink offers many advantages Beyond simply improving handwriting it requires intense Focus since students aren't able to erase their mistakes and students must also carefully consider the balance of each stroke its placement length and thickness Stroke by stroke students are taught to take a breath in between which creates a relaxing [Music] effect now the school has a long break which allows th

e teachers to reset themselves some work while others snack oh you'll have more students next year that's great how do you feel about that so what happens if it decreases he says there isn't a minimum number of students required to run the school but when the student enrollment decreases the Board of Education and local government decides on what's the best solution [Music] [Applause] [Music] awesome for third period it's art class for the third graders and today the students are making a calend

ar instead of making individual ones the students must work together on the same project to help build their cooperation skills it seems like they're working nicely [Music] together the first and second graders are now learning math separately with two teachers in Japanese schools the lecture style format is standard with minimum output from students during the class aimed at ensuring uniformity among the students but one advantage of a small school like this is that students are able to get con

stant attention and feedback creating a unique environment for nurturing talents and exploring the potential of each student so I think we should go visit the principal's office you know when I was a kid never wanted to go here but I think this time it's [Music] okay hello are you eating already oh okay this is the principal's office right are these the past principles cool is there anything unique about the school the school invites Professionals for each kid's [Music] dream what's that apparen

tly it helps fund the school's [Music] programs what are you doing so you have to wipe the tables every day now it's lunchtime H Shoku at this Elementary School all the students and teachers Gather in one room to eat together their meal is repaired by a Central Kitchen facility planned by a nutritionist ensuring it's well balanced and a different menu is delivered every morning to the [Music] school or Japanese schools lunchtime isn't just a break to fill stomachs but it's considered a form of f

ood education by by consuming nutritious meals students learn about healthy eating habits which helps carry over into their home life what's even better is that it cost on average 224 Yen about $150 per meal which means that even students coming from families with a tight budget are guaranteed at least one healthy meal each and every day one thing you'll notice is that it's so quiet in here so this is called called moku Shoku silent eating during Co the government required schools to eat in sile

nce and for some reason many schools simply continued with it proving that sometimes in Japan once something is set it's difficult to change from it how's the food which one is your favorite [Music] H in Japan Elementary School students are expected to recycle their milk boxes so they wash it on their own own and open it up to dry this small but simple everyday act helps grow the students sense of responsibility for the things they use while also helping the environment oh are you still eating d

o you have to finish it okay after eating all the kids brush their teeth this may not be the case in all Japanese schools but it's fairly common [Music] [Music] now the students work as a group to help return the trays to the cart as they need to be sent back to the school Food Central Kitchen [Music] facility oh that's cuckoo time staes in Japan second grade students are required to memorize up to 9 * 9 through a rhythmic [Music] chant this helps increase their ability to perform mental calcula

tions quickly since Japanese schools prohibit calculator use in classes even in high school and these kids seem to recite it flawlessly maybe because it's only when they complet it successfully can they go to break you oh after lunch the kids get 45 minutes of free play and today it looks like they want to play soccer but if they wanted to they have the option to stay in the classroom most days though the kids opt to play outside look at well since the kids keep asking let me join for a little b

it [Applause] so the students still have more classes but it seems like they're already having an afternoon Home [Music] Room [Music] in the first and second grade classroom they choose one student each day to talk about what he or she did great that day including the teacher after that the teacher talks about what's happening tomorrow homework and any important student matters I guess tomorrow they have an event to welcome new first graders and the current students will be responsible to show t

hem around [Music] now it's time for PE class and since the school is so small all the students from all the grades participate together and it seems like the students don't mind all oh the kids are doing toe Bako jumping boxes a typical Japanese PE class exercise intended to increase muscle strength improve balance and posture with a goal to get students to overcome the obstacles in front of [Music] them so I think they're going to be doing this for just a little bit longer and while we're doin

g this I think we've got a hul pass to check things out wow and look they even have a pool out here by the looks of it though I don't think they're using it right now but you know maybe in the [Music] summer so let's go check out what's down this [Music] Hall I think there's kind of like a storage room they like tank Tac Toe they have a globe they have Maps over there a bunch of stuff under here interesting it's kind of like a supply room I guess in here and maybe like a map room or something an

d here's what the boys toilet looks like we even have a Japanese toilet here for the boys to use before you go into the urinal section they have slippers for you to put on to change into so basically every time you have to take a this you got to change your shoes now Ria is having his music mus class his sister earlier had it in her regular classroom but usually in Japanese schools there's a dedicated music room with different instruments for students to practice in Japan kids are required to le

arn how to read music notes sing in choirs experience different instruments and encouraged to simply enjoy music today the students are learning Japanese traditional drums Tao for Japanese Educators it's critical to build well-rounded Studio but Knowledge and Skills from every aspect of life and this is one of them are you done almost now that all the classes are finished for the day instead of going straight home the students go to the community center to further their studies but before that I

D needs to take them the flag as it's one of the tasks assigned to her ID do how far is a community center yeah oh it's on the school grounds so at the community center there's an after school program called gako hoiku providing child care for elementary school students as many of the kids live far from the school parents prefer to pick them up rather than having them walk in the dark under the supervision of attentive adults children spend their time together in a safe and nurturing environment

while also getting the opportunity to do their homework with tutors available at has needed are you going to be able to finish all your homework IID do how long are you going to study oh no you don't have much time I'm sure you'll get it done can you match all the sides that's really good so what do you dream to do in the future wow cool what's your dream of [Music] course good luck what do you want to do in the future cool what about you nice you play volleyball okay when you make it ah I do f

inish your homework just in time hey Dey what's your dream hey but you told me YouTuber off camera this morning hey that works now it's 4:30 and the kids start their soccer practice it's not an everyday occurrence though as it depends on the day so principal you're the soccer coach nice do you have games do they win their games so there's actually other small schools like them who they play against this Sunday is going to be a five on five for the second and third [Music] [Music] graders around

6:00 p.m. they're finally [Music] back what did you do today cool so how much do you spend on groceries every month wow that's not bad while the parents prepare for dinner the kids take a bath and change into the pajamas oh are you studying again I know you want to study your kanji though now Mom quickly reviews ru's homework [Music] so it looks like the family is just going to be eating for just a little bit longer then after that probably hang out here in the living room and then I think all t

he kids go to sleep between 8 and 9:00 and then the parents go to sleep probably around 10: or 11: but that's pretty much a day in the life of a Japanese Elementary School student if you guys like this video like always help me out and hit that like button and if you guys want to support the channel then definitely check out my merch or my hot sauce and if you guys want to see more videos like this or anything related to Japan hit that subscribe button and the B button I'll catch you guys in the

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