Japanese Work Clothes for School

こんにちは。よろしくお願いします!

Winter has come, and that means winter fashion!  Yay!!

So this post is about what people wear to work when work is a Japanese public school and when it's cold.  ALT and JTE #OOTD, if you will.

ALT= Assistant Language Teacher (so usually the foreign teacher who helps teach English)

JTE= Japanese Teacher of English (usually Japanese native teachers who teach English)

OOTD= Outfit Of The Day

This post is mainly to help those who are thinking about coming to Japan to work as an ALT, like through the JET program, Interac, direct hire by a Board of Education, etc.  But I guess it's interesting just to see what people wear, too, right?

As always...
DISCLAIMER: ESID (Every Situation Is Different!)  
I actually dislike this acronym because I feel like it states the obvious.  Of course, ESID applies to working in Japan or working anywhere really.  Everyone knows you should wear a suit and tie or whatever other professional clothing that customarily matches a workplace position, but, especially for those who are new graduates or new to the working world or new to Japan's working world, we need examples!!  We want a general idea!  Some work places provide a very clear-cut dress code or even uniform to make it easier for us newbies while others don't seem to specify a thing.  

So yeah, ESID, or whatever.  Just know that the following examples are what I choose to wear and what other individuals choose to wear at my junior high school.  I feel that I would categorize my school as somewhere in between those super formal schools where everyone wears suits and the more casual schools where everyone basically shows up in sportswear since it's the most comfortable (and makes sense to wear when you're a sports club supervisor before and after classes, so why change clothes, right?)

Okay!

ALT #OOTD

If you're interested in what an ALT might wear to work, please watch the video below.  It's me!

JTE #OOTD

If you're interested in seeing what everyday teachers, including JTEs, wear to work, please scroll through the following pictures.  Each picture is labeled to give you a little more information about the teacher, but faces, names, and other identifying information are not given to protect the privacy of each individual, of course.  They all are or were my coworkers, and they all so kindly allowed me to take their pictures anonymously to help me out in making this blog post.

Here they are!

Female, English

Female, Math

Male, Vice Principal

Tips for Joining the Japanese Workplace (School Edition)

Hey, so it's that time of year when many fresh graduates in the West are looking for jobs, and some are looking abroad...specifically, towards Japan.  For example, recently applicants for the JET program have been notified of their acceptance (or not) into the program, and many others are applying to work at eikaiwas, or conversation schools (they're kinda like the Sylvan learning centers or Kumon of Japan for English conversation).  I'm not some kind of cultural expert or claim to be any kind of pro at interactions in the workplace, but I thought I might share some tips that I've learned as I've been working and living in Japan for the past 9 or so months.  So here we go!

Aisatsu  (Greetings)

Aisatsu is the Japanese word for greetings and goodbyes, and aisatsu is very important.  The way you greet and leave a person or situation makes the biggest impressions and can set the tone for all the interactions to come.  Thus, it's really important to greet everyone with a hearty おはようございます (Ohayou gozaimasu) in the morning when you first arrive at work and nice clear お先に失礼します (O saki ni shitsurei shimasu) when you leave the workplace at the end of the day.

In fact, there have been reports of Japanese school employees feeling as if the foreign coworker is standoffish or cold because they don't greet anyone in the mornings or say anything when they leave at the end of the day.  (I know...I don't have a citation for this one, but I learned about it through my work orientation and trainings and from talking to Japanese coworkers.)  To the Japanese employees, it's rude and the opposite of friendly.  Sometimes it may feel like you have to initiate more often than not or that it's really scary to almost yell out Good Morning, but, I promise, your greetings will be returned and greatly appreciated, which will help your coworkers feel more at ease and more willing and excited to welcome you to the workplace.