I couldn't survive that struggle.
If we were late to class, the school would call my home many times.
The teachers would keep asking where I was. - So that's what happened!
How about love then?
Hey guys and girls on Ask Japanese, it's Cathy Cat.
We met some girls who went to an all-girls high school and we want to know
what going to a girl's only school in Japan is really like. Let's go and Ask Japanese.
What was difficult in your high school, apart from studying.
The way seniors and juniors interacted or... how the club activities were.
I didn't join any club activities because I had a part time job.
TBut friendships were tough since it was a girls only school.
The held a grudge so easily! - What grudge was a common thing?
Because there were no boys...
They wouldn't put up a cute facade and be really the way they are.
Their true characters were pretty out there.
Some girls had a pretty dark side to them too.
So you both went to a girls school and the toughest thing were social interactions?
True!
Was there a trick to survive the social mudfights?
I couldn't survive that struggle at all.
I just tried to keep quiet.
Tried to not get mixed up into people's gossip?
Yeah like that.
What was great and bad about going to an all girls high school?
When you were about to enter the school, you must have thought it was a good choice.
Yeah! - It's true that it's easier to make friends at an all girls school.
It's easy to just start talking to other girls and become close
Girls became friends much quicker.
Same situation for you? - Yes it was.
Because there are no boys around, I wasn't as nervous to talk to other people...
I became friends with her really quickly. If you get the chance to start up a conversation
It's easy to make friends.
You can't make friends that quickly if there are boys around?
There are girls who put on a character that they act out in front of boys.
They speak with their voice one pitch higher and such. - I see.
Trying to speak cuter.
That won't happen at your school? - Not at our girls school!
Is there anything else you appreciated about going to a girls only school?
At our high school we had really overprotective teachers.
They were overly helpful
They really treated us girls with lots of care. Sometimes a little too much.
They would worry about us.
Like overprotective mothers? - Yes our teachers were like that.
At the start I thought they were a bit too much. - I didn't like it at first...
but when we graduated we realized how much they had cared about us
and that's why they were like that. I think I went to a really good school.
Were there more male or female teachers?
Teachers? We had both. But we had not young teachers.
What was "overly caring" for you?
They would contact our home so much... - Yes they did!
If we were just a little bit late for school they would call our homes several times.
They would keep asking "Where are you?" - That's what happened that day!
If we don't contact the school first, they would call many times asking if we are ok. A lot.
Do they call your phone?
They called my parents.
"Where is your daugher? What is wrong?" - Yes like that.
Do you get it if you are 10 minutes late? - Not yet for 10 minutes but...
They will call me before the start of class several times.
Before class? How do they know you are not in the classroom?
We take attendance beforehand, one by one. That's how they know.
They take attendance, realize you are not there, and then call you up like crazy. - Exactly.
By the time I am in the classroom, they will already have called several times.
So this happened to you once.
My train was delayed. My parents messaged me that the school had called.
I was so surprised.
You might guess it from my current fashion choice, but I like anime and such.
Were there some anime moments in your girls school?
At our school festivals, only close relatives were allowed to visit.
Normal visitors and interested people could not walk in. Only our parents and relatives.
But we really put all our efforts into them!
Every school year would work super hard in creating one part.
The idea was to create something we will never forget while making deep friendships.
That was a big thing for our school festivals.
What was the VERY best about going to an all girls school?
She. That I got close to her.
That's sweet.
Since you graduated, you have been friends all these years. - We have.
What was the hardest thing about the girls school?
This is a common life rhythm thing. I have trouble waking up in the mornings.
And if you are late they call your parents right away!
That was the worst for me.
She would often not be there in the mornings.
The would not be there, that was tough as friend.
You would message her "Where are you girl?" - Exactly. "Where are you???"
And I would tell her where I was near the school.
In Japan you can pick which highschool you want to go to right. - Yes.
I assume you selected too. Why did you opt for a girls only school?
Well... - For me it was the closest school.
It was only one stop away by train. It was easiest to get to.
That was my biggest reason.
The school itself was really beautiful. - It was a nice atmosphere.
I went to an open day, and thought "what a wonderful looking school."
It was really beautiful.
Was your school uniform cute? - We had two types of school uniforms.
We had two types of skirt we could wear. A checked on and a gray one.
The gray skirt was for formal events.
And we could pick and choose between those two, freely.
I think our school uniform was very cute.
You could pick "Today I wear gray or the checked skirt!"?
We could match it to how we feel, we also had blue and white blouses to pick from.
We could mix and match them.
Create your own daily style, and change it. - Exactly.
We had a blazer too.... it was so cute.
How about love?
All girls, once they graduated, quickly got boyfriends.
We didn't really get a chance to meet boys during.
So around you, the girls didn't have boyfriends? - That was rare.
Many girls didn't have a boyfriend.
There wasn't a chance to meet boys, yet some had boyfriends. Did you hear how they got them?
They were often introduced by a friend. - Yeah I heard that a lot.
Or they were friends since middle school and that changed to love.
That was more common.
But generally love was hard?
Yeah it was.
Was it easier to study because there was no romance or the other way round?
We didn't have to watch ourselves as much. That was good.
Once there are the eyes of boys....
There are cases when girls want to be friends but can't because of jealousy and such.
Those fights often happen. That's why a girls school was a lot easier.
What was the absolute worst for you then?
Studying for the exams.
What was the worst of your high school tests?
I am not that intelligent...
Even though I am Japanese, my Japanese skills were so bad.
What was the worst subject then?
Modern Japanese and classical Japanese. Japan-only subjects. I was bad at them.
What was difficult?
It's old Japanese.... - And the way it is read is very difficult.
It is very different from the current Japanese language.
And it's full with Chinese Symbols. - And their order was different too.
So you have classes on old Japanese. - We do.
My scorecard was really terrible in that subject.
How bad was it?
I only got about 50 points.
How did you pass that class in the end?
We had supplementary lessons. - I didn't go to those. - No way!!!
If your scores are terrible, you can go to extra classes...
I made it up with some extra work like handing out prints.
We would get our tests back. I would then get a chance to study the difficult parts again.
The teacher would tell me where I was wrong. I could work on my weak points then.
It became easier to understand that way, and it was easier to get better.
You don't have to repeat classes? - We don't have to
Never did an extra year.
Those were our questions. Thank you so much.
It's easier to make friends with girls as a girl, when there are no boys around.
I wonder why that is, i you have any ideas, be sure to let us know in the comments.
What I seem to see a lot is that girls only schools are very strict.
I spoke with some of my friends and they said on their way to school,
they were not allowed to make any detours. And they always had to go straight back home
They weren't allowed to wear their school uniform anywhere else apart from the school
and the way home and they couldn't even go to a ramen shop or just have a snack with their friends
on the way home. That was one of the rules number 1. They were also not allowed to carry a
smart phone with them at all times, as long as they were wearing the school uniform.
Which I find really weird, because ... for safety reasons ...
I totally would let my child carry a phone if I had one.
On the other note, also I went to a girl's only school as well......
I must say mine was pretty strict but not as strict.
We actually had nuns as teachers, and normal teachers.
It was very strict. But we didn't have a school uniform.
So what is going to a girl's only school like in your country?
Let us know in the comments down below.
I hope you enjoyed this video. There is gonna be more stuff from Japan coming from Tokyo to you.
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I catch you soon for more stuff from Tokyo. This was Cathy Cat! Bye!