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Wednesday 14th May, 06:26 AM JST

Schoolgirls wait for the train at Hakone-Yumoto station.
PHOTO BY JAMES OLLETT

Latest 15 of 22 Total Comments Show All

some14some at 09:16 AM JST - 14th May

Pika pika no ichinen sei....! Kawaii kodomotachi !
kagunlapell at 10:30 AM JST - 14th May

outdated uniforms for the children, ugly uniform for the obachan. I see where the bad taste, the love for uniforms (uniformity) and silly hats is born in Japan....
SuperLib at 12:04 PM JST - 14th May

Absolutely adorable. Makes me miss my teaching days.
Fair dinkum! at 12:35 PM JST - 14th May

And, the point is........???
jerseyboy at 01:00 PM JST - 14th May

Fair_dinkum!...The point is that this is sort of a before and after picture. Since women here cannot advance into real professional positions, these girls will spend years in school wearing this kind of uniform, only to trade those in for the ones the older ladies are wearing. It is like a sneak peak of their future.
blvtzpk at 01:24 PM JST - 14th May

these girls will spend years in school wearing this kind of uniform, only to trade those in for the ones the older ladies are wearing. It is like a sneak peak of their future.

I imagine these girls' parents - who have paid big bucks for a private elementary school (look at those uniforms!) - hope that their daughters won't end up as Shinkansen Scrubbers! Well, at least a job with a better class of uniform...
Fair dinkum! at 01:54 PM JST - 14th May

Ah, now I get it. This is to depict how their parents are getting seriously ripped off by a private school system that is really nothing more than creative accounting to show school averages greater than those of public schools. It's hard to imagine the significance and justification of sending your six year old kid to school in a thousand dollar uniform.
motown at 01:54 PM JST - 14th May

They are very cute. I wonder which one is being ostracised?
blvtzpk at 02:22 PM JST - 14th May

I wonder which one is being ostracised?

The one apparently not in conversation with anyone (hint: far right).
blvtzpk at 02:24 PM JST - 14th May

No, the message is 'Cute kiddies one day, sour-faced harridans the next!'
HonestDictator at 02:49 PM JST - 14th May

It is a cute pic, but those school bags are HUGE! Looks like you can pack a parachute and a whole mess of blackmarket items with bags like those xD
Taka313 at 05:06 PM JST - 14th May

HonestDictator, Couldn't agree more. I used to think those backpacks were kind of cute but now I hate them. They cost a fortune for one (my daughter's cost 25,000 yen)...and are heavy enough to cause back injuries once filled with schoolbooks. I just weighed my daughter's on the bathroom scale and it came out to 4.6 kg (but, today was library day so she had a couple of extra books). Why Japanese schools still promote those things is beyond me. They are sturdy as hell but for that price, they should also tutor kids in math.

Taka
KyouNoNippon at 05:07 PM JST - 14th May

I don't mind the uniforms bit, but the backpacks are required standard ware and they often cost 3man en plus. Unbelievable. What a racket! I need to think of something that can become standard ware for school kiddies and inflate the real price of it 1000x.
soothsayer at 05:45 PM JST - 14th May

Fair dinkum!

Ah, now I get it. This is to depict how their parents are getting seriously ripped off by a private school system that is really nothing more than creative accounting to show school averages greater than those of public schools. It's hard to imagine the significance and justification of sending your six year old kid to school in a thousand dollar uniform.

The cynical side of me agrees with you, but here's a thought: The $1000 dollars for those uniforms could be thought of as an early payment into a retirement fund. The kids get the uniforms, and so can go to the best schools, then the most prestigious university, then get the most secure jobs, and finally get to support their parents when mum and dad grow old. Of course, that line of thinking probably comes straight from the cynical side of me anyhow.
pandachan at 10:50 PM JST - 14th May

"outdated uniforms for the children, ugly uniform for the obachan. I see where the bad taste, the love for uniforms (uniformity) and silly hats is born in Japan...."

I think the hats are cute... on a little kid that is. Not sure about a 30 year old cosplayer XD