BONDET.CO – Jason Wu, wearing his black uniform jacket casually draped over his shoulders and resting his feet on a Japanese school desk as he conversed with his gang, found immense pleasure in embracing the role of a mischievous troublemaker.
A 29-year-old resident of New York participated in a day-long simulation of a high school experience called “Kimino High School,” which caters primarily to international visitors in Japan. This event aims to attract both anime enthusiasts such as Wu and his spouse, along with individuals who are interested in exploring educational practices from different cultures.
About 60 kilometers (37 miles) southeast of Tokyo, people can participate at a converted school where they pay approximately 35,000 yen ($245). This fee allows them to wear vintage Japanese school attire and take part in activities such as calligraphy classes along with others. During physical education sessions, attendees engage in conventional team games typical for Japanese sports days, including events like tug-of-war or tossing beanbags into elevated nets.
Similar to Japanese schoolchildren, they likewise participate in earthquake drills, have lunch service, and tidy up their classrooms at the close of each day.”
“This is pretty much the sole experience through which you can get a taste of what Japanese high school life might be like,” explained Wu, a software engineer. With tourism surging due to an exceptionally weak yen, return visitors such as Wu—who has come to Japan for the tenth time—are seeking out deeper cultural engagements.
The classroom session arranged by the event planning firm Undokai aligns with a governmental initiative aimed at luring more tourists away from overvisited locations such as Tokyo and Kyoto towards less explored rural regions.
A number of manga and anime series like the supernatural drama “Jujutsu Kaisen” and the romantic comedy “Ouran High School Host Club,” which have been available on Netflix, often take place in high schools. For enthusiasts of anime specifically, going through high school experiences can be seen as quintessentially Japanese.
Many anime series depict school life as an idyllic aspect of growing up,” stated Wu’s spouse, Parina Kaewkrajang, who is 27 years old. “This sense of nostalgia is something we wished to relive personally.
Previously called Kameyama Middle School, the event’s title Kimino is a wordplay combining “your” high school with the name of the city Kimitsu, famous for its strawberries and hot springs.
In 2020, the educational institution was shut down because of insufficient enrollment—a trend becoming more frequent in Japan as society grows older and the youth population decreases.
Approximately 6,500 educational institutions nationwide have shut down over the last twenty years, as per official records.
“If this sets a precedent for utilizing closed schools or draws attention as a novel approach to rejuvenate communities locally, I would certainly want to extend it to other areas,” stated Takaaki Yoneji, the founder of Undokai.