The randoseru
The randoseru is a stiff, box-shaped backpack, usually made of leather or synthetic leather, built to last all six years of elementary school and to fit A4 files. Red for girls and black for boys was once the rule, but today they come in every colour.
They are often a gift from grandparents. Shopping for one even has a name, ran-katsu, and the season starts more than a year before school. In the Randoseru Association's 2026 survey, the average price paid was ¥62,034. Schools do not legally require one, and some now accept lighter backpacks.
The shopping list
Every child needs indoor shoes (uwabaki) and a bag for them, because outdoor shoes stay in the shoe lockers at the entrance. First-years usually wear a yellow cap or put a yellow cover on their randoseru, so drivers can see them.
Other common items are a gym kit, a simple pencil case with soft pencils (usually B or 2B) and no mechanical pencils, crayons, a tool box for the desk, a keyboard harmonica, and a math set (sansū setto) full of tiny counting blocks and cards. In some areas, children also keep a padded disaster hood (bōsai zukin) on their chair.
A name on everything
Schools ask for every item to carry the child's name, down to each crayon and each counting block in the math set. Families use name stamps, iron-on labels and stickers to keep up, and these are sold everywhere in the spring.
Junior high school
Most junior high schools have a uniform (seifuku), a school gym kit and often a set bag, all ordered through designated shops. Expect to buy them in the weeks before the April start.
Tips for families in Japan
- Wait for the school's own list before buying most items. It is usually handed out at the new-student briefing (nyūgaku setsumeikai) in January or February.
- Ask whether textbooks can be left at school (oki-ben). More schools allow it to lighten the load.
- Second-hand uniforms are often passed on through the PTA or local recycling events.
- The 100-yen shops sell most small items, including name labels.
Words you will hear
- ランドセル randoseru
- elementary school backpack
- ラン活 ran-katsu
- shopping for a randoseru
- 上履き uwabaki
- indoor shoes
- 算数セット sansū setto
- math set
- 防災頭巾 bōsai zukin
- disaster hood
- 制服 seifuku
- school uniform
See also
More on School culture
- School lunch (kyūshoku) Children serve each other a hot, nutritionist-planned lunch and eat it in the classroom.
- Cleaning time (sōji) Every day, students sweep and wipe their own classrooms, corridors and often toilets.
- School events through the year Ceremonies, sports day, school trips and festivals that mark the Japanese school year.
- Club activities (bukatsu) After-school clubs that shape junior high and high school life, and the reform moving them to the community.
Price: Japan Randoseru Association survey on randoseru purchases, 2026. Rules, costs and dates vary by city and school, so check with your local office or school.