Kids Web Japan

Play time at Shinanodai

The voices of insects and birds can be heard from Shinanodai Elementary School, and rice and vegetables are grown nearby. The school opened 30 years ago in 1975, but in 1999 it had to move because the land where it used to stand was being used to build part of a bypass around Seto City. It is now five years since the students and teachers moved to their new classrooms, which were built on land that was formerly a mix of rice paddies and swamp. This small school has 154 students, with one class of about 30 students in each grade. The school has no fence and no gate, and there are no walls between the classrooms. Not only that, but parents and local people are always welcome to visit. Shinanodai Elementary is famous across the country as an "open school" - open in its layout, and open in its rules.