Well, I guess I will start from the basics. School starts at 8:25, and ends either at 330 (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) or at 420 (Tuesdays and Thursdays). The classes are about 50 minutes long, and we get 10 minute breaks between. So there are either 6 or seven classes in a day. We have a half hour lunch after 4th, followed by 10 minute quizzes and home room time. After the 6th class we have a half hour to clean the school (that the students have to clean the school was a big surprise to me at first). The students take about 14 different classes in a week, and they only change subjects at the beginning of the year (which is in April, not September). Classes are taught in lectures, so there`s lots of homework, but not much opportunity for student participation. The teachers are incredibly helpful and spend hours after school assisting students in whatever they need (not only school work, the teachers do the work of guidance councilors too).
Also after school is club. This is a lot of fun, and a good chance to meet other students. Because you take classes in your homeroom, outside of club there is not much opportunity make friends with other students. I attend the tea ceremony club. Most students only take part in one club because each club meets everyday after school, and most meet on the weekend too. So there is no time to attend more than one. With so much homework, and club, there is very little time after school to hang out with friends, so high school is a kind of social center for the students.
The Japanese students have to take entrance exams for middle school, high school, and university. Their scores on the exams decide whether they get into the school or not. Because I am an exchange student I don't have to write these tests. So some of the students attending Fukuoka live over an hour away by train from the school.
The school has many special activities. In June there is the school track and field day. One homeroom of each year is on each team, so there are five teams, and we have races and games. There is also a cheering competition. Each team has to make up dances, and whatever else they want to do, within a certain time limit. In the afternoon we present our cheer. The students practice very hard for this, so they are very entertaining.
In October is the school festival. Each homeroom has a theme and they get to decorate the classrooms. After they have karaoke and some dances.
Also in the fall is sports day. The students get to choose which game they wish to play. They have dodge ball, basketball, beach volleyball, and baseball for the boys. The students compete against other students in the same year.
In the winter they have an afternoon where the students play a Japanese game called Hyakuninnishu. One of the teachers reads old Japanese poems and the students have to pick up the cards that complete the poem first. This is very fun, but difficult for someone who is new to the Japanese language.
After this some clubs and classes organize various volunteer activities. For example there is a day where we pick up garbage around the school, and some clubs visit old aged homes to visit with the elderly. Also, some students visit the closest kindergarten to play with the children. So there are many extracurricular activities at Fukuoka high school.