Having been in Hiroshima for a little over three months now, I’ve acclimated to the initially wild cultural differences and have settled into a comfortable routine. However, school in Japan still manages to surprise me with culture shocks every once in a while. There are plenty of differences between high school in Japan and high school in the US, but there are also some key similarities that have helped me adjust. And while I don’t know if I can encompass everything about school in Japan into an article, these are some of the observations I’ve made since joining it. 

The structure is split up differently

In Japan, school grades are split up in the same way as the US: 小学校，or primary school; 中学校，or middle school; and 高校，or high school. Primary school is grades 1-6, middle school is 7-9, and high school is an optional (although almost everyone attends) 10-12. In Japan, however, the numbering starts over when you enter a new school. For example, if you were the equivalent of an 11th grader (like me!), you would say you were in high school, year two. Another adjustment for me was students choose one of two paths in high school: 文系, humanities, or 理系, sciences. While everyone still has overlapping classes like PE, math, English, and history, 文系 students take additional literature, culture, and Japanese classes while 理系 students take chemistry, physics, biology, and extra math. All of these subjects mean students are taking about 12-15 classes a semester. And as there are only 7 periods a day, classes are scheduled by week instead. 

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As an exchange student, I had a little more flexibility in my courses and am not in either pathway. I take the basic courses with everyone, as well as physics, chemistry, Japanese culture, calligraphy, and about 4 different English classes. I’m not used to the sheer number of subjects I’m taking at the same time, even if some of mine are less intense like cooking or calligraphy. Add in the fact that they’re all taught in Japanese, and I am struggling academically. My average test score is probably around 10-20%. Yikes. It is definitely an exhausting schedule, but all the material is interesting and it’s helping me learn Japanese faster! 

Grades in school don’t really matter

Having just gone through the college application grind before my exchange, I was curious about the process in Japan. I was surprised to learn that the grade you get in class or on a final has little impact on your passing the class or getting into college. Instead, the grade is more of a reflection of where you are in the material and what you need to study. The only thing that really matters for admission is a college entrance exam taken in the last year of high school. Students take one universal test, the center shiken, and their score defines which colleges they can apply to. Then, they take a specific exam for the college they want to attend. If they don’t pass, they take the test of their second choice college, and so on. These tests are insanely hard – it’s not uncommon for students who didn’t receive the score they wanted to take one or two “gap years” after high school and spend the whole year studying before trying again. 

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Personally, I don’t like the heavy weight placed solely on test taking, although it is fairly equitable. While I also can’t say I enjoyed having to write a million essays for my own college applications, I do believe students are made up of a lot more than a test score, and I appreicate that the US system gives students the chance to express that. On the other hand, I do love the idea of grades in school not counting for much. Everyone in the US stresses over getting the perfect GPA (I got my first grey hairs from seeing my second quarter photography grade). Eliminating grades might help students learn for the sake of learning and improve mental health. 

Rules are much stricter, but looser at the same time.

Surprisingly, with the college entrance exam being as important as it is, students in the first two years of high school (and below) are pretty relaxed during school. I had expected Japanese school to be very rigid in its rules, with strict teachers and students studying all day. It is true that Japan has much stricter school policies in terms of uniform and conduct. Things like jewelry and dyed hair are prohibited. Phones are taken by the homeroom teacher in the morning and returned at the end of school. At the beginning and end of every class, students and teachers bow to each other in a sequence led by a classroom leader (close your eyes, open your eyes, attention, bow). Students are responsible for mopping and organizing their homeroom every day after school. 

The list could go on, but at the same time, consequences for misbehaving students is usually nothing more than a talking to. Students running into class late(even with 10 minute passing periods! Even I’m not late!), not having done their homework, talking to friends during a lecture, or even taking a nap during lectures is common. These things would normally qualify for a detention or at least a warning in the US, but teachers in Japan simply ignore it, or at most, politely and sternly tell the student to stop. Coming in with ideas and stereotypes about Japanese schooling, I was shocked by the goofing around and carefree behaviors many students exhibited. 

It took a while for me to get used to wearing the same clothes every day, and while I didn’t normally wear jewelry or makeup to school in the US, it was weird not being allowed to. The biggest adjustment was turning in my phone each day, which was hard not only because I’m a teenager and addicted to my phone, but also because I had been heavily relying on it for google translate. It also limited my ability to take pictures of the school and friends. I have to admit though, not having my phone forced me to stumble through talking to people and notice all the things I’m writing about!

Kids will be kids

This brings me to my final point, something I really should’ve realized before spending a few months in school and reflecting on it to write this blog post; teenagers are teenagers everywhere in the globe. I was so worried about the different social norms, language barrier, varying interests, and cultural differences, that I didn’t stop to think about how the first question my new girlfriends asked me was, ‘Do you have a BOYFRIEND?!’ before proceeding to usher me around the floor pointing out their crushes/significant others. Focusing so hard on the Japanese language and society has stopped me from giggling about youtube videos and bad hair days with my peers. Making a funny face in a selfie is the same here as it is with my friends in California. And realizing that has bridged a gap in my relationships that my language alone was struggling to bridge. It’s still hard to have in depth conversations, but connecting with people over a laugh or a game is what makes school fun.