Kids Web Japan

Q. What are school trips like?

A.

Japanese elementary and middle schools begin around eight thirty.

Students in elementary, middle and high school in Japan go on overnight school trips. The purpose of these trips, which are led by the teachers and done by the entire grade, is to use travel to provide learning experiences outside of the classroom.

The itinerary for a typical school trip might be like this:

Day 1: Leave Tokyo on the 8:53 AM shinkansen bullet train to Osaka. From there, travel by bus to visit Horyuji Temple and Nara Park.

Day 2: Split up into groups to explore Kyoto separately. At night, there will be a lacquerware demonstration experience at the lodging.

Day 3: Split up for group activities. Leave Kyoto on the 2:39 PM shinkansen, arriving backing in Tokyo at 4:56 PM.

For elementary school students, learning to keep to the schedules is important for the entire group. For middle school students, part of the lesson is to be able to split up into groups, discuss and create a plan for the day, and then follow their plans independently.

Since the 1990s, it has become more common for schools to organize overseas trips to places like Hawaii, the western United States, the United Kingdom, Taiwan and South Korea. Before traveling, it is important for the students to learn about the history of the country they will visit, and their relationship with Japan.