A Five-Year-Old on the Subway!

I was struck recently by an odd sight (at least for an American) when I was riding the subway in Tokyo. We were on the escalator, going up from a station to the street level. Ahead of us was a small boy, probably around 5 years old, wearing a giant (for him) black square backpack — the kind that every schoolkid in Japan wears throughout their academic life.

He appeared to be by himself. At the top of the escalator, he went towards the exit gates where you tap your transit card and leave the station. We happened to be going the same way, so we followed behind him.

I looked around, expecting to see a parent who had perhaps fallen behind on the escalator (no one would ever push ahead even to stay with their child). But no adult was paying any attention to the small boy. He was on his own, in the bustling subway station, heading somewhere — probably school.

I couldn't believe it. In America, if a parent let their kid at that age hop the subway to school by themselves, they would be arrested for child neglect. I mean, look at the school drop-offs in the US in the mornings. Lines of SUVs, parents each dropping one kid at school. And the whole cycle repeats at the end of the school day.

I had to dig deeper into this phenomenon. We were on a walking tour the next day, and I asked the guide about the kid on the subway. He smiled and flipped open his guidebook to show me a photo of young elementary-aged kids sweeping the stairs and mopping the school's floors.

He explained that schools in Japan don't have janitors — the kids are expected to keep their schools clean. And they are immaculate.

What?

This is a practice called o-soji, a daily routine in which students and sometimes teachers clean classrooms, hallways, and even bathrooms for about 15 to 30 minutes. It is a core part of the education system, teaching students responsibility, respect for shared spaces, and teamwork.

He showed me another photo of kids getting lunch — served by other kids! No grouchy ladies in hairnets ladling out a mystery stew or a dried-up slice of pizza. These kids were eating sushi, miso soup, rice, and small dishes of salad or vegetables. Healthy stuff.

And they would often take the lunch back to their desks and eat together with their classmates.

In Japan, kids serve school lunches to their classmates as part of a rotating duty system. It is as ordinary as taking attendance.

But back to the kid on the subway. When children start school, a parent will go with them for the first few days to make sure they know the way. Then the kids are on their own.

This whole experience — the subway, the cleaning, the lunch — is about teaching self-reliance. These kids are not pampered or spoiled. They are taught to act responsibly, which may be as important as teaching them math or science.