Kids Web Japan

We interviewed a third-year student and asked him about his school. "All of the students here grew up together and are really close," he said. At school, he says, the kids use polite Japanese when speaking with students who are older than them, but after school everybody goes to the river and plays together.

"I love Shirakawa village because there's so much nature here. We can swim and fish in the river and catch dace and rainbow trout. When we catch something, we bring it home and eat it. Some people keep the fish and raise them."

The village does not have a high school. Children who want to attend high school must move away from home after graduating from junior high and live in a dormitory or other lodging. When asked about his plans, the third-year student said that he too will go away to high school. "My dream is to be a pilot. After going to Australia and studying English, I realized how big the world is." While proud of Shirakawa-go and its status as a World Heritage site, he happily describes his dream of flying around the world one day.