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I teach at public schools in Japan. The effort that goes into these meals is insane, and the fact students serve and clean up the food really adds to the experience. I remember my food in the US as a student barely being edible. Other places could definitely learn a thing or two from Japan. This is the ultimate long term investment, better fed kids are happier and smarter.
@@gatts1989 we needed to bring our own lunch in the Netherlands, mostly it is bread with peanut butter. But after a half a day being it in your backpack it's dry and just gross, and it's almost the same. Nonetheless, that isn't the main problem because of this system there were kids with nothing to eat because they were less fortunate and had less money, of course you share, but that isn't the solution. We need to learn from Japan.
Gluttony is what defines the power-brokers of America. The US governments have let literal mountains of decent foods go to waste rather than donate them to starving communities around the world because they haven't had buyers for them.
I'm Japanese, but the most fun part of school was school lunch lol. They make it with good nutrition and balance. It also offers different meals all year round. So I never get tired of it. Adults say "I miss school lunch" lol
@@Salmon_Toastie Yes! By noon, we will make about 800 "school meals" by noon (although the number varies greatly depending on the school). Then they put it on a wagon and bring it to the front of the classroom! Most schools do!
They never half ass/cut corners with anything and truly value their youth. I’ve worked in restaurants in NYC my whole life and this kitchen is cleaner than Michelin star restaurants 🤯 The workers all take pride in their work, loved this video
I've worked in restaurants, catering businesses, hotel and high end senior living facilities. You're not lying. This is the cleanest kitchen I've ever seen. They're crushing it over there.
@@kiddankula5480 Haha That is a good joke. That cant possibly be true. Michelin tires only shares a name with the stars, they arent the same company Haha -does an internet to make sure- Haaaa.... WAIT WHAT? Thats freaking WEIRD TIL: michelin stars are awarded by the tire company
Well restaurant kitchens usually cook more than one type of food and made by order, it's harder to stay clean when it's not a single production line. Even McDonald's are cleaner just because they have an assembly line
I grew up on Japanese public school lunch. This is a central kitchen for several schools in this video, but my school had our own kitchen and the nutritionist who develops the menu in the school. The food was amazingly wholesome and clean everyday and I was so looking forward to it. I still remember the great smell of food we feel when it’s closer to the lunch time. I was surprised to learn that what I thought was normal might be in fact not so quite common from western point of view
Absolutely! I don't know of a single school in the US that has public systems like this. Once you get to high school, some schools used to offer "Home Economics" which was how to be a housewife, balance a checkbook, and cook (prob don't offer this anymore) I took it in the mid-nineties, and the class was basically all cooking. It was amazing, and some of the best food. So, yeah, it's definitely not normal or even a thing in the US, and from the comments, doesn't seem common in other countries either. Absolutely should be. It's a great way to look at it "food Education". Oh, and in the US, school lunch isn't free. I mean, it may be subsidized for low-income families, making it free or cheaper than the standard price, but no meals are just included. They call it "hot lunch" from the school system. It's usually pretty poor quality stuff, and not necessarily healthy (like milk, chicken nuggets, fries, pizza, maybe some frozen green bean or applesauce) when you get outside of the premade items, that's when food usually gets almost inedible (like when they make lasagna or stews from "scratch"), it becomes like hospital food or worse. Also depending on what the income in the area is like (i lived in a "rich" town, but was middle class) if you do get hot lunch, it's a sign that you're poor or less than to the other kids. Seems so stupid now, but definitely would be ridiculed and mocked if you got hot lunch past grade school.
@@James-gf2ph In the summer of 2021, California became the first US state to offer its school students free breakfasts and lunches, yeay! 🙂 I wish this was the case for ALL of our states -- and that the food quality was as good as Japan's. From the New York Times: "This summer, flush with cash from an unexpected budget surplus, California further cemented schools’ role in preventing hunger: The state became the first in the nation to provide all students free breakfast and lunch. The move, which has a $650 million annual price tag, will reduce absenteeism and nurse visits while improving learning, advocates say." -From "What to Know About California’s Free School Lunch Program," October 1, 2021
I'm food safety certified in the states, and I have to say, this facility's food safety protocols surpass the US standard by far. It's incredible the procedures they have in place to prevent cross-contamination, especially the airlock they create when receiving. I'm sure they also have a strict wellness check for employees. They understand that children don't have as strong immune systems as adults and take steps to minimize risk. It's fascinating.
Every aspect of Japan surpasses America. Japan focuses on elevating all its citizens because they understand that the youth are the future. America only elevates a small elite class. America believes their system of ensuring only a privileged elect are educated and enriched while everyone else wallows in poverty & debt is the right way. This is why America is falling behind in so many areas and Japan isn’t. I lived in Japan & I loved it.
@@NemesisFromResidentEvil This is a pretty typical common sense comment and this is really relatable to a lot of people. Can't really consider this stealing lmao
My biggest takeaway from this video is that the Japanese truly care about and prioritize their kids' health and well-being as well as their food education. American lunches have improved since I was a kid, but this absolutely blows our school lunches out of the water. So impressive. This is a perfect example of how things should be done.
yeah in US it's about optimizing profit first, then doing the absolute minimum to keep it going without getting into trouble with the very minimal regulations that do exist, you know, free markets and stuff
I feel like, if anything, the school lunches have gotten worse in the US. My elementary school aged sister flat out said she’d rather go hungry than eat school lunches.
The Japanese are respected by us in the UK very much so, you are welcome to our country anytime, the japanese people are the nicest people, humane, friend on earth, be proud.
I live in a rural area of Japan, and the way lunches are made here is a bit more…relaxed. Still, the basic principles still apply, and the end result is still great. (ALMOST always. I assume there is a little more variation in quality here than in the Tokyo area.) One interesting bit of tradition… at least in this area, The school principal always eats lunch first. But not for the reason you might think. This practice is know as ‘DOKU-MI’, or “poison check“. As the one responsible for the safety of all of the students and staff in the school, the Principal must ensure that the food is safe for everyone else to eat.
That's fascinating! Yeah, I imagine the procedures for making food are slightly different in different parts of the country. The principal checking for poison is also really interesting too! It's cool how traditions like that are passed down through generations.
It's funny hearing that all rural areas are pretty much the same. I wondered if the country side folks were as anal about all of the rules as the big cities, guess you gave me the answer. Rural areas in general are known for having more laid back, not as super serious people and the major coasts/cities are typically know to have obnoxious people.
I imagine something like this is impossible in Australia and America because the two countries are so ridiculously large. Grocery stores have figured a way around that though but schools seem to always be 20 years behind the curve.
@luke s I used to pour mine into the flower bed when the teacher wasn't looking. The days I had to actually drink that warm , yoghurt tasting milk made me gag
I had the chance to visit a primary school when I was in Japan and we had lunch with the students. I was pretty amazed by how organized the whole thing was and by how mature students were. Basically students are responsible for serving food to their classmates and after everyone eats, each is responsible for washing their tray and cleaning.
It looks like Japan really cares for the young generation and want to feed them food that will not only benefit them with nutrition but also prolong their lives. They even have natural deworming foods in there. As someone who grew up in the US eating frozen pizza and hot dogs that had maggots, makes me wish we had a food education here too.
I washed dishes in Tulsa in Grade 6 to get a hot meal. There was no way my parents were in any position to cash me up for food. But each state/province/canton is a different world. The biggest food crime in the USA is PROCESSED fake food AND the weight it puts on Americans by their own Corporations. And that's in your whole life, not just school kids.
I used to teach part-time in a Japanese elementary school and lunch is something I would really look forward to. The cost was roughly $2 and it’s hot and complete with veggies and protein. Before serving lunch to the kids, they would explain (older kids (5th&6th graders through PA system) where the veggies came from and some trivia about the food (something interesting from the prefecture it came from). Sometimes, local farmers would visit and ask the students what they think of the fruit/vegetables and explain why it’s juicy or sweet… so the kids learn to appreciate fresh and good quality produce. Nothing goes to waste too, because the kids would do janken (rock paper scissors) and whoever wins will get the extra fruit dessert/yogurt/bottled milk. I only went there twice a week, and my former colleagues who work there full-time would sometimes bring their own lunch because there will be times the menu will repeat ☺️
Wow. The idea he explained of giving kids healthy food so they’ll grow up to subconsciously always eat healthy and well prepared food is a crazy thought given what I ate in American schools. I know it’s not on any fault of the staff but the governments outlook on education. This food looks incredible.
Oh, there are elected officials and parents who can take the blame. Michelle Obama was trying to get our schools to adopt healthier lunches. Somehow she was worse than Hitler and trying to indoctrinate our children.
It's funny because if I remember correctly prisoners in America eat better because their food is required to be nutritionally balanced as opposed to schools
@@RayneGrimm1 I've been in the public school system and prison system, the food is similar but significantly worse in jail. The food in public schools depends on the money of the district. My neighbor was the food director for our school and he was who decided who to buy the food from/what meals we got. The food manufacturers held conventions. The one I attended had a big Star Wars (prequels) give away and tastings of their foods. The guy didn't go into contract/buy any of their stuff (it was all amazing) because our school district was poor, but he continued to go to the cons because they were fun 😂
Remember, for many kids, the school lunch is the only time in the day where a kid can have a full balanced meal. Japan and the US knows this but only one is doing something about it
This is absolutely outstanding. Everyone work unanimously to ensure the work gets done AND the children are well taken care of through the nutrition. One thing I’ve noticed is that almost every worker that has been interviewed in this channel stays with the company for years, that’s commitment and loyalty. I love this nation I live in, and I’m thankful for it but we have big strides to make.
When I taught in Japan, school lunch was probably my most nutritious meal each day. I looked forward to it. I got to visit the center and was surprised how they made exact portions for each class in each school on time each day.
It is the same in South Korea when I taught there in 2002. After teaching a few kindergarten classes, I got to eat the school lunch with the students. Nothing too fancy, but good, simple soup, rice some meat some kimchi - good plain food, and healthy!
@@missplainjane3905 1) Japan is the most technologically developed nation according to worldpopulationreview. Due to its relatively low landmass that has to support large populations and megacities, efficiency is optimised and there is high consistency. There are some aspects it lags behind but that mainly pertains to its culture, like still using fax machines or (depending where you are) stores not accepting card. 2) My personal rating of Japan is an 8. Stay away from black companies, find a good stable workplace and this will be a 9. If you're just going to Japan for a holiday, it goes up to a 9.5. However, being able to speak Japanese will greatly improve your appreciation of the country's culture and everything it has to offer so living there can also offer a different perspective than visiting and seeing it strictly in its good lights. 3) Japanese people are polite, but not just polite for the sake of manners. The culture of being polite has reinforced a subconscious kindness in everyone. Japanese people have high work ethic but this means the work culture can become toxic, especially in black companies. Some restaurants don't allow gaijins (foreigners) to enter but they are relatively rare. All the megacities have experienced many foreign tourists so it's not like you're the first foreigner people have seen. Overall, Japanese people are, in my opinion, the most well-balanced people I know that priorities harmony over conflict. However, many people (in professional settings) behave too reserved instead of pointing out things directly. If you go to Okinawa, this is like the best of both worlds. The Japanese people there are not just kind and polite, but they are also overwhelmingly friendly and outgoing. It's less advanced though. 4) Modern, cultural, beautiful.
@@missplainjane3905 the thing that stands out the most is they have had a long history of exacting ritual. So the precision and consistency with which they perform everything is better than anything I have seen anywhere. Like yhe best McDonald's or pizza or coffee I've ever had is in Japan. Everybody just follows the recipe to a T. The downside is the things a Japanese person can take don't translate outside. Like the crazy number of steps in a software program might be fine in Japan but Americans will get fed up with it. Their technical hardware is world class but American software is better. This was to answer your tech question. First world but in a different way
The preparation plus sanitation is extremely impressive, cleanest kitchen I’ve ever seen plus the nutritional value the kids get, awesome, USA need to step up its game, plus I’ve seen clips with smaller schools and the kids prepare, cook, serve and clean their own food daily in japan at school ,very nutritional at that, all well behaved and polite I noticed, 👍
im a bit skeptical. Homie was definitely given special access on a specific day where everybody was probably notified and on top of everything. And this was probably the most advanced meal they will do just to show off.
@jake's opinion While that may be true I have seen videos of students in the classroom and cafeteria eating great meals, even if there not all that fancy.
@@lolmouf This would be true of everywhere but Japan. They really just do things differently there in many ways. You should see their moving companies.
@@lolmouf As a japanese eating these type of lunches when i was a kid almost Everyday, i can assure you that this is how lunches are prepared everyday. It might vary a little, but it is how it's shown in the video. Japan is known for it's consistency.
@@lolmouf It's actually a typical Japanese public school lunch and nothing special for Japanese. The schools I went had a huge kitchen only for school lunch in the school and we could see the staff working there everyday just as hard as the ones in this video.
It's for public consumption . I was in charge of a food mgf QA dept. The labs are perfect at all times yet the plant have to be completely cleaned from front to bk for USDA inspection. sanitation like that, It's for show.
You can see it by watching the video called "God of the Toilet". In Japan, there is a Shinto idea of eight million gods, and since God dwells in all things, it comes from the idea that we must keep it clean for the sake of God. In modern times, of course, it is for hygiene.
This is why Japan is absolutely amazing! Would love to see this in every single country, food is so important for kids. This not only give kids a healthy diet, but it teaches them about food, it also help parents.
Teaching English in Japan, I get to experience these lunches every day! Today we had kids’ favorite, hamburg, bun and some delicious soup on the side alone with an orange. I’m always surprised with what combinations I get during lunch here!
@@ShinseiUK Congrats on getting in. I applied and made it to the interview stage, but didn't get accepted at the end. Do you have any tips for the interview (things to say, keywords, etc.)?
Because I am that bored and want to help you all out I made timestamps for each section! 0:00 - intro 1:45 - deliveries 2:56 - Fruits and vegtables cut and peeled 4:31 - Squarespace sponsor 5:21 - Rice steaming 7:18 - Tonjiru (soup) 8:33 - Grilled fish 9:47 - Udo no kinpira (Japanese side dish) 11:02 - food carts loaded 11:38 - outro and Paolo tries the lunch! Edit: thank you for the comments and likes! It means so much to me!
@@bananapuffs1 You mean its a small country with a large population lol its 1.5x landmass the size of New Zealand and has 25 times the population Also if im right Both countries produce enough food to feed about 40 to 50 million per year.. one has 5mil pop the other 125mil
@@bananapuffs1 WTF 🤣😭 is this a Troll Post? Also your Post Makes no Sense at all. Then the USA just Has it to make for Every State or Disctric etc. WTF 😭 But lets look at this USA school sh**tings: 288 Rest of the World togehter: 5 I guess That says it all….
I live in London. My husband is the Head Chef in a school that provides its students healthy lunches, pre-approved by a certified dietician. They have a bi-weekly menu with either a meat, seafood or vegetarian option for main, and salad to accompany every meal. He and his team come in at 7am every morning to prepare everything onsite from scratch, from pasta to sushi. They also introduce dishes from around the world. Twice a week he also teaches practical lessons, such as knife skills or making a particular dish. I am incredibly proud of him and envious of his students, as I ate alphabetti spaghetti, smiley faces and jelly with custard at school.
That's amazing! Are all schools in UK the same? Or is it just London or just his school? I'm a Japanese married to an American but we both value food education and looking for the best place to live for our future kids.
@@MisakiNishidate short answer is a big fat no. Whilst schools have been making small and healthy choices since I finished 15 years ago, I recognise the example I gave is also an extreme one. You raise a good question and perhaps we can get more responses from others in the UK. For reference, my husband works at a voluntary-aided primary school in East London.
I have very distinct memories of my school lunches. The vegetables were always completely unseasoned, steamed until they were disgustingly soft, and felt completely inedible. No wonder kids in my country grow up hating vegetables, because they’re never cooked to actually taste good.
Same here. The first day of kindergarten I took a nibble of the steamed carrot. It was so offensive I spat it back out immediately. The US feeds us garbage
As someone in my 30s I still have this inbuilt feat to veg (UK is also un seasoned and mostly steamed to mush) - It's exploring Asian food where veg is decently cooked that is finally slowly turning me around.
@@lukecummins5371 so true I thought I hated vegetables as a child and as an adult I’ve learned how to cook them properly and now I eat vegetables constantly and I get cravings for them
I went to a Japanese primary school for a few years that had its own kitchen. We had dinner ladies (for those from outside UK, this is what we call them) who cooked every lunch from scratch. Students all thanked them every day for lovely food. Never realised how fortunate we were at the time.
I might be totally wrong but it honestly looks like I would really enjoy working in that kitchen. It's so clean and they make nice fresh food and constantly switch up the menu so it wouldn't get too repetitive.
I taught English classes on contract with some public schools in Kansai. On days my lessons fell on either side of lunch, they invited me to eat lunch with them. Students selected to help (about 1/3 of the class) would go pick up the meal from the kitchen, bring it back, and serve the rest of the class. Everyone ate in the classroom. It was completely different from what I remember school lunches in the US to be like. The food was fantastic and we had a great time. My kids went to Japanese public schools and were pretty disappointed with school lunches in the US after we moved here. They went from eating great Japanese quizine to US school lunches provided by the lowest bidder. My son said the other day (about US school lunch) "It's all just mystery meat and plants molded into different shapes. I bet tomorrow they stick a bone in it and call it chicken." Both my kids say that their favorite Japanese school lunch was the curry and rice. I think that was my favorite too.
Pretty sure everyone's favorite is curry rice! It's soooo delicious. But so are many others. After teaching in Japan and having school lunch, I am even more shocked by what passes for school lunch in the US.
As a gaijin-half of a mixed family that lived in Japan, I totally get your comment (as would my wife)... however... as a parent, I've also heard many complaints about how the kids don't like this, or that, or anything. The difference is that while kids are kids (and they generally find a reason to not like things), the reality is the lunches are at least healthy and varied.... and my wife and I agree...an incredibly amazing advertisement for the value of a strong public influence over education and food.
I just appreciate the precision, consideration and passion they have doing this for the students! I lived there from 4 to 7 years old and this is how it was back then. Over 20 years ago. Love Japan! 🤗😍
You can tell Japan really cares about the children and their meals. Where I’m from if a child doesn’t have money for lunch they get a bag lunch that consists of cheese/peanuts butter crackers (6 pieces) and water. Sometimes if they are lucky a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with milk will be given to them
Well at least you're lucky kids get something... while Australia is generally known as a socially-aware country (not socialist) - we have the un-spoken rule not to interfere with kids lunches... despite the lobby groups making parents to feel guilty about providing ANY lunch. If a child comes to school here without a lunch... tough luck. Or at best, if they were actually expecting a bought lunch that didn't turn up... they were given the crappiest/most boring lunch the cafeteria had, and the parents automatically charged (as punishment). The fact is - we have very little concept of how eating is actually a part of schooling here in Australia... and what we do have is wrapped up in a sort of judgemental layer of blame, that I can imagine a lot of parents of lesser-means might actually feel degraded and embarrassed - which in turn gets passed on to their kids. Good eating (as a school child) should be a universal right.
The schools where I grew up in Canada don't even have cafeterias. Kids always brought lunch from home and we had the odd hot lunch like pizza day. A jam sandwich (no peanuts allowed in school) and crackers was a normal school lunch 😅.
@@andreea7458 First off - no one in the comment chain you replied to said it was free. Secondly, $30 a month is bascially free (compared to any other school provided meal). That's the point - it's not that it's "free" - it's a comparative statement. About $1-$1.30 per day is effectively free when talking about school provided lunch (the good variety). Also - I am not saying if you're struggling to buy children lunch that this is a derogatory comment - just that even if you home-make lunches it would be difficult to provide the variety and healthiness for that price.
I grew up in the 90s in New Jersey and our lunches were typically a rectangle of Ellios pizza, french fries, maybe 1/4 cup of salad/veggies and a chocolate milk. An you had to pay $1.50 for it. If you couldn't pay, you get a PB&J and a normal milk. Seeing this is insane, and is making me hungry.
These meals are way much healthier than what they serve here in the United States. I wish that our kids will be able to experience and appreciate healthy and delicious food in their schools too. The work and dedication put into the preparation is just amazing!
No too mention how they’re served as well. Look at the precautions even taken in place. Covered head to toe literally have a airlock etc. my college cafeteria kids would wear their outside clothes dirty crocs while serving their food. It’s American culture why school food is the way it is
Unfortunately, school lunches are merely a reflection of the way kids eat at home. Processed foods and sugary drinks. Parents who don’t feed their kids this way at home don’t allow them to eat like that in school and send them with their own lunches.
I used to work in the catering department of a major airline (as admin, but taking clients on tours of the kitchen was part of my job), and it fascinates me on how similar the operations are, especially with all the manual prep of the fresh produce. The main difference I see is that airline food is chilled to almost freezing after it's been made because it can be many hours before it gets on a plane (this prevents the food from staying too long in the "Goldilocks zone" temperature of bacteria growth). Seeing these operations gives me an appreciation for those who work hard to give us food that's fresh and healthy.
I always see these on Reddit when someone in the US gets served a horrid meal for lunch at school, it gets this comparison. As always, you can see the dedication and how serious Japan takes health and education as an important part of their food culture. Excellent as always! ☝️
The food in Japan was delicious, and even something as simple as a school lunch is making me crave Japanese food again. Some day, I hope soon, I will go back, and I will eat everything. Beautiful country, amazing culture and delicious food!
@@johnnycripplestar5167 I would never eat people. Probably... Nah, on a serious note, I love Japanese food and could pretty easily survive off of it, that's what I was trying to say.
@TheRoswellCrash For sure! To be honest, I would have added that, but I don't want people to think I'm a weeb or something for saying "I love Japan, I love the food, the people, so on!". That's not me, I just appreciate Japan as a country, and MANY of the things it has to offer, including, yes, the people! It's a beautiful place, for many reasons.
I feel bad for yall. I could never eat that kind of school lunch for a year. Growing up southeast asian, we're used to homecooked meals or freshly cooked meals in the canteen for lunch.
I just want to say, IT IS WAY BETTER THEN AMERICAN SCHOOL LUNCHES. That is so fresh that it puts American School food to shame. I'm like really to shame. One time we only had sandwiches for lunch. But watching this puts it on a whole new level. The best part is that the place is so clean, If it is clean like this every day. That is awesome. Hell, I pay the $32 dollars for a good school lunch like that.
school lunches in american public schools are extremely poor. students could literally eat doritos with nacho-cheese product poured on them every day if they wanted...hot trash
The fact that they care about the taste and quality, even if the food is served to kids. The "food education' part is what make kids want to eat vegetables and not be picky eaters. It leads them to live a healthier lifestyle and not have all these conditions caused by unhealthy diets.
As a Japanese who grown up with Japanese school lunch and currently live in the US, the shokuiku (eating education) is definitely helping me. Yes sometimes i crave some unbalanced food but, i usually cook balanced food because that's what I want to eat. My body remember that they taste way better than greasy food. I really appreciate the system.
Considering this, I find it hard to understand why, when some Japanese people travel abroad, they are some of the rudest and most untidy litter scattering disrespectful tourists I've ever encountered. 🤔
Bro I've seen so many comments about food over there what are you eating in Australia there is a canteen and you buy stuff the cheapest being 50 cents for a zooper dooper and the most expensive is like 7 dollars i yhink a preotien bowl with rice veggies and chicken with spaces and there is sushi pies suasge rolls drinks ect you mainly just bring your own good tho
@@L.a.77 same my school lunch are garbage I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and somehow they fuck that up the peanut butter was crusty and the bread was like Leather
I loved this! I've seen rural Japanese school lunches made before, and it's very nice to see the high quality shown by a larger production line. I think the Japanese government is very clever to have instituted healthy nutrition early and consistently. Not to mention, the food looks utterly delicious.
I’m super jealous! They get fresh local fruits and veggies in their lunch. Not only that but the kids are getting a balanced meal and it actually looks delicious.
We have the same system in Sweden. I know that some schools make their own food and from experience, the schools that cooks their own food has the best food. In Sweden we always have a salad bar so that we could get vegetables to the food. We ate typical Swedish food like panfryed fish with potato and a cold sauce that were so good! Spagetti bolognese, mashed potato's with meatballs and brown sauce. We never got fast food but the food was often very tasteless. It´s almost 15 years ago that I graduated from high school so many a lot has changed. Loved this video as always.
3:56 That's the exact opposite of my High school, where you can choose between Meal no. 1 (which usually consists of Mystery-Meat and gray goo) or Meal No. 2 (which usually also consists of more Mystery "Fish" and more goo). Most of us end up bringing their own lunch.
Japan is one of the most cleanest places to visit so I’m not surprised to see that their public school foods are held to a higher standard as well. I wanna go back..
A lot of countries can learn from this, the food looks great. Quality food and education might go a long way to explaining why I saw very little obesity in Japan. Unlike some other countries where fried fast foods and no variety seems to be the norm.
@@yoshiegg6537 That’s a lie, parents and kids have a choice by preparing food early before school. Especially kids where they have opportunities to learn from their parents, peers or internet. But they are conditioned to be dependent and lazy, especially children who would rather be on social media trying to earn clout or play games all day.
I worry for the USAs future for a number of reasons. Our schools simply cannot complete with this level. Over time it's showing, and will continue to show.
The one high school I went to had real food like this everyday, maybe not this intense, but it wasn’t frozen garbage. The difference was so amazing and I actually bought school lunch versus what is normally here in America. If they did it everywhere it would improve so many students diets and might be the biggest health initiative in the US.
@Chickens and Gardening Sounds like a lot of fat and cholesterol. I mean yeah, maybe tasty, but probably contributes massively to the Southern states' populations (besides Florida, which is mostly healthy-looking people) being shown as examples of stereotypical fat Americans.
It's amazing that not only are these school lunches nutritionally balanced and delicious, you can actually cook almost all of these recipes at home as the ingredients are locally sourced. Most impressive!
My dad was in the military so we got station to Okinawa (Japan) for 3 years. Our school was on base, but our school would go on field trips to other Japanese schools, and what an experience that was!
This is really interesting to watch. I grew up in an Australian public primary school, where you could bring your own lunch or pre-order food at the school canteen which was prepared elsewhere and sent to the school before lunchtime and collected by each classroom. About $4-5 AUD for some lasagna or sausage rolls which tasted like microwaved supermarket food (which was alright), but only one item and not very good nutrition wise. I went on to a private high school and there we had an on-campus canteen with around 4 staff members working for ~400 students. We could elect to bring our own lunches or purchase made meals. It was around $7 for a burger/pasta/risotto/Caesar salad/etc. It was much better tasting but only one main dish. Of course, you could always elect to add a muffin or yoghurt for $3 extra. On top of that, if the canteen miscalculated the amount of students who would order that day, they would run out of meals and if you were late you’d just have to settle for a muffin. I also went to a Chinese high school to study for a few years. I was in the international department but we had shared canteens with the local division. There were 2 on-campus canteens with about 12 food openings, each carrying a slight difference of food items. All of the ~1800 students were required to eat on campus, of which ~1500 lived on campus as well and that meant 3 meals per day. I never knew how many staff there were but each food opening had a staff who handed out food. We had a card where we topped up money and used when we order. The staff giving out food calculated the price and deducted it from our card. ¥6-7 for rice + 2 kinds of vegetables, ¥9-11 total for an additional meat dish. You could pick the veggies and meat dish you wanted out of the selection at each food opening, and could buy extra if desired. There was also things like premium curry rice for ¥15, and all the soup were free (although bland). For breakfast, there was also dumplings and gyoza etc. We would occasionally find snails and weird particles in the vegetable dishes, due to unthorough cleaning, but that was the only downside. The food was quite tasty, especially taking into account the price. It was 1AUD : 6Yuan when I studied there. Just an interesting perspective to look at compared to Japanese lunch, and how each country handles and values it differently.
Yeah the Chinese schools care quite a bit about nutrition too. It's also thanks to communist era canteens being part of the culture for so long. Even today you'll find companies in China that features these company canteens for their workers. Schools are of course, no exception. It's all part of that old school habit of communal work and living.
@Ibrahim And Youssef Some parents don't have the time or money to get their children lunches in the morning or to get fresh food every week. It's convenient for many.
US public school REALLY need to learn A lot from this meal system! Please let kids taste the vegetable’s amazing and share the duty of serving and clean up!
Things I learned in this video: Contrary to anime cliche, not every single kid is bringing bento from home Japan actually serves fresh food to students made from outside of school property and delivered for lunch Japan's food education system (shokuiku) is yet another reason for me to love Japan
elementary school provides school lunch, we only bring bento on special days. For middle school and high school, usually we bring bento as they don't provide kyusyoku.
As a child living their is much fun with beautiful environment,food,sports but as an adult is hell life where you have to work 12-14hrs a day with no life and always have to be in discipline,punctual that's not much of a living
Also alot of the anime is written many years ago, so school lunch like this was way less populare, and Bentos are more common among highschoolers (which most of the anime are from) That includes the authors being way much older too, so their perception of school is quite the difference to what it is today. Elementary school in japan has a pretty huge gap when it comes to food too.
So different from Singapore, here, the students buy their own lunches in the school cafeteria. But there are always so many stalls to choose from and it’s also cheaper than meals outside school.
They probably have a contract where some aspects are subsidized, like rent. It cuts down on costs, and schools can ask the caterer to pass some of the savings on to the students.
Unbelievable how they maintane to keep the kitchen that clean!!!!! This is probably the most clean kitchen I've seen in my whole life...not even a single trash on the floor...THIS IS INSANE!!!!
Those meals look delicious and I appreciate all the effort that goes into them. In my school back in the 90s, parents could volunteer to cook for us kids, and there was either not enough food because it was so delicious, or it tasted so yucky that we couldn't finish our plate. I was lucky tough, we lived close to school so I could enjoy granny's cooking every day. 🌟
The schools i went to in my teen years didn’t even have a consistent lunch plan each year. Also i never had free lunch, always had to pay full price because only poverty stricken kids had that option, which had to be in writing before the school year started. Besides that every time i see a video like this, i feel like the workers actually care and like their job. I never hear many complaints. I love that.😊
Ohhh man I’m so jealous ..though its a reward for all that hard work. I wish every country could do this. Makes this 38 year old so hungry lol great job Japan 👍🏻
I can't imagine how better off the USA or even Canada would be if school lunches were taken this seriously. We would probably see much better results academically, socially, and mentally with this kind of program.
i was just thinking this. The school i went to didn't have any free lunch program lol. it was either pony up 10 bucks for a small carton of chocolate milk and some garbage cheese burger or bring your own lunch. welcome to canada.
The amount of effort and planning they put into educating and providing their kids with nutritious meals daily is something every country should aspire to emulate. Seriously! Great work.
I am so impressed with the fresh healthy ingredients used for their daily lunch meals. Nice to see no french fries or junk food being served.With my observation, the employees all appear very happy working in this environment.Happy employees, make good enjoyable meals for the students. Paolo, another excellent video!💞💜❤️🎯👍
Japan cares about their kids that's for sure.. NO chemicals or pesticides used....amazing we can learn so much from their techniques here in the states.
Shokuiku sounds like the perfect way to give kids a good solid foundation of food from an early age. The west could learn a lot from this! Thanks for sharing!
What a great tour! I’ve always heard that Japanese school lunches were good but seeing it on video really hits it home. I’d love to eat lunch like a Japanese school kid every day.
Very interesting video and especially since our Grandson is a teacher over there at the grade schools I believe. He learned to speak Japanese here in The States and then went to Japan to teach the kids English to the ones that asked for it. Thanks for all your work on these videos and now I am a subscriber and see all your videos.
Working in schools all over my prefecture ( Kumamoto ) in Japan, from elementary, to junior and senior high schools. I’ve had the pleasure, and opportunity to try all the different lunches available. In the 25 years & close to 30,000 children I’ve taught, I have yet to meet a child that does not like their school lunches. It’s pretty much a different lunch every day, and obviously each child has a favorite, yet still like all the others.
This is something about Japan that I've always admired and respected. These meals look very good and very healthy as well, I've spoken up at school board meetings here in my town about this before but they just laugh it off asking who's going to pay for it? They dont understand how easily this can be to achieve and how sustainable you can make it if you grow most of the ingredients locally or at the schools. And imagine the jobs we could create with it too! But unfortunately the US pulls funding for schools to the point they are practically bare bones in terms of staff, and lord forbid we actually take care of our children.
Honestly, no one blinks an eye. Then police are threatened to be defunded and there's people taking over the capital... Schools have been getting defunded for years!
I definitely admire what the Japanese have done in this area but I think aside from funding it (sidenote, I think we can by cutting some of the fat such as administrative pay which is absurdly high in general) the real problem is gonna be work ethic. In general the work ethic in the United States is just a heaping pile of trash compared to what is the norm in Japanese culture. I mean we have folks in our current cafeterias complaining how overworked they are just making trash. Imagine their complaints at having to prepare fresh high quality meals like a restaurant.
Watch Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution (US version). School boards are corrupt from top to bottom when it comes to food, the only priority is profit and kickbacks. That's why everything is frozen, school staff don't cook anything, sugar is added to everything and things like french fries and ketchup are classified as vegetables.
i live in canada and there is sometimes school lunches available but they are incredibly expensive and dont taste that good.. what they are doing in japan amazes me and it really looks so good and nutritous, if i had the same at my school then i would certainly never miss a single day of school for fear of missing out on such a great meal!
I used to go to Angleton high school. in Angleton tx. we had a chick fila. All they sold was the original sandwich. and a pizza hut. before I left it had a police station and credit union to help you how to bank and save money.
I used to work in the kitchen at my school! Sorting silverware and stacking trays filling water buckets to clean the tables afterwards I started by handing out fruit cups and pb&j's to the kids and then worked in dish washing the rest of the year. I just got out, and am currently between jobs.
One rather interesting tidbit with the variety they need to offer at schools is that you end up with some rather unique lunches (from a western perspective anyway). As an example the schools I teach at will serve stir fried liver and chicken or natto main courses on occasion, and they are rather divisive among the students. That said because of the way the students are taught about food and the general food culture in Japan, even if the kids don't like the food they still learn to eat it and appreciate it for what it is. Its really in stark contrast to what I remember from back home in America, where even if we got a good lunch the majority of kids would just throw the food they didn't like away. I can remember so many occasions of garbage cans full of vegetable medleys from those days.
Hey, the stir fried liver is pretty dope back here in eastern european countries like hungary as well. while western european countries even label is as dogfood (no joke, saw it in belgium for example, chicken liver sold as meat ''thrash''') it baffles me, add some garlic and onions, serve with bread...
@@Zub_Sero coming from America liver is something that would mostly get tagged as a food for old people/ foreign people/ just generally not most people so I would absolutely believe it. Its really not that bad either (though it does take some adjusting).
Food waste is way too popular in US schools, been in several lunch time with my kids, looks the kids were taught if they put food into recycling can, it’s not waste…..so sad! Definitely admire Japanese style of making it a learning life course! Which is more important than reading and math in my opinion.
When we say "Itadaki-masu" to eat in Japan, we thank the food itself, thank the people who made the food, vegetables, animals, and other living things. I take it away and maintain my health. He says "Thank you" because of his gratitude for such creatures.
In defense of american children throwing away vegetable medley. Those are probably from a can thats like 2 years old and are nothing but boiled mildly salted mush. .... At least thats what my memory was
I have many happy memories at lunch time in my school days yet I didn’t know how they devoted themselves to cook.I appreciate their efforts.Thank you, Paolo!
I love that they focus on balance. School lunches at my schools were relatively ok. They weren't too bad, but they did lack balance. Call me wacky, but it's such a joy to watch them work. The precision is awesome. In the states some places just slop it together. It's a shame.
Japan, they offer so much atention to small things wich really makes the difference, so clean... Just a big wow. "The rice is free of pesticid... and fruit are coming from local farmers wich..." Amazing, just amazing.
That was really interesting, usually when I watch how giant portions of food is prepared I find it disgusting, but here everything looked so well prepared and good quality it made me enjoy it and would love to try some of it myself!
I went to a very small rural public school in the US with an amazing cafeteria. Almost 30 years after graduation I find myself craving some of the things from there. Students helped serve and clean up, and in middle school health class we got a chance to plan the menu for a day as part of the nutrition unit. Alas, this is way back when schools were actually properly funded.
If there's anything we need in America its a different approach to food from a young age. Food education here is so needed. So nice to see how much Japan invests in its future.
@@ivettesantana4319 At the school I used to work at, lunch is done as a pattern meal, using all USDA certified ingredients, and following the "Healthy Plate" plan. I think school lunches are a hit and miss thing according to wherever you are, which is a real shame, because all children deserve a healthy and nutritious meal at least once a day, even if they don't always get one at home.
When I went to school, the food in the canteen is made and provided by an local cafe' located near the school. Bless them for providing delicious food, really made our lunch times great. Note: That local small cafe made enough food for more than 1000 students per day.
When I came to Japan I was completely culture shocked by the school meals. I remember my old school at home in Canada had you either bring your own lunch (only something that can last in your backpack for half the day) or pay crazy prices for food there. My school even cut corners and made the home ec students prepare the food, and each of them had to do it once a week. You can probably tell food made by students who didn't want to be doing labour on their only time off would not turn out that good... Not to mention the fact that some families cant afford school meals for their kids, so Japan's system not only fixes that, but underprivileged kids also get restaurant style delicious meals. That's heartwarming to know.
Middle through high school, never saw a vegetable near a school lunch. The "fruit juice" that you could get as a drink option, besides the 8oz thing of milk. Went from 10% real fruit juice, to 1% by my senior year. Late in my senior year, I learned that the salad bar. Which the teachers and lunch people kept hidden was for the students.
All those dishes and huge pots and cookers must be cleaned and sanitized after all that cooking. What a huge job!! I really respect their effort. Amazing!!
Thank you for this episode. I taught in Tokyo as an ALT for 8 years and this brings back so much memories. Makes me nostalgic for the incredible time I had living in Tokyo.
tokyozebra.com/tz Just released a new video on my Tokyo Zebra channel on what's been going on behind the scenes
tokyozebra.com/mij Watch more of my Made in Japan videos
Get 10% off with my link on Squarespace - squarespace.com/paolofromtokyo
Sinceramente eu gosto muito do Japão 🇯🇵 e também dos seus vídeos !♥️
Poderia por favor liberar as legendas para o português ?
That's amazing! Why can't they do something like this in Americaaaaaa~~~~~ 😭
@@ropro9817 sorry to make you jealous but i live in Korea and they are similar and still really good
How big diference Japan and China schools food both have lot people?
I’ve worked in Japan for 3years. (touch panel) Yatsuo, Toyama Ken way back 20years 🙂
I teach at public schools in Japan. The effort that goes into these meals is insane, and the fact students serve and clean up the food really adds to the experience. I remember my food in the US as a student barely being edible. Other places could definitely learn a thing or two from Japan. This is the ultimate long term investment, better fed kids are happier and smarter.
Same in Spain. Half of the daily menus almost made us puke.
@@gatts1989 we needed to bring our own lunch in the Netherlands, mostly it is bread with peanut butter. But after a half a day being it in your backpack it's dry and just gross, and it's almost the same. Nonetheless, that isn't the main problem because of this system there were kids with nothing to eat because they were less fortunate and had less money, of course you share, but that isn't the solution. We need to learn from Japan.
@@gatts1989 I lived in spain for a few years when I was younger, can confirm school food is not correct
US school lunches help ensure they will contribute to BIG medical system PROFITS throughout their lives
Gluttony is what defines the power-brokers of America. The US governments have let literal mountains of decent foods go to waste rather than donate them to starving communities around the world because they haven't had buyers for them.
I'm Japanese, but the most fun part of school was school lunch lol. They make it with good nutrition and balance. It also offers different meals all year round. So I never get tired of it. Adults say "I miss school lunch" lol
Also, many schools are not built in big factories like video. There is a factory in the school.
Y'all are living in 3022. Anyways, I like how there is a care for children to eat quality,, decent foods, work ethics and committed it's amazing
@@うゆ-n4y3c Ah so this and the workers would be at the school at the same time you guys are doing classes?
Balance diet is a lie made up from the Western country, particularly the USA.
@@Salmon_Toastie Yes! By noon, we will make about 800 "school meals" by noon (although the number varies greatly depending on the school). Then they put it on a wagon and bring it to the front of the classroom! Most schools do!
They never half ass/cut corners with anything and truly value their youth. I’ve worked in restaurants in NYC my whole life and this kitchen is cleaner than Michelin star restaurants 🤯 The workers all take pride in their work, loved this video
I've worked in restaurants, catering businesses, hotel and high end senior living facilities. You're not lying. This is the cleanest kitchen I've ever seen. They're crushing it over there.
@@stephenletica7160 then again they are rated buy a tire company. Honestly the restaurant business in the us is a joke
@@kiddankula5480 Haha That is a good joke. That cant possibly be true. Michelin tires only shares a name with the stars, they arent the same company Haha
-does an internet to make sure-
Haaaa.... WAIT WHAT? Thats freaking WEIRD
TIL: michelin stars are awarded by the tire company
@@LeonardGreenpaw tire man looks like a yummy marshmallow
Well restaurant kitchens usually cook more than one type of food and made by order, it's harder to stay clean when it's not a single production line. Even McDonald's are cleaner just because they have an assembly line
I grew up on Japanese public school lunch. This is a central kitchen for several schools in this video, but my school had our own kitchen and the nutritionist who develops the menu in the school. The food was amazingly wholesome and clean everyday and I was so looking forward to it. I still remember the great smell of food we feel when it’s closer to the lunch time. I was surprised to learn that what I thought was normal might be in fact not so quite common from western point of view
its ok as long as you enjoyed it and you have positive memories. :)
Absolutely! I don't know of a single school in the US that has public systems like this. Once you get to high school, some schools used to offer "Home Economics" which was how to be a housewife, balance a checkbook, and cook (prob don't offer this anymore) I took it in the mid-nineties, and the class was basically all cooking. It was amazing, and some of the best food. So, yeah, it's definitely not normal or even a thing in the US, and from the comments, doesn't seem common in other countries either. Absolutely should be. It's a great way to look at it "food Education".
Oh, and in the US, school lunch isn't free. I mean, it may be subsidized for low-income families, making it free or cheaper than the standard price, but no meals are just included. They call it "hot lunch" from the school system. It's usually pretty poor quality stuff, and not necessarily healthy (like milk, chicken nuggets, fries, pizza, maybe some frozen green bean or applesauce) when you get outside of the premade items, that's when food usually gets almost inedible (like when they make lasagna or stews from "scratch"), it becomes like hospital food or worse. Also depending on what the income in the area is like (i lived in a "rich" town, but was middle class) if you do get hot lunch, it's a sign that you're poor or less than to the other kids. Seems so stupid now, but definitely would be ridiculed and mocked if you got hot lunch past grade school.
私も小学校と中学校は給食室が完備してあり、パンとご飯と牛乳だけ外注で、それ以外の献立は学校の給食室で作られてました。毎月給食の献立表をもらい、好きな献立がある日は給食が楽しみでした。
高校に入ると、給食は無く、お弁当を自分で作ってそれをお昼に食べていました。
@@James-gf2ph In the summer of 2021, California became the first US state to offer its school students free breakfasts and lunches, yeay! 🙂 I wish this was the case for ALL of our states -- and that the food quality was as good as Japan's.
From the New York Times: "This summer, flush with cash from an unexpected budget surplus, California further cemented schools’ role in preventing hunger: The state became the first in the nation to provide all students free breakfast and lunch. The move, which has a $650 million annual price tag, will reduce absenteeism and nurse visits while improving learning, advocates say." -From "What to Know About California’s Free School Lunch Program," October 1, 2021
I'm food safety certified in the states, and I have to say, this facility's food safety protocols surpass the US standard by far. It's incredible the procedures they have in place to prevent cross-contamination, especially the airlock they create when receiving. I'm sure they also have a strict wellness check for employees. They understand that children don't have as strong immune systems as adults and take steps to minimize risk. It's fascinating.
Absolutely!!!
Yeah literally nobody cares.
@@HaggisMuncher-69-420 I do :)
@@HaggisMuncher-69-420 But Keyboard Warriors like u do.
Every aspect of Japan surpasses America. Japan focuses on elevating all its citizens because they understand that the youth are the future. America only elevates a small elite class. America believes their system of ensuring only a privileged elect are educated and enriched while everyone else wallows in poverty & debt is the right way. This is why America is falling behind in so many areas and Japan isn’t. I lived in Japan & I loved it.
Wow, the food looks genuinely appetizing compared to the school lunch I grew up on
Love how you stole someone’s comment 🤣
@@NemesisFromResidentEvil This is a pretty typical common sense comment and this is really relatable to a lot of people.
Can't really consider this stealing lmao
@@MrD3STR03R My Google Chrome extension shows someone making the exact same comment before LMAO
YOU GUYS GET SCHOOL LUNCHES!!?
@@NemesisFromResidentEvil That's exactly my point, that's not surprising
I teach at a Japanese school and even teachers get to have school lunch! They’re super tasty, and this video has made me appreciate them even more! 😁
Lucky! At my school no one even wants to touch the school lunch.
@@Xumal they just touch the students instead
Hi want to ask what happens when a kid has dietary restrictions like allergies to certain type of food?
They will take it in to consideration i belive and have food for the student with restrictions.
are you japanese ?
My biggest takeaway from this video is that the Japanese truly care about and prioritize their kids' health and well-being as well as their food education. American lunches have improved since I was a kid, but this absolutely blows our school lunches out of the water. So impressive. This is a perfect example of how things should be done.
yeah in US it's about optimizing profit first, then doing the absolute minimum to keep it going without getting into trouble with the very minimal regulations that do exist, you know, free markets and stuff
I feel like, if anything, the school lunches have gotten worse in the US. My elementary school aged sister flat out said she’d rather go hungry than eat school lunches.
USA school sh**tings: 288
The Rest of the World togeher: 5
Well i would say you guys over there have other Problems 😂
By far Katie. This should be the standard all over.
@@SaltareObscurumI would say you made those numbers up
I am Japanese. And as a Japanese, I am very happy that this school lunch is highly appreciated. Thank you for getting to know Japan!
The Japanese are respected by us in the UK very much so, you are welcome to our country anytime, the japanese people are the nicest people, humane, friend on earth, be proud.
@@rugby3431 let's say Australia is fucked
I live in a rural area of Japan, and the way lunches are made here is a bit more…relaxed. Still, the basic principles still apply, and the end result is still great. (ALMOST always. I assume there is a little more variation in quality here than in the Tokyo area.)
One interesting bit of tradition… at least in this area, The school principal always eats lunch first. But not for the reason you might think. This practice is know as ‘DOKU-MI’, or “poison check“. As the one responsible for the safety of all of the students and staff in the school, the Principal must ensure that the food is safe for everyone else to eat.
That's fascinating!
Yeah, I imagine the procedures for making food are slightly different in different parts of the country.
The principal checking for poison is also really interesting too! It's cool how traditions like that are passed down through generations.
It's funny hearing that all rural areas are pretty much the same. I wondered if the country side folks were as anal about all of the rules as the big cities, guess you gave me the answer. Rural areas in general are known for having more laid back, not as super serious people and the major coasts/cities are typically know to have obnoxious people.
@@noticemesenpai6585 That sounds right to me.
@@noticemesenpai6585 whats anal and obnoxious about following all the rules to make sure the food for the kids is tasty, healthy and consistent?
@@brainzor777 They called people in major coastlines and cities obnoxious, not the rural towns
as an aussie, i can't believe this incredible dedication to childrens health. i wish we had this system!
I imagine something like this is impossible in Australia and America because the two countries are so ridiculously large. Grocery stores have figured a way around that though but schools seem to always be 20 years behind the curve.
There to busy pushing experimental jabs..
When it comes to kids, the Japanese need to do one thing - make more children, Their population is going to collapse.
In Australia we bring our own food so i really cant see how they could give us food like this, would kinda love it though.
@luke s I used to pour mine into the flower bed when the teacher wasn't looking. The days I had to actually drink that warm , yoghurt tasting milk made me gag
I had the chance to visit a primary school when I was in Japan and we had lunch with the students. I was pretty amazed by how organized the whole thing was and by how mature students were. Basically students are responsible for serving food to their classmates and after everyone eats, each is responsible for washing their tray and cleaning.
It looks like Japan really cares for the young generation and want to feed them food that will not only benefit them with nutrition but also prolong their lives. They even have natural deworming foods in there. As someone who grew up in the US eating frozen pizza and hot dogs that had maggots, makes me wish we had a food education here too.
Japanese kids suicide a lot because of over stress from the school
I washed dishes in Tulsa in Grade 6 to get a hot meal. There was no way my parents were in any position to cash me up for food. But each state/province/canton is a different world. The biggest food crime in the USA is PROCESSED fake food AND the weight it puts on Americans by their own Corporations. And that's in your whole life, not just school kids.
Biden fault!!!
Biden fault!!!
Did it actually have maggots in it?
I'm seriously impressed. The amount of work that goes into providing fresh and healthy food shouldn't be underestimated. Kudos to the workers!
I used to teach part-time in a Japanese elementary school and lunch is something I would really look forward to. The cost was roughly $2 and it’s hot and complete with veggies and protein. Before serving lunch to the kids, they would explain (older kids (5th&6th graders through PA system) where the veggies came from and some trivia about the food (something interesting from the prefecture it came from). Sometimes, local farmers would visit and ask the students what they think of the fruit/vegetables and explain why it’s juicy or sweet… so the kids learn to appreciate fresh and good quality produce. Nothing goes to waste too, because the kids would do janken (rock paper scissors) and whoever wins will get the extra fruit dessert/yogurt/bottled milk. I only went there twice a week, and my former colleagues who work there full-time would sometimes bring their own lunch because there will be times the menu will repeat ☺️
Wow. The idea he explained of giving kids healthy food so they’ll grow up to subconsciously always eat healthy and well prepared food is a crazy thought given what I ate in American schools. I know it’s not on any fault of the staff but the governments outlook on education. This food looks incredible.
Oh, there are elected officials and parents who can take the blame. Michelle Obama was trying to get our schools to adopt healthier lunches. Somehow she was worse than Hitler and trying to indoctrinate our children.
No, it is the fault of food supply companies who lobby congress.
It's funny because if I remember correctly prisoners in America eat better because their food is required to be nutritionally balanced as opposed to schools
@@RayneGrimm1 that's a myth. prisoners get garbage as well.
@@RayneGrimm1 I've been in the public school system and prison system, the food is similar but significantly worse in jail. The food in public schools depends on the money of the district. My neighbor was the food director for our school and he was who decided who to buy the food from/what meals we got. The food manufacturers held conventions. The one I attended had a big Star Wars (prequels) give away and tastings of their foods. The guy didn't go into contract/buy any of their stuff (it was all amazing) because our school district was poor, but he continued to go to the cons because they were fun 😂
Got used to eating homecooked meals and eating in the cafeteria. Gotta say these school lunches look more delicious when you see how they were made.
Remember, for many kids, the school lunch is the only time in the day where a kid can have a full balanced meal. Japan and the US knows this but only one is doing something about it
so true
Why you guys talking about the US so much talk about Canada or the UK their shit is same as the US
Sadly one of those countries has a way higher percentage of kids that aren't getting fully balanced meals, I'll let you guess which one
@@davon6704 the US sucks
@@Heyim18bro ikr, Japan has to do more to feed its people
This is absolutely outstanding.
Everyone work unanimously to ensure the work gets done AND the children are well taken care of through the nutrition.
One thing I’ve noticed is that almost every worker that has been interviewed in this channel stays with the company for years, that’s commitment and loyalty.
I love this nation I live in, and I’m thankful for it but we have big strides to make.
When I taught in Japan, school lunch was probably my most nutritious meal each day. I looked forward to it. I got to visit the center and was surprised how they made exact portions for each class in each school on time each day.
@@missplainjane3905 Of course Japan is an advanced country. What type of question is that 😂?
It is the same in South Korea when I taught there in 2002. After teaching a few kindergarten classes, I got to eat the school lunch with the students. Nothing too fancy, but good, simple soup, rice some meat some kimchi - good plain food, and healthy!
@@missplainjane3905 1) Japan is the most technologically developed nation according to worldpopulationreview. Due to its relatively low landmass that has to support large populations and megacities, efficiency is optimised and there is high consistency. There are some aspects it lags behind but that mainly pertains to its culture, like still using fax machines or (depending where you are) stores not accepting card.
2) My personal rating of Japan is an 8. Stay away from black companies, find a good stable workplace and this will be a 9. If you're just going to Japan for a holiday, it goes up to a 9.5. However, being able to speak Japanese will greatly improve your appreciation of the country's culture and everything it has to offer so living there can also offer a different perspective than visiting and seeing it strictly in its good lights.
3) Japanese people are polite, but not just polite for the sake of manners. The culture of being polite has reinforced a subconscious kindness in everyone. Japanese people have high work ethic but this means the work culture can become toxic, especially in black companies. Some restaurants don't allow gaijins (foreigners) to enter but they are relatively rare. All the megacities have experienced many foreign tourists so it's not like you're the first foreigner people have seen. Overall, Japanese people are, in my opinion, the most well-balanced people I know that priorities harmony over conflict. However, many people (in professional settings) behave too reserved instead of pointing out things directly. If you go to Okinawa, this is like the best of both worlds. The Japanese people there are not just kind and polite, but they are also overwhelmingly friendly and outgoing. It's less advanced though.
4) Modern, cultural, beautiful.
@@missplainjane3905 you seem to want to live there 😂
@@missplainjane3905 the thing that stands out the most is they have had a long history of exacting ritual. So the precision and consistency with which they perform everything is better than anything I have seen anywhere. Like yhe best McDonald's or pizza or coffee I've ever had is in Japan. Everybody just follows the recipe to a T.
The downside is the things a Japanese person can take don't translate outside. Like the crazy number of steps in a software program might be fine in Japan but Americans will get fed up with it. Their technical hardware is world class but American software is better. This was to answer your tech question. First world but in a different way
The preparation plus sanitation is extremely impressive, cleanest kitchen I’ve ever seen plus the nutritional value the kids get, awesome, USA need to step up its game, plus I’ve seen clips with smaller schools and the kids prepare, cook, serve and clean their own food daily in japan at school ,very nutritional at that, all well behaved and polite I noticed, 👍
im a bit skeptical. Homie was definitely given special access on a specific day where everybody was probably notified and on top of everything. And this was probably the most advanced meal they will do just to show off.
@jake's opinion
While that may be true I have seen videos of students in the classroom and cafeteria eating great meals, even if there not all that fancy.
@@lolmouf This would be true of everywhere but Japan. They really just do things differently there in many ways. You should see their moving companies.
@@lolmouf
As a japanese eating these type of lunches when i was a kid almost Everyday, i can assure you that this is how lunches are prepared everyday.
It might vary a little, but it is how it's shown in the video.
Japan is known for it's consistency.
@@lolmouf It's actually a typical Japanese public school lunch and nothing special for Japanese. The schools I went had a huge kitchen only for school lunch in the school and we could see the staff working there everyday just as hard as the ones in this video.
Why does everything look so pristine in Japan? Never ceases to amaze me....
fr. that kitchen is immaculate.
It's for public consumption . I was in charge of a food mgf QA dept. The labs are perfect at all times yet the plant have to be completely cleaned from front to bk for USDA inspection. sanitation like that, It's for show.
You can see it by watching the video called "God of the Toilet". In Japan, there is a Shinto idea of eight million gods, and since God dwells in all things, it comes from the idea that we must keep it clean for the sake of God.
In modern times, of course, it is for hygiene.
This is why Japan is absolutely amazing! Would love to see this in every single country, food is so important for kids. This not only give kids a healthy diet, but it teaches them about food, it also help parents.
Yeah this looks a whole lot more wholesome than the depression we get in UK schools
Haha
Yeah my school in uk did mostly microwaved frozen frozen lol
Well at least you got food, lol, my poor ass country just gave us hungry. Not even free drink
I like the way tou just stole someone else's comment, go away bot.
Didn't Jamie Oliver do something about the catastrophe of school lunches in the UK or was all of that rolled back?
Teaching English in Japan, I get to experience these lunches every day! Today we had kids’ favorite, hamburg, bun and some delicious soup on the side alone with an orange. I’m always surprised with what combinations I get during lunch here!
Niceee! What program are you teaching English through, if you don't mind me asking?
hamburg looks so plain to me.
@@Will-zo7mx Absurdly late reply. Apologies. I applied through the JET Programme, I highly recommend applying through them.
@@ShinseiUK Congrats on getting in. I applied and made it to the interview stage, but didn't get accepted at the end. Do you have any tips for the interview (things to say, keywords, etc.)?
Because I am that bored and want to help you all out I made timestamps for each section!
0:00 - intro
1:45 - deliveries
2:56 - Fruits and vegtables cut and peeled
4:31 - Squarespace sponsor
5:21 - Rice steaming
7:18 - Tonjiru (soup)
8:33 - Grilled fish
9:47 - Udo no kinpira (Japanese side dish)
11:02 - food carts loaded
11:38 - outro and Paolo tries the lunch!
Edit: thank you for the comments and likes! It means so much to me!
Well thanks🤍
@@gorillachilla you don’t have to be like that
Thanks
Thanking people for likes. So cringe
Omg thx very much! It's really helpful
7:15 Omg, you can see how much that man works everyday and how hard it is to work with food. Nothing but respect for these people.
Truth
I think they are just old.
And what do you mean by *these people*
@@quickdrawcowboy pretty sure they mean the workers? Don’t be weird
@@arcan762they aren’t old lmao. They’re between 25-40…..
This should be adopted as standard all over the world! Such nice food and video! Thank you Paolo and thank you Japan because you are doing it right.
Japan has such a small population so this is easy to do and smaller school systems
@@bananapuffs1 11th in the world with over 120,000,000 is not a small population
@@bananapuffs1 You mean its a small country with a large population lol its 1.5x landmass the size of New Zealand and has 25 times the population
Also if im right Both countries produce enough food to feed about 40 to 50 million per year.. one has 5mil pop the other 125mil
You should go back to elementary bro
@@bananapuffs1 WTF 🤣😭 is this a Troll Post? Also your Post Makes no Sense at all. Then the USA just Has it to make for Every State or Disctric etc. WTF 😭
But lets look at this
USA school sh**tings: 288
Rest of the World togehter: 5
I guess That says it all….
I live in London. My husband is the Head Chef in a school that provides its students healthy lunches, pre-approved by a certified dietician. They have a bi-weekly menu with either a meat, seafood or vegetarian option for main, and salad to accompany every meal. He and his team come in at 7am every morning to prepare everything onsite from scratch, from pasta to sushi. They also introduce dishes from around the world. Twice a week he also teaches practical lessons, such as knife skills or making a particular dish. I am incredibly proud of him and envious of his students, as I ate alphabetti spaghetti, smiley faces and jelly with custard at school.
That’s it I’m moving is his school looking for special education teachers ?
That's amazing! Are all schools in UK the same? Or is it just London or just his school? I'm a Japanese married to an American but we both value food education and looking for the best place to live for our future kids.
@@nerdgeekcosplay909 just checked their vacancies and unfortunately not!
@@MisakiNishidate short answer is a big fat no. Whilst schools have been making small and healthy choices since I finished 15 years ago, I recognise the example I gave is also an extreme one. You raise a good question and perhaps we can get more responses from others in the UK. For reference, my husband works at a voluntary-aided primary school in East London.
@@JM-to9dk Thank you for your reply! I'm so happy that there are some lucky kids in East london who get to eat your husband's amazing food!
I have very distinct memories of my school lunches. The vegetables were always completely unseasoned, steamed until they were disgustingly soft, and felt completely inedible. No wonder kids in my country grow up hating vegetables, because they’re never cooked to actually taste good.
Same here. The first day of kindergarten I took a nibble of the steamed carrot. It was so offensive I spat it back out immediately. The US feeds us garbage
As someone in my 30s I still have this inbuilt feat to veg (UK is also un seasoned and mostly steamed to mush) - It's exploring Asian food where veg is decently cooked that is finally slowly turning me around.
@@lukecummins5371 so true I thought I hated vegetables as a child and as an adult I’ve learned how to cook them properly and now I eat vegetables constantly and I get cravings for them
and the smell - I still remember how awful the school cafeteria smelled while serving food
Overall cooked vegetabe tastes really bad.. i prefer it raw
I went to a Japanese primary school for a few years that had its own kitchen. We had dinner ladies (for those from outside UK, this is what we call them) who cooked every lunch from scratch. Students all thanked them every day for lovely food. Never realised how fortunate we were at the time.
一人暮らしを始めて自分で作るようになってから食事の準備の大変さを知った。
マジで給食うまかったし、栄養バランスよし、毎日献立が違うとすごかった！
I might be totally wrong but it honestly looks like I would really enjoy working in that kitchen. It's so clean and they make nice fresh food and constantly switch up the menu so it wouldn't get too repetitive.
I taught English classes on contract with some public schools in Kansai. On days my lessons fell on either side of lunch, they invited me to eat lunch with them. Students selected to help (about 1/3 of the class) would go pick up the meal from the kitchen, bring it back, and serve the rest of the class. Everyone ate in the classroom. It was completely different from what I remember school lunches in the US to be like. The food was fantastic and we had a great time. My kids went to Japanese public schools and were pretty disappointed with school lunches in the US after we moved here. They went from eating great Japanese quizine to US school lunches provided by the lowest bidder. My son said the other day (about US school lunch) "It's all just mystery meat and plants molded into different shapes. I bet tomorrow they stick a bone in it and call it chicken." Both my kids say that their favorite Japanese school lunch was the curry and rice. I think that was my favorite too.
Pretty sure everyone's favorite is curry rice! It's soooo delicious. But so are many others. After teaching in Japan and having school lunch, I am even more shocked by what passes for school lunch in the US.
*cuisine
Man curry rice in school was one of the best lunches you can look forward to, not that everything else isn't good
Reminds me of back when I used to smoke joints in the school bathroom
Patrick O'Meagher It's cuisine* not quizine cmmon man don't fuck English. Please!
I like that aspect about the japanese culture. everyone working hard and proud of their work giving their best every day without complaints.
Proud to be born and raised in Japan🥰 School lunch time was one of my favorite subjects in elementary school
You’re so lucky I would love to try Japanese food someday
What about middle school, high school, college?
As a gaijin-half of a mixed family that lived in Japan, I totally get your comment (as would my wife)... however... as a parent, I've also heard many complaints about how the kids don't like this, or that, or anything. The difference is that while kids are kids (and they generally find a reason to not like things), the reality is the lunches are at least healthy and varied.... and my wife and I agree...an incredibly amazing advertisement for the value of a strong public influence over education and food.
I love that Lunch is an actual SUBJECT.
@@tl9585 Schools with school lunches serve healthy menus all the way through college.
I just appreciate the precision, consideration and passion they have doing this for the students! I lived there from 4 to 7 years old and this is how it was back then. Over 20 years ago. Love Japan! 🤗😍
You can tell Japan really cares about the children and their meals. Where I’m from if a child doesn’t have money for lunch they get a bag lunch that consists of cheese/peanuts butter crackers (6 pieces) and water. Sometimes if they are lucky a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with milk will be given to them
Well at least you're lucky kids get something... while Australia is generally known as a socially-aware country (not socialist) - we have the un-spoken rule not to interfere with kids lunches... despite the lobby groups making parents to feel guilty about providing ANY lunch. If a child comes to school here without a lunch... tough luck. Or at best, if they were actually expecting a bought lunch that didn't turn up... they were given the crappiest/most boring lunch the cafeteria had, and the parents automatically charged (as punishment). The fact is - we have very little concept of how eating is actually a part of schooling here in Australia... and what we do have is wrapped up in a sort of judgemental layer of blame, that I can imagine a lot of parents of lesser-means might actually feel degraded and embarrassed - which in turn gets passed on to their kids. Good eating (as a school child) should be a universal right.
The schools where I grew up in Canada don't even have cafeterias. Kids always brought lunch from home and we had the odd hot lunch like pizza day. A jam sandwich (no peanuts allowed in school) and crackers was a normal school lunch 😅.
did you miss the part where you have to pay $30 a month for this?
@@andreea7458 First off - no one in the comment chain you replied to said it was free. Secondly, $30 a month is bascially free (compared to any other school provided meal). That's the point - it's not that it's "free" - it's a comparative statement. About $1-$1.30 per day is effectively free when talking about school provided lunch (the good variety).
Also - I am not saying if you're struggling to buy children lunch that this is a derogatory comment - just that even if you home-make lunches it would be difficult to provide the variety and healthiness for that price.
@@andreea7458 so? it is better to pay that and get decent food than the us garbage
I grew up in the 90s in New Jersey and our lunches were typically a rectangle of Ellios pizza, french fries, maybe 1/4 cup of salad/veggies and a chocolate milk. An you had to pay $1.50 for it. If you couldn't pay, you get a PB&J and a normal milk.
Seeing this is insane, and is making me hungry.
These meals are way much healthier than what they serve here in the United States. I wish that our kids will be able to experience and appreciate healthy and delicious food in their schools too. The work and dedication put into the preparation is just amazing!
No too mention how they’re served as well. Look at the precautions even taken in place. Covered head to toe literally have a airlock etc. my college cafeteria kids would wear their outside clothes dirty crocs while serving their food. It’s American culture why school food is the way it is
Guns are much healthier lol
Unfortunately, school lunches are merely a reflection of the way kids eat at home. Processed foods and sugary drinks. Parents who don’t feed their kids this way at home don’t allow them to eat like that in school and send them with their own lunches.
@@winter_s_44 Sometimes it's also due to not being able to afford it, regardless students should be able to at least have a good meal at school
@@rottingravensblood9106 nah, that'd be an insult to prison food.
I used to work in the catering department of a major airline (as admin, but taking clients on tours of the kitchen was part of my job), and it fascinates me on how similar the operations are, especially with all the manual prep of the fresh produce. The main difference I see is that airline food is chilled to almost freezing after it's been made because it can be many hours before it gets on a plane (this prevents the food from staying too long in the "Goldilocks zone" temperature of bacteria growth).
Seeing these operations gives me an appreciation for those who work hard to give us food that's fresh and healthy.
I always see these on Reddit when someone in the US gets served a horrid meal for lunch at school, it gets this comparison. As always, you can see the dedication and how serious Japan takes health and education as an important part of their food culture. Excellent as always! ☝️
The sanitary precautions are amazing
The food in Japan was delicious, and even something as simple as a school lunch is making me crave Japanese food again.
Some day, I hope soon, I will go back, and I will eat everything. Beautiful country, amazing culture and delicious food!
"And I will eat everything"
Terrifying sentence..
@@johnnycripplestar5167 Sorry, can't help it. It's the circle of life... In food form. If it is edible, I will eat it (exceptions apply).
@@BakaTaco oh ok, I thought you were literally gonna eat everything.
@@johnnycripplestar5167 I would never eat people. Probably...
Nah, on a serious note, I love Japanese food and could pretty easily survive off of it, that's what I was trying to say.
@TheRoswellCrash For sure!
To be honest, I would have added that, but I don't want people to think I'm a weeb or something for saying "I love Japan, I love the food, the people, so on!". That's not me, I just appreciate Japan as a country, and MANY of the things it has to offer, including, yes, the people!
It's a beautiful place, for many reasons.
That looks so good. In America we geh cardboard “pizza”, unseasoned fries, expired milk and rotten apples most of the time. I don’t miss school lunch
Your country is poor. Can't expect the govt to support to feed you. Grow you food and eat
@@petrichor259 Shut up you troglodyte. The country was least of poor it was politicians that ruined literally what we ate by banning transfats.
@@petrichor259 You don’t think, do you? Not everyone has the means of growing their own food
@@fenty2945 Then try? Agriculture is important for ALL countries
I feel bad for yall. I could never eat that kind of school lunch for a year. Growing up southeast asian, we're used to homecooked meals or freshly cooked meals in the canteen for lunch.
I just want to say, IT IS WAY BETTER THEN AMERICAN SCHOOL LUNCHES.
That is so fresh that it puts American School food to shame. I'm like really to shame. One time we only had sandwiches for lunch. But watching this puts it on a whole new level.
The best part is that the place is so clean, If it is clean like this every day. That is awesome.
Hell, I pay the $32 dollars for a good school lunch like that.
Agree. Even puts private schools to shame here.
because we are more worried about crt, teaching oppression, and teachers telling students they are trans, etc..
school lunches in american public schools are extremely poor. students could literally eat doritos with nacho-cheese product poured on them every day if they wanted...hot trash
The fact that they care about the taste and quality, even if the food is served to kids. The "food education' part is what make kids want to eat vegetables and not be picky eaters. It leads them to live a healthier lifestyle and not have all these conditions caused by unhealthy diets.
You would be appalled to see how the american school lunches are prepared. Between the quality of food and hygiene it's a nightmare
As a Japanese who grown up with Japanese school lunch and currently live in the US, the shokuiku (eating education) is definitely helping me. Yes sometimes i crave some unbalanced food but, i usually cook balanced food because that's what I want to eat. My body remember that they taste way better than greasy food. I really appreciate the system.
Japan is an amazing place to live I love their professionalism ,cleanliness and respect with everything.
except harassing women is so normalize there
Considering this, I find it hard to understand why, when some Japanese people travel abroad, they are some of the rudest and most untidy litter scattering disrespectful tourists I've ever encountered. 🤔
@@adobongbadboy On a relative scale... they do excel at nearly everything as is. Doesn't matter that you found a fault. Bravo.
@@adobongbadboy lmao congratulations u found a fault in japan! want me to give you twenty massive libraries of books of faults of america?
@@LexGoyle get that 🍆 out yo 👄
Sure beats any school lunches I've seen in the US! Such wonderful healthy and wholesome food! Good going, Japan!
Biden fault!!
Bro I've seen so many comments about food over there what are you eating in Australia there is a canteen and you buy stuff the cheapest being 50 cents for a zooper dooper and the most expensive is like 7 dollars i yhink a preotien bowl with rice veggies and chicken with spaces and there is sushi pies suasge rolls drinks ect you mainly just bring your own good tho
@@L.a.77 republicans constantly cut funding to public schools. They e also gotten rid of free lunch for poor students in some cities.
@@L.a.77 we eat dry expired dirty food over here in the US
@@L.a.77 same my school lunch are garbage I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and somehow they fuck that up the peanut butter was crusty and the bread was like Leather
I loved this! I've seen rural Japanese school lunches made before, and it's very nice to see the high quality shown by a larger production line. I think the Japanese government is very clever to have instituted healthy nutrition early and consistently. Not to mention, the food looks utterly delicious.
I’m super jealous! They get fresh local fruits and veggies in their lunch. Not only that but the kids are getting a balanced meal and it actually looks delicious.
this is actually amazing, i respect japan and their culture so much.
We have the same system in Sweden. I know that some schools make their own food and from experience, the schools that cooks their own food has the best food. In Sweden we always have a salad bar so that we could get vegetables to the food. We ate typical Swedish food like panfryed fish with potato and a cold sauce that were so good! Spagetti bolognese, mashed potato's with meatballs and brown sauce. We never got fast food but the food was often very tasteless. It´s almost 15 years ago that I graduated from high school so many a lot has changed. Loved this video as always.
I get the impression that the Nordic countries have similar social values, and also prioritize education and health
3:56 That's the exact opposite of my High school, where you can choose between Meal no. 1 (which usually consists of Mystery-Meat and gray goo) or Meal No. 2 (which usually also consists of more Mystery "Fish" and more goo).
Most of us end up bringing their own lunch.
Japan is one of the most cleanest places to visit so I’m not surprised to see that their public school foods are held to a higher standard as well. I wanna go back..
A lot of countries can learn from this, the food looks great. Quality food and education might go a long way to explaining why I saw very little obesity in Japan. Unlike some other countries where fried fast foods and no variety seems to be the norm.
Not just obesity, nutritious food is good for general well being and learning abilities.
We only care about the pre born, anything after that you're SoL.
the problem with this is the kids and their parents don't get a choice.
@@yoshiegg6537 That’s a lie, parents and kids have a choice by preparing food early before school. Especially kids where they have opportunities to learn from their parents, peers or internet.
But they are conditioned to be dependent and lazy, especially children who would rather be on social media trying to earn clout or play games all day.
I worry for the USAs future for a number of reasons. Our schools simply cannot complete with this level. Over time it's showing, and will continue to show.
Never thought I'd be craving school cafeteria food. Looks delicious!
The one high school I went to had real food like this everyday, maybe not this intense, but it wasn’t frozen garbage. The difference was so amazing and I actually bought school lunch versus what is normally here in America. If they did it everywhere it would improve so many students diets and might be the biggest health initiative in the US.
@Chickens and Gardening I washed dishes in Tulsa in Grade 6 to get a hot meal. I remember the fresh hot corn bread with cream corn on top!!! 1963!!
@Chickens and Gardening Sounds like a lot of fat and cholesterol. I mean yeah, maybe tasty, but probably contributes massively to the Southern states' populations (besides Florida, which is mostly healthy-looking people) being shown as examples of stereotypical fat Americans.
It's amazing that not only are these school lunches nutritionally balanced and delicious, you can actually cook almost all of these recipes at home as the ingredients are locally sourced. Most impressive!
Food here looks like the chefs have put so much effort in to it and so much care! I love this!💗
My dad was in the military so we got station to Okinawa (Japan) for 3 years. Our school was on base, but our school would go on field trips to other Japanese schools, and what an experience that was!
This is really interesting to watch.
I grew up in an Australian public primary school, where you could bring your own lunch or pre-order food at the school canteen which was prepared elsewhere and sent to the school before lunchtime and collected by each classroom. About $4-5 AUD for some lasagna or sausage rolls which tasted like microwaved supermarket food (which was alright), but only one item and not very good nutrition wise.
I went on to a private high school and there we had an on-campus canteen with around 4 staff members working for ~400 students. We could elect to bring our own lunches or purchase made meals. It was around $7 for a burger/pasta/risotto/Caesar salad/etc. It was much better tasting but only one main dish. Of course, you could always elect to add a muffin or yoghurt for $3 extra. On top of that, if the canteen miscalculated the amount of students who would order that day, they would run out of meals and if you were late you’d just have to settle for a muffin.
I also went to a Chinese high school to study for a few years. I was in the international department but we had shared canteens with the local division. There were 2 on-campus canteens with about 12 food openings, each carrying a slight difference of food items. All of the ~1800 students were required to eat on campus, of which ~1500 lived on campus as well and that meant 3 meals per day. I never knew how many staff there were but each food opening had a staff who handed out food. We had a card where we topped up money and used when we order. The staff giving out food calculated the price and deducted it from our card. ¥6-7 for rice + 2 kinds of vegetables, ¥9-11 total for an additional meat dish. You could pick the veggies and meat dish you wanted out of the selection at each food opening, and could buy extra if desired. There was also things like premium curry rice for ¥15, and all the soup were free (although bland). For breakfast, there was also dumplings and gyoza etc. We would occasionally find snails and weird particles in the vegetable dishes, due to unthorough cleaning, but that was the only downside. The food was quite tasty, especially taking into account the price. It was 1AUD : 6Yuan when I studied there.
Just an interesting perspective to look at compared to Japanese lunch, and how each country handles and values it differently.
Japanese meals are unbeatable nutrition wise.
You wrote more info than I wrote on my project for school about this video
Yeah the Chinese schools care quite a bit about nutrition too. It's also thanks to communist era canteens being part of the culture for so long. Even today you'll find companies in China that features these company canteens for their workers. Schools are of course, no exception. It's all part of that old school habit of communal work and living.
That’s a very long comment.
@Ibrahim And Youssef Some parents don't have the time or money to get their children lunches in the morning or to get fresh food every week. It's convenient for many.
US public school REALLY need to learn A lot from this meal system! Please let kids taste the vegetable’s amazing and share the duty of serving and clean up!
Things I learned in this video:
Contrary to anime cliche, not every single kid is bringing bento from home
Japan actually serves fresh food to students made from outside of school property and delivered for lunch
Japan's food education system (shokuiku) is yet another reason for me to love Japan
Depends on school district tbh.
A wealthy district can afford it, the boonies? Not so much
elementary school provides school lunch, we only bring bento on special days.
For middle school and high school, usually we bring bento as they don't provide kyusyoku.
SOY JAPAN!!
As a child living their is much fun with beautiful environment,food,sports but as an adult is hell life where you have to work 12-14hrs a day with no life and always have to be in discipline,punctual that's not much of a living
Also alot of the anime is written many years ago, so school lunch like this was way less populare, and Bentos are more common among highschoolers (which most of the anime are from) That includes the authors being way much older too, so their perception of school is quite the difference to what it is today.
Elementary school in japan has a pretty huge gap when it comes to food too.
So different from Singapore, here, the students buy their own lunches in the school cafeteria.
But there are always so many stalls to choose from and it’s also cheaper than meals outside school.
They probably have a contract where some aspects are subsidized, like rent. It cuts down on costs, and schools can ask the caterer to pass some of the savings on to the students.
same with malaysia.
Eat nasi lemak chicken drumstick and Hokkian noodles everyday 💅🏻
Same in here in the Philippines, cafeteria is the norm, different stall of food and mostly not well balance nutrition
However the food sold at the school cafeteria or school canteen is not as healthy as those served in Japan…. There is no balance diet
Unbelievable how they maintane to keep the kitchen that clean!!!!! This is probably the most clean kitchen I've seen in my whole life...not even a single trash on the floor...THIS IS INSANE!!!!
Kitchen needs to be clean or you risk making 20,000 kids sick...
Those meals look delicious and I appreciate all the effort that goes into them.
In my school back in the 90s, parents could volunteer to cook for us kids, and there was either not enough food because it was so delicious, or it tasted so yucky that we couldn't finish our plate.
I was lucky tough, we lived close to school so I could enjoy granny's cooking every day. 🌟
The schools i went to in my teen years didn’t even have a consistent lunch plan each year. Also i never had free lunch, always had to pay full price because only poverty stricken kids had that option, which had to be in writing before the school year started.
Besides that every time i see a video like this, i feel like the workers actually care and like their job. I never hear many complaints. I love that.😊
Fun fact, a lot of these control systems are also used in the pharmaceutical industry to ensure product quality. Japan is really on another level.
Ohhh man I’m so jealous ..though its a reward for all that hard work. I wish every country could do this. Makes this 38 year old so hungry lol great job Japan 👍🏻
I can't imagine how better off the USA or even Canada would be if school lunches were taken this seriously. We would probably see much better results academically, socially, and mentally with this kind of program.
And healthier kids with better eating habits.
The problem is that the people that run the countries don’t give a shit about the school or the kids, it’s so sad.
i was just thinking this. The school i went to didn't have any free lunch program lol. it was either pony up 10 bucks for a small carton of chocolate milk and some garbage cheese burger or bring your own lunch. welcome to canada.
But then Big Pharma could not make money off of them
But that would be communism! /s
The amount of effort and planning they put into educating and providing their kids with nutritious meals daily is something every country should aspire to emulate. Seriously! Great work.
I am so impressed with the fresh healthy ingredients used for their daily lunch meals. Nice to see no french fries or junk food being served.With my observation, the employees all appear very happy working in this environment.Happy employees, make good enjoyable meals for the students. Paolo, another excellent video!💞💜❤️🎯👍
Japan cares about their kids that's for sure.. NO chemicals or pesticides used....amazing we can learn so much from their techniques here in the states.
Shokuiku sounds like the perfect way to give kids a good solid foundation of food from an early age. The west could learn a lot from this! Thanks for sharing!
What a great tour! I’ve always heard that Japanese school lunches were good but seeing it on video really hits it home. I’d love to eat lunch like a Japanese school kid every day.
Outside of everything else, one of the aspects that impressed me most was how clean the factory is. The floor was spotless.
@@gorillachilla that is unbelievable racist
Very interesting video and especially since our Grandson is a teacher over there at the grade schools I believe. He learned to speak Japanese here in The States and then went to Japan to teach the kids English to the ones that asked for it. Thanks for all your work on these videos and now I am a subscriber and see all your videos.
Working in schools all over my prefecture ( Kumamoto ) in Japan, from elementary, to junior and senior high schools. I’ve had the pleasure, and opportunity to try all the different lunches available. In the 25 years & close to 30,000 children I’ve taught, I have yet to meet a child that does not like their school lunches. It’s pretty much a different lunch every day, and obviously each child has a favorite, yet still like all the others.
This is something about Japan that I've always admired and respected. These meals look very good and very healthy as well, I've spoken up at school board meetings here in my town about this before but they just laugh it off asking who's going to pay for it? They dont understand how easily this can be to achieve and how sustainable you can make it if you grow most of the ingredients locally or at the schools. And imagine the jobs we could create with it too! But unfortunately the US pulls funding for schools to the point they are practically bare bones in terms of staff, and lord forbid we actually take care of our children.
Honestly, no one blinks an eye. Then police are threatened to be defunded and there's people taking over the capital... Schools have been getting defunded for years!
I definitely admire what the Japanese have done in this area but I think aside from funding it (sidenote, I think we can by cutting some of the fat such as administrative pay which is absurdly high in general) the real problem is gonna be work ethic. In general the work ethic in the United States is just a heaping pile of trash compared to what is the norm in Japanese culture. I mean we have folks in our current cafeterias complaining how overworked they are just making trash. Imagine their complaints at having to prepare fresh high quality meals like a restaurant.
Watch Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution (US version). School boards are corrupt from top to bottom when it comes to food, the only priority is profit and kickbacks. That's why everything is frozen, school staff don't cook anything, sugar is added to everything and things like french fries and ketchup are classified as vegetables.
i live in canada and there is sometimes school lunches available but they are incredibly expensive and dont taste that good..
what they are doing in japan amazes me and it really looks so good and nutritous, if i had the same at my school then i would certainly never miss a single day of school for fear of missing out on such a great meal!
I used to go to Angleton high school. in Angleton tx. we had a chick fila. All they sold was the original sandwich. and a pizza hut. before I left it had a police station and credit union to help you how to bank and save money.
I used to work in the kitchen at my school! Sorting silverware and stacking trays filling water buckets to clean the tables afterwards
I started by handing out fruit cups and pb&j's to the kids and then worked in dish washing the rest of the year. I just got out, and am currently between jobs.
One rather interesting tidbit with the variety they need to offer at schools is that you end up with some rather unique lunches (from a western perspective anyway). As an example the schools I teach at will serve stir fried liver and chicken or natto main courses on occasion, and they are rather divisive among the students. That said because of the way the students are taught about food and the general food culture in Japan, even if the kids don't like the food they still learn to eat it and appreciate it for what it is. Its really in stark contrast to what I remember from back home in America, where even if we got a good lunch the majority of kids would just throw the food they didn't like away. I can remember so many occasions of garbage cans full of vegetable medleys from those days.
Hey, the stir fried liver is pretty dope back here in eastern european countries like hungary as well. while western european countries even label is as dogfood (no joke, saw it in belgium for example, chicken liver sold as meat ''thrash''') it baffles me, add some garlic and onions, serve with bread...
@@Zub_Sero coming from America liver is something that would mostly get tagged as a food for old people/ foreign people/ just generally not most people so I would absolutely believe it. Its really not that bad either (though it does take some adjusting).
Food waste is way too popular in US schools, been in several lunch time with my kids, looks the kids were taught if they put food into recycling can, it’s not waste…..so sad! Definitely admire Japanese style of making it a learning life course! Which is more important than reading and math in my opinion.
When we say "Itadaki-masu" to eat in Japan, we thank the food itself, thank the people who made the food, vegetables, animals, and other living things. I take it away and maintain my health. He says "Thank you" because of his gratitude for such creatures.
In defense of american children throwing away vegetable medley. Those are probably from a can thats like 2 years old and are nothing but boiled mildly salted mush.
.... At least thats what my memory was
I have many happy memories at lunch time in my school days yet I didn’t know how they devoted themselves to cook.I appreciate their efforts.Thank you, Paolo!
The Japanese school lunch system should be designed as a national treasure! 国宝
@@Jordan-inJapan Arigatou!
I love that they focus on balance. School lunches at my schools were relatively ok. They weren't too bad, but they did lack balance. Call me wacky, but it's such a joy to watch them work. The precision is awesome. In the states some places just slop it together. It's a shame.
This is absolutely amazing. Showing the world how it should be done yet again!
Japan, they offer so much atention to small things wich really makes the difference, so clean... Just a big wow.
"The rice is free of pesticid... and fruit are coming from local farmers wich..."
Amazing, just amazing.
It's amazing to see that food and nutrition for school lunches are treated with such care, and is considered a top priority!
That was really interesting, usually when I watch how giant portions of food is prepared I find it disgusting, but here everything looked so well prepared and good quality it made me enjoy it and would love to try some of it myself!
Amazing how efficient the workers are and the consistency as well. Looks like very complicated system that runs very smoothly.
I went to a very small rural public school in the US with an amazing cafeteria. Almost 30 years after graduation I find myself craving some of the things from there. Students helped serve and clean up, and in middle school health class we got a chance to plan the menu for a day as part of the nutrition unit. Alas, this is way back when schools were actually properly funded.
I bet there is a big difference by location .
If there's anything we need in America its a different approach to food from a young age. Food education here is so needed. So nice to see how much Japan invests in its future.
Outstanding! Cheers to the workers keeping the children fed with healthy food!
Pretty great food. As a kid in the US, ours was always frozen protein and vegetables from a can.
and still is so my kids dont eat it.
@@ivettesantana4319 At the school I used to work at, lunch is done as a pattern meal, using all USDA certified ingredients, and following the "Healthy Plate" plan. I think school lunches are a hit and miss thing according to wherever you are, which is a real shame, because all children deserve a healthy and nutritious meal at least once a day, even if they don't always get one at home.
When I went to school, the food in the canteen is made and provided by an local cafe' located near the school. Bless them for providing delicious food, really made our lunch times great.
Note: That local small cafe made enough food for more than 1000 students per day.
When I came to Japan I was completely culture shocked by the school meals. I remember my old school at home in Canada had you either bring your own lunch (only something that can last in your backpack for half the day) or pay crazy prices for food there. My school even cut corners and made the home ec students prepare the food, and each of them had to do it once a week. You can probably tell food made by students who didn't want to be doing labour on their only time off would not turn out that good... Not to mention the fact that some families cant afford school meals for their kids, so Japan's system not only fixes that, but underprivileged kids also get restaurant style delicious meals. That's heartwarming to know.
new york city gives free food in all schools to all kids. 100% free. two meals a day to boot. breakfast and lunch
Kick whites out
Middle through high school, never saw a vegetable near a school lunch. The "fruit juice" that you could get as a drink option, besides the 8oz thing of milk. Went from 10% real fruit juice, to 1% by my senior year.
Late in my senior year, I learned that the salad bar. Which the teachers and lunch people kept hidden was for the students.
They hid it???
@@amastercuber3738 yeah same at my school. They made it hard to get to so they could enjoy it themselves even though it was for a all of us
All those dishes and huge pots and cookers must be cleaned and sanitized after all that cooking. What a huge job!! I really respect their effort. Amazing!!
Thank you for this episode. I taught in Tokyo as an ALT for 8 years and this brings back so much memories. Makes me nostalgic for the incredible time I had living in Tokyo.