Clothes, indoor shoes and the things a school actually regulates
服装・持ち物・上履き
- Applies to
- All of Japan
- Source last checked
- , Open the Japanese source
- Official source
- 外国人児童生徒のための就学ガイドブック（文部科学省）
A "please prepare these things" note (持ち物, mochimono) is the school's own list. The Ministry of Education's guidebook does not publish a national shopping list, and it does not name a backpack brand.
What it does say:
- Many elementary schools do not regulate everyday clothes or belongings. For physical education, changing into clothes that are easy to move in is the usual pattern.
- Junior highs more often set a uniform (服装). Shoes should be easy to walk and exercise in.
- Inside the building, most schools ask children to change into indoor shoes (上履き, uwabaki).
- Most schools forbid nail polish and jewellery such as pierced earrings at school, and forbid buying or eating snacks at school.
If a paper lists items and a date, buy or label what that paper names. Ask the school before you buy a large item that the paper does not mention.
Your child's dates, not the general ones
Add your child and ward. The timeline does the rest.