The Life of an International Student at a Japanese High School

This time, we would like to introduce the video "A day in a Japanese High School // japan vlog # 1," where you can see the life of a Canadian high school girl studying in Japan.
With over 3 million views, this video has become popular all over the world.

Sophia, the person who took this video, studied Japanese through textbooks and YouTube education channels before studying abroad.
She went to Japan for a study abroad program called Rotaly and stayed there for 11 months.

We can see the life of Japanese high school girls from the perspective of foreign students. It's a chance for even Japanese people to learn something they might not have noticed about their daily lives.
Let's take a look at the daily scenes and routines of international students attending Japanese schools.

Japan's School Uniforms

Source :YouTube screenshot

As you can see from 0:16 in the video, high schoolers in Japan have uniforms designated by the school.
Among high school girls who care about fashion, finding fashionable ways to wear their uniforms is part of everyday life.

Sophia also looks in the mirror in the morning to make sure everything is in order.
Many school uniforms are sailor uniforms or blazers. In fact, school uniforms are so important that some students choose a school strictly based on how cute or cool the school uniform is.

The Daily Commute for a High School Girl in Japan

Source :YouTube screenshot

Next is the school scene in Japan, which you can watch from 0:45 in the video.
Japanese high school girls go to school by train, bus, bicycle, or on foot. This video shows a group of girls going by train.
Sophia seems to have about a 20 minute commute to school.

The Everyday Classroom Life of a High School Girl in Japan

Source :YouTube screenshot

You can see Sophia arriving at school around 2:29 in the video and greeting her friends.
Japanese classrooms generally have about 40 students per class, with wooden desks arranged in 5-6 rows.

Even now, many schools still use blackboards and chalk, but they are gradually switching to electronic blackboards and whiteboards.
Students study all day in these classrooms.
You can also see children diligently doing class work and preparing for exams.
They also study English as well, but the high school students in the video seem to be quite shy.

Source :YouTube screenshot

One of the fun things in school life is lunch time. You can see this at 5:42 in the video.
Japanese high school students bring their own lunch boxes or buy and eat lunch at the school cafeteria or shop.
As you can see at 7:08, when all the lessons are over, students clean the classroom by themselves.
Groups of four or five students are assigned to clean the school grounds each week, and when it's their turn, they stay until all of the cleaning is finished.

This cleaning custom is one of the characteristics of Japanese school life and has been very well received by the international community.
Many elementary and junior high schools also have this practice.

Summary of a Day in the Life of a High School Girl in Japan

Photo：School classroom

How'd you enjoy a day in the life of a high school girl in Japan?
We think that it's good to get a glimpse of the daily lives of those who grew up in a different culture, in order to see a different perspective.

If you look at school life in Japan from the perspective of an international student, there's probably a lot of differences.
Learn about the life of a high school girl in Japan through this video!