0:00 Hello world! This is what a Japanese daycare is like. Azuli Nursery School, or Hoikuen, cares for kids from ages 0 to 6. Arrivals. Before you even enter childcare centers, you'll notice a difference right away. The most popular method of transportation is probably bike. In Tokyo, land is expensive and the population is dense. So even if parents wanted to, it'd be a gong-show if the majority used vehicles to drop off and pick up their kids. Some schools do provide their own buses though. Upon entering school, parents sign in. This facility has an electronic sign-in system, but this is not necessarily the norm for all of them. A must, as in many places in Japan, is to
0:46 take off your outdoor shoes and then wear indoor ones. It's such a fact of life that you can see the speed and ease in which some can make the transition. Every kid comes with a child care diary called an "ikuji nikki". In here, messages between teachers and parents can be sent, as well as daily records for how the child's day went. For the earlier arrivals, children are all ushered into the same room, no matter the age. As the morning progresses and more arrive, the kids start separating into their respective classes. The reverse process happens at the end of the day, as more and more kids go home. While young kids may have their parents put away their belongings in a cubbyhole, older kids will do this on their own.
1:37 As the kids get older, they naturally get more responsibility. Every time kids move from one room to another, they thank the people they were with and in response are told, "You're welcome." Kids, being kids, jump around quite a bit. Okay, sometimes adults like to jump around as well. But
2:27 at certain times of the day, they are taught to prepare for the task at hand. If the whole group isn't ready, nothing happens. Once it's been established that everyone is set to go, the kids can once again be free to bounce around as they go about their day. At the start of the day, while kids are still arriving, there's free play activities. There's lots of toys and games to play with. "Ten, three!" There are also books
3:14 and art supplies that can be used. This is a time where kids can do whatever they like. Craft time! It's now craft time. On different days there will be different crafts. But today, these kids will be working with clay, which is nendo in Japanese. Every kid owns their own set, complete with tools and
4:01 molds. Some of what they produce is quite impressive, much better than I could do. In another class, these children are working with paper and glue to make what I can only assume are telescopes. Facilities This school is a bit unique with all its colors and design. Most schools will look more like this on the outside, However, what is the norm is to have mini bathroom facilities like this, perfectly sized for the
4:48 children. As with entering the school, going into the bathroom also requires different footwear. This girl was kind enough to show me how it's done. This is what a traditional Japanese wash station looks like. And if you go to any elementary school in Japan, you'll find less colorful sinks just like this. This school also has a rock climbing wall and big gym area to play in. I don't think this is standard at all. Most schools have climbing equipment outdoors. And speaking of equipment, students will often visit local parks. Here's kind of what the parks look like. And here's what a typical group of students will look like
5:36 when traveling outside their school. Colored hats make it easy to identify the kids. Music. Music is an important component in child care. All teachers know how to play and songs are used not only for preparing kids for the day and new activities but also as a part of
6:25 dancing, games and music education. Children are also taught to play musical instruments themselves. The standard equipment that all kids learn is the melodica, also known as pianica. Each kid owns and takes care of their own instrument.
7:16 The school also owns a selection of instruments that the kids get a chance to play. The kids will practice and then show off their skills at a pageant to be held for their families. "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." "I'm going to play the flute." " Kyūshoku, school lunch. Facilities of this size, whether they're private or public, will
8:07 have a nutritionist design the meals and prepare the food. All the food is made fresh and in-house. As the kids are busy playing and learning, the cooks prepare the food throughout the morning. When the food is ready, trolleys are packed and sent off to classrooms. For the younger children, teachers will act as servers,
8:53 dishing out the food and carrying it to them. As the kids get older, they will take on more responsibility for getting their food. And when they get to elementary school, kids will be the ones responsible for dishing
9:39 out the food as well. But at this age, the teachers will still do that for them. There's a sort of ritual around eating food. They'll do some singing or have a little speech. ♪ The older kids have to wait until everyone
10:28 has food before they can eat. Everyone eats the same food even the teachers. No! It's too long! There are exceptions of course. For those with allergies or special diets, they have
11:13 custom trays made up for them. When kids make a mess, they have to clean it up by themselves. Although they can get a helpful hand from the teacher. Today's dessert was an apple slice and there were a couple left over. So the kids lined up to play a game of jang-gen-poi to get the remaining slices. Wow, this teacher's game is strong. Once the food is finished, the older kids will clear their tables and put
12:02 away their dishes in an orderly manner. Nap time. These are what the sleeping cots look like in this school. Kids are responsible for bringing home and cleaning their own sheets at the end of the week. The same goes for other supplies like their handkerchiefs and shoes. Going home. While I didn't capture what it's like when the children go back home, it's quite the same as arriving, but in reverse. Sounds quite obvious now that I say it. The school doesn't have janitors, so the teachers will be responsible for cleaning the bathrooms,
12:49 floors, windows, and well, everything that the kids don't put away or clean themselves. Special thanks to Azalee Nursery School, the parents, and the children for letting me film. I had so much fun with the kids. If you'd like to see more videos like this, I won't say no if you want to help fund them on Patreon. I've set up some perks for those that can donate. Thanks for watching. See you next time. Bye! What are childcare centers like where you're from? I will.
