Uniforms

Angelika Wearing uniforms is a really big deal in Japan. Armies of schoolchildren are hopping around in school uniforms. The boys usually wear dark pants with a white shirt and a suit jacket that resembles Michael's wedding suit (a jacket with a stand-up collar that can be worn without a tie). However, we also saw some students with ties.

Girls are wearing skirts and often a top that resembles a sailor shirt. On their feet, both girls and boys wear modern sneakers. For girls, the latest fashionable school uniform trend is to wear thick winter knee socks, which are casually rolled down to slouch around the legs. There are always ways to loosen the uniform requirements. Incidentally, Japanese schoolchildren also carry a backpack, while this is otherwise a 100% identifying feature of non-Japanese tourists. Japanese tourists are usually seen carrying neat little bags. The receptionists (only females, I didn't see any men) at the information desks in upscale department stores also wear uniforms and look like flight attendants. Often, a hat is part of the outfit for women. It's all very nice. We were also fascinated by the uniforms of the road workers because they looked so different.