also, just a little info about school uniforms in Japan: uniforms are expensive. i have a friend from Japan who had to pay $500+ for her uniform (and she didn’t even go to a private school). but that includes: neck tie, socks, summer shirt, winter shirt, summer vest, blazer, skirt & shoes. the school will provide the parents of the students a list of what items to buy and which stores carry those items. for private schools, sometimes the school will require the student to wear socks with the school crest embroidered on it (and sometimes the tie too)…but in public schools, they’re more lenient about it.

as for the primary school backpacks…yes, they are frightfully expensive…but it really is supposed to be used for 6+ years. you can use it all the way up until the start of junior high school.

also, the new trend in Japan right now are the used uniform shops. there’s a name/catchphrase for it, but i forgot what it’s called. anyway, the popular trend nowadays is to go to these consignment type shops, and buy “previoiusly loved” uniforms. they’re much cheaper than getting a new uniform, and the trend is for girls to be able to mix and match pieces of different uniforms. this gives the girl the feeling of being unique from the rest of her classmates. and a lot of public schools in Japan are now adapting to the “you can wear whatever school uniform you want, as long as it looks close to the school colors” idea. there are guys uniforms at these “used” shops too (but i don’t see much variation in black blazer/black pants…ha ha.)