Children in the City

We see children, sometimes quite young making their way around the city on their own and in small groups. I've seen individual boys and girls (7 or eight years old) get on a city bus alone on their way home from school. They ride for perhaps a half mile, show their bus pass, and go on their way. All this without any apparent care in the world.

This city (and Japan in general) is a safe place for children.


We recently took the subway to Doshisha Jr/Sr High School. There again we saw children getting on; this time many of them were in groups. They rode for one or two stops (several miles) and then hopped off.

The other thing one notices here is that many (not all) schools have a school uniform. If that seems regimented and stultifying to you, consider this. If everyone wears the same clothing, rich kids and poor kids can mix without that visual indication of their family's economic level. Worries about fashion and "coolness" on the basis of cloths just disappear. (One supposes that coolness is established in other ways.)

Pictures follow (remember to click for bigger view)...

First, kids on the subway:

Going to school with mom:

A class field trip to the banks of the river (definitely click this one):