Kids Web Japan

Shirakawa-go is a small mountain village surrounded by 2000-meter-high mountains. About 600 people live on this narrow strip of flat land along the Sho River. The region is known for its heavy snowfall, with as much as two meters falling each year.

Shirakawa Junior High School opened in 1947 and was rebuilt in 1976. In 1992 it merged with a school in the nearby town of Hirase. Some students ride the school bus to school. There are currently 52 students, with one class in each of the three grades.

This year, the first-year students studied a natural forest in the village as part of their integrated studies program. They attended a course at the Toyota Shirakawa-Go Eco-Institute, which organizes hands-on programs to introduce local nature and culture, and learned about the squirrels, antelopes, bears, and other wild animals that live there. They also went into the forest - something they cannot do normally - and got to touch century-old beech trees, gained a better understanding of the trees and animal life, and made many new discoveries.

Since 1993, Shirakawa Junior High School has been sending students to Australia every year to study English. In 2007 the third-year students spent 10 days in Sydney and Cairns, living with host families and experiencing the beautiful nature of the outback and other places. The students picked up a lot of English in a short time, because they had to use it every day. Speaking about his experiences, one student said, "Shirakawa is surrounded by mountains, while in Australia we were right by the ocean and the air was different. And I was able to talk in English, which was fun."

Every fall, the school's entire student body helps cut pampas grass as part of a program, first held in 1987, that teaches them about their local culture. The grass they carefully cut with scythes is dried for one year and used to reroof Gassho-style houses in Shirakawa-go.