# Hello ! Any one from Kure, Hiroshima ?



## nikoniko

Hajimema****e !

I recently came across this site while trying to find some information about schools in Japan.

To put it briefly, we plan to move to Japan by June this year to Kure city in Hiroshima. And after giving it a lot of thought, we decided to move as a family as the job offered to my husband is for a long-term. And the only reason I did not want to move was because of my daughter's education.

Now, we have finally decided to put her in a Japanese public school in Kure. But I am sure like many of those who were apprehensive about making the first move, even I have butterflies in my stomach.

She would have to go to Grade 2 and we were told by the kyouikukai that she can attend some 360 hours of preparatory classes so that she can start coaching in Japanese.

As far as language is concerned, both of us (mom & dad) know the language fairly well but its about our daughter that keeps constantly worrying me. I also have Japanese friends living in Tokyo and I have been told that children in Grade 1 have already done Hiragana, Katakana and done some kanjis already !!! And I think schools start in April. So that means, my daughter would have already missed 1 year in Grade 1 and almost 2 months into Grade 2. So she would have to be given a lot of coaching. 

As a part of helping her out, I have already downloaded 'n' number of charts from the Internet to teach her Hiragana and then go on to Katakana and basic kanjis covered, but I also know its going to take a lot of time for her to get used to studying in Japanese. Unlike now, she will have minimum exposure to English at school...

I have been told that list of schools will be decided according to the place where we reside. So now we trying to be as close to the station, so that I can easily move around for daily necessities which would give me plenty of time to spend with my daughter to get her accustomed.

So I mainly joined this forum to connect with like-minded people and also to know if any of you live in Kure city having kids around the age group of 7 years? If yes, I would like to get an idea of schools in Kure where the ratio of foreigners would be more. I am not sure how much that would help my daughter, but maybe hoping that if foreign kids are more, a different approach may be taken by teachers to get children introduced into the language and environment is what I felt....I could be wrong in thinking that way too........

Sorry for the long message but I hope to interact more on this forum and be able to make a smooth transition...! 

Yoroshiku onegai shimasu !


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## larabell

I'm up in Tokyo so I can't speak to the school situation in Hiroshima but I do have two kids in public school here. The school year does start in April and you're right about the kids having already covered a both kana alphabets and a small number of kanji (mostly very simple ones, though). It's good that you are both familiar with the language because there is likely to be a lot of parental involvement when you have a child in public school (maybe all schools... but we're a lot more involved now than my parents ever were when I was in school).

It's going to be quite a challenge to start out in public school right away. I assume you didn't find anything more oriented to non-Japanese in Kure. You might look around at some of the private "cram school" outfits -- yeah, they have cram schools for elementary level kids, too. You might find a program for children of Japanese who are returning from an assignment overseas. Another option would be to request to have your daughter start in 1st grade -- I've heard of parents doing that to give their kids an unfair advantage over their peers... so I'd like to think the school would consider it in order to avoid giving your daughter an unfair disadvantage.

My kids were both born here and attended public day-care and kindergarten so they're pretty much indistinguishable from their Japanese peers, level-wise. There are a number of kids in the same school with at least one non-Japanese parent but, as far as I can tell, that doesn't really affect the teaching style. But it might be worth having at least a few English-speaking friends to hang out with.

From what I have read, kids at that age do adapt rather quickly and if you daughter is up to the challenge, she should be able to catch up before too long. I wish you luck and I hope someone on the forum knows more about the situation in Hiroshima. Welcome to the forum and don't hesitate to discuss things here as you make the transition.


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## nikoniko

Hello larabell,

Thank you so much for getting back to my post so quickly.

Yes, you have rightly assumed that I was not able to find any international schools in the area where we plan to move, and the only one we found was Hiroshima International School, which is quite far. I even wrote to the school principal and he was kind enough to tell me that Japan is very child-friendly and kids do travel by train to schools...And he also mentioned that for a 6-7 year old, it may be quite tiring....and since I already have the experience of traveling in trains during peak hours in Japan, I wouldn't want my daughter to end up in such an experience at the outset !! 




larabell said:


> It's good that you are both familiar with the language because there is likely to be a lot of parental involvement when you have a child in public school (maybe all schools... but we're a lot more involved now than my parents ever were when I was in school).


Oh yes, I couldn't agree more to what you said about being involved in child's school activities...Although my parents were very supportive, the kind of attention my daughter is getting from me is no way close to how we were treated ! So true ! 



larabell said:


> You might look around at some of the private "cram school" outfits -- yeah, they have cram schools for elementary level kids, too. You might find a program for children of Japanese who are returning from an assignment overseas.


I am not sure if what I found is called a cram school....Here's the link that I found
(sorry I tried to mention a link but it says I need to post more than 5 here....so please Google Search "Kure - アミティー" and you will reach the link I was trying to post here)

And I have also written to them asking for details, and they have told me that my daughter can be enrolled at anytime....This is not from the Japanese point of view, but for her to be in touch with English and maybe have a mixed culture of kids around....



larabell said:


> Another option would be to request to have your daughter start in 1st grade -- I've heard of parents doing that to give their kids an unfair advantage over their peers... so I'd like to think the school would consider it in order to avoid giving your daughter an unfair disadvantage.


This option is something that never crossed my mind....and now you have set me on a thinking mode again....but what would be my concern is that, she would already be 7 years when we go there, so would it be ok for her to be in Grade 1 ? I mean, I don't know if age is directly/indirectly linked to the way kids are grouped in Japanese schools, but she would go one grade lower....and in worst case, if we were to return to our home country, I have been suggested by people that she can be put one grade lower so that she adjusts to the environment...So its as though the older she grows, she has to go back one grade to adjust, in the event of change of place !!! 

As of now we plan to be there for really long term, unlike our quick exits the last time we stayed for about 3 years or so, but even then, we never know and I can't think beyond too many possibilities....or else that would make me insane !

So to begin with, are there 7 year old kids also in Grade 1 ? Or doesn't it matter at all ? If its not so big an issue, what you have suggested about putting her in Grade 1 does not sound like a bad idea to me as of now......



larabell said:


> My kids were both born here and attended public day-care and kindergarten so they're pretty much indistinguishable from their Japanese peers, level-wise. There are a number of kids in the same school with at least one non-Japanese parent but, as far as I can tell, that doesn't really affect the teaching style. But it might be worth having at least a few English-speaking friends to hang out with.


Yes I would like my daughter to have English-speaking friends as she is very comfortable in speaking English now. So just so that she feels comfortable in her new environment, even if 1 or 2 kids speak in a language that she is familiar with, she may not have to worry so much about not being able to speak, because she is one talkative child !!! 



larabell said:


> From what I have read, kids at that age do adapt rather quickly and if you daughter is up to the challenge, she should be able to catch up before too long. I wish you luck and I hope someone on the forum knows more about the situation in Hiroshima. Welcome to the forum and don't hesitate to discuss things here as you make the transition.


Yes, this is also something which I am often told that kids at this age adapt rather quickly than we can imagine. Already she is a bilingual at home and she speaks 2 languages other than English also. So I think her mind is already wired to switching between languages, and she is already familiar with this language because both mom and dad use Japanese at work, due to which she has a very broad view of this country and people. In fact, she was also with us in Japan until she was 2 years old....So I am just hoping that she adapts without much trouble..

Even then, maybe I am being a little too protective and trying to equip myself with as much I can....

I hope to hear from anyone living in Kure or in the vicinity ! 

Thanks for the warm welcome, and I hope that the weather is getting better now or are the heavy snowstorms still in ?


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## larabell

I've seen 6~7 year old kids riding the train but only in small groups. Alone it could be quite an experience. I wouldn't suggest it in Tokyo. Hiroshima might be less crowded, but still...

> Although my parents were very supportive, the kind of attention my daughter is getting from me is no way close to how we were treated !

I was referring to interaction with the school. For example, here they have a "point system" for the PTA. You get so many points for heading a committee, so many points for being a patrol dweeb for certain school events, etc, etc. In theory, if you don't have enough points when your kid graduates... well... I dunno because the threat was always there but I'm certain we didn't have enough points when our older son moved to middle school. Maybe when the younger son finishes 6th grade we'll have to face the music. Also, they schedule what seems to be an endless stream of things for which you have to visit the school. I think it's a good thing, overall. But when I was in school, most of that kind of stuff was voluntary whereas here, the parents are expected to participate.

The school you found looks like an Eikaiwa (English conversation school). It might be a good source to find Japanese kids who can navigate in English (maybe they'd welcome your daughter to events since the informal language exchange would benefit them, too) but your daughter might be bored silly learning entry-level English all over again.

Take a look at this: Jyukynavi.jp. I just plugged in Kure, Hiroshima (in Japanese, of course) and they found 69 schools. A "cram school" in Japanese is "juku" and this is apparently a search site. I believe it's the same one my wife used to find a cram school for our middle-school kid (it also helped that a bunch of his friends go to the same cram school because he didn't hesitate to sign up).

I'm wondering if any of the International schools in Hiroshima might have a weekend curriculum. Or if any of the typical language schools would offer weekend classes in Japanese. Might be better than sending her on the train alone. Also, check with other schools -- some of the International schools in Tokyo and Yokohama have a bus that picks kids up.

The schools here do determine grades by age but I've heard of cases where a child is intentionally held back for that exact reason -- so their child will be physically and emotionally more mature by one year than their peers and, in theory, would have an academic advantage. I'm not sure of the details because it's something I've heard from other parents. I don't know anyone personally who has done that and I'm not sure whether you'd succeed with the bureaucrats even if you did make the request. But it might be worth a try. And because your daughter would be brand new at the school and non-Japanese to boot, the other kids may not pick up on the age difference right away. That would give her a chance to make friends before everyone finds out she's a grade behind.

As for moving back... that would be an issue, I'm sure. I don't think I would opt for dropping a grade if I knew I might be going back in a couple years. You don't want her graduating High School at 22. But I know from experience that it's tough surviving in an environment where everyone around you knows something you don't (I was pushed a grade ahead once when I was in Elementary school and it didn't work out). If you had time to get your daughter more-or-less fluent in kana and a few dozen of the basic kanji before you move, that might work but there are also a lot of characters to learn in 2nd grade so that might turn out to be too steep a gradient to climb all at once. (Search for "Joyo Kanji" if you're curious how many characters are taught in each grade -- I don't recall offhand.)

> So to begin with, are there 7 year old kids also in Grade 1 ?

If there are, it won't be very many. Of course, there are always the kids at the cutoff. Mine were both born in October so they're really close to the cutoff, from what I remember. Therefore, they're almost a year older than the youngest students in their class as it is.

> Already she is a bilingual at home and she speaks 2 languages other than English also. So I think her mind is already wired to switching between languages, and she is already familiar with this language because both mom and dad use Japanese at work, due to which she has a very broad view of this country and people. In fact, she was also with us in Japan until she was 2 years old....So I am just hoping that she adapts without much trouble..

All that bodes well for her. I recall a documentary once where they taught an infant the difference between two clicky-like sounds from some obscure African language. When they tested the kid six months later, it was obvious the child could still differentiate the sounds. The fact that she was immersed in Japanese at age 2 and, to some extent, still is will (IMHO) accelerate her picking up he language for real this time. And it's funny about kids and switching language. When my oldest was about 4, if I asked him something in English, more often than not, he'd answer in Japanese. He would also translate between Japanese and Cantonese for his younger brother when they stayed with their maternal grandmother in Hong Kong. Kids brains are pre-wired for language acquisition -- something that atrophies in most people once they've mastered their native tongue. Age 2 or 3 would be better than 7 but I'm sure some of that pre-wiring is still there -- especially having already learned multiple languages.

The only thing left is those pesky kana. Have you tried flash cards?

> Even then, maybe I am being a little too protective and trying to equip myself with as much I can....

There's nothing wrong with being prepared.

> Thanks for the warm welcome, and I hope that the weather is getting better now or are the heavy snowstorms still in ?

The snow in Tokyo is pretty much gone and it's about 13C today. It was the mountains in the North that really got slammed this past month but I think they're pretty much dug out by now. Hiroshima is much father West (South?) so it seems to be a couple degrees warmer there -- 15C for most of this week, according to JMA. That's no guarantee March won't try to get the last word in but... at least for now... it's looking very Spring-like.


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## nikoniko

Thank you so much larabell ! 

That's quite a lot of food for thought you've given in your reply......I will check out the links you have given and if I find something appropriate, I will start writing to them if possible ! 

By the way, are these "juku" (cram schools) similar to Kumon classes ? One of my acquaintances (non-Japanese) told me that his son (who is also the same age as my daughter) goes to Kumon classes...I tried to search Kumon in Kure but no luck or maybe I am not searching for it the right way.....What you mentioned sounded similar to Kumon.....

And I noticed in the link you sent that people are giving reviews about the cram schools...（保護者口コミ）I was wondering if anyone gives reviews about the public schools online ? Here its quite easy to get reviews about schools online, and when I could find none about the public schools from the POV of a foreigner, I felt that the only way would be to actually visit the schools personally and then choose one of the schools from the three schools that we have narrowed down now....

And oh, if parents have to be involved each and every time the child has to do something, I guess that is going to be some task for me !!! Good that you mentioned..I will take care on this aspect on how to handle things ahead........! 

Still isn't there anyone from Kure!??


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## larabell

nikoniko said:


> By the way, are these "juku" (cram schools) similar to Kumon classes ?


In fact, Kumon is one of the larger schools in that same classification. My kids used to go to Kumon but they felt the curriculum was weaker than some of the other schools (mostly all Kumon did was hand out extra homework for them to do on their own). They go to Eikoh now (another large juku chain).

Kumon has a Japanese program for foreigners:

Kumon Japanese Language Program | Kumon Group

There's at least one in (or near) the Kure City Office. I assume you're using the kanji for Kure -- Kumon is "公文" but their brochures and signage uses the Roman alphabet for the school name so that should yield something. Try explicitly going to google.co.jp. Sometimes search engines -- and Google is notorious for this -- will filter hits according to the physical location of your IP address.

I've never seen reviews of "public" public schools but there are other private-ish schools run by various levels of government and there are massive books with very detailed information about each school. I'm not sure about reviews, per-se, but certainly ratings.

For example, in my area the "ku" (city? district?) runs public elementary and middle schools that anyone living in the area would go to by default at no charge. Then Tokyo runs their own schools that require entrance exams and tuition. Then some of the more-or-less "public" Universities run their own schools, too. In my mind, they're all public in some manner of speaking but only the ku-ritsu schools are free. Since those are based on one's location rather than exam competition, I doubt there are any data resources for comparison (comparison being meaningless in that case).

If you have a Kinokuniya or other Japanese bookstore near you, you should be able to get one of those phonebook-sized review books. I'm not sure what's available at the Elementary School level but, judging from how early Japanese parents start putting their kids on the academic treadmill... I wouldn't be surprised if the same system existed at that level, too (heck... there are even private kindergartens that are apparently hard to get into).

The books, if I remember right, should cover both semi-public and private schools.



> Here its quite easy to get reviews about schools online, and when I could find none about the public schools from the POV of a foreigner, I felt that the only way would be to actually visit the schools personally and then choose one of the schools from the three schools that we have narrowed down now....


A lot of parents do that. I'm surprised none of the Yokohama contingent has chimed in on this topic. Check the archives... there have been several threads related to school selection over the past few years but pretty much all of them have been either Tokyo or Yokohama-centric so you probably won't find any useful school names there.

When we were picking a juku for our oldest son, my wife and son went to each of three schools that she had picked based on a web search. So yeah... it's pretty common to narrow your selection based on published data and then just visit the school yourself to get a feel for the atmosphere.



> And oh, if parents have to be involved each and every time the child has to do something, I guess that is going to be some task for me !!


My wife, in fact, just left while I was typing this. She's on her way to my younger son's school to do some kind of "patrol" work (usually standing on a street corner watching for traffic when there's some kind of event at the school... though I admit I'm not quite sure what event is happening today).


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## nikoniko

Eikoh...haven't heard about this one before...shall visit their site as well.......

And yes, I use the kanji for Kure city, and I was doing the search on google.com; have not tried the .jp version. Maybe that should yield a wee bit of different results...Googling right away ! 

And your wife seems to have enough on her plate to do the background work for children's education. From what you say, looks like parents will also have to grow along with the children


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## larabell

Education here is different from what I'm used to. In the States, you study something for a while and then you're examined in that knowledge. Here you're examined first, just to get into a good school, and then you learn. I've heard that once University students get into the school of their choice (even if that was their 2nd, 3rd, etc choice), they pretty much coast because graduation is a given. It's getting there in the first place that's hard.

And the general feeling among parents is that in order to get your pick of the best jobs, it helps to have graduated from a good College. But in order to get into a good College, it helps to have gone to a good High School, etc, etc. And that's why some competitive parents try to get their kids into really well-known kindergartens -- to start the chain of success early. Crazy...

Add to that the fact that High School is neither mandatory nor guaranteed. At least if you don't get a good enough grade to get into one of the the popular Jr. High schools you always have the local public school to rely on (in our area, the ku-ritsu schools). But if a graduating middle-schooler doesn't qualify to get into High School, they may be mostly out of luck (at least from my understanding).


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