What do N Junior High students do for lunch? [Answering Simple Questions Series]

Hello. This is Sanagi.

There are quite a few things that have become normal for us attending N Junior High School, but might seem like "how does that work?" to those around us.

I've decided to start a series answering simple questions.

The first topic in this commemorative series is here!

The answer is here.

Yes! That's it! ...Just kidding, haha.

Normally, students are enrolled in their local junior high school, and normally, they would pay for school lunch expenses and such.

Aren't you curious about how that is handled?

This time, I'm going to talk about that.

What happens to the school lunch fees at the school where you are enrolled?

At the local junior high school where my son has been enrolled since this spring (2025), school lunches have become free of charge. Thank goodness~ (though I wish it had happened when he was in elementary school, haha).

To begin with, N Junior High School is not an Article 1 school.

Therefore, there are absolutely no things that are "school-like" in the traditional sense.

• No physical education classes

• No whole-class instruction

• No homeroom teachers (mentor system)

• No grade-level system (mixed ages)

Naturally, that means there is no school lunch either.

They are enrolled in their local junior high school, of course. But the way they interact with it varies.

• Completely separated (in my son's case)

• Attending school occasionally

• Attending only for school events

It generally falls into these three patterns.

The situation is different even at the time of enrollment in N Junior High School, isn't it?

There are children who couldn't go to school and were looking for somewhere they could attend. There are also children like my son who enrolled in N Junior High School as an active choice.

If anything, our family is decisive, or perhaps we have just accepted the situation, so it might be easier mentally.

This is a bit of a crossroads.

For example, we did not accept the tablet used for learning. I felt that accepting it halfway would make it impossible to focus on what needed to be done.

The teachers at the school where he is enrolled were surprised, but he is studying reasonably well, and in fact, he is gradually passing Eiken tests (currently challenging Level 2).

Similarly, we declined school lunch before enrollment. This is because we hit the question of "Why pay money when there is no plan to attend?". It is simply a waste.

If they are not able to go to school, they might attend occasionally. It would be awkward if there was no school lunch when they did. So, I hear that such N Junior High students do pay for school lunch (according to parents).

Our family chose to attend N Junior High School in the first place. The reason is simply that by law, they must be affiliated with some school, so they are enrolled in the local junior high school. That is all.

The junior high school also understands and really lets us do as we please. I am grateful. Of course, we do not take on PTA roles either (we had some 'trust savings' from having done things like being president thoroughly up through elementary school, haha).

Since we keep interaction with the junior high school to a minimum, we always ensure our support system is perfect so that we as parents can keep a close watch.

N Junior High student lunch situation

Next, let's move on to the lunch situation for N Junior High students.

First of all, N Junior High students can bring their wallets and smartphones to campus. It is quite different from the start.

Also, there are vending machines on campus, and they can purchase items at their preferred time during breaks.

I remember being very surprised when my son first enrolled that N Junior High students were buying juice with cashless payments (like, 'Wait, a junior high student just tapped to pay?').

Now my son makes cashless purchases too, but it really is an era where even junior high students use cashless payments. I guess I'm getting old.

You can either bring your own lunch or go out to buy it.

The system allows students to go out and buy food if they submit an application form for going out before lunch break. Even though they are growing up, they are still junior high students. Basically, the school keeps track of 'who is where'.

By the way, we also get app notifications regarding their arrival and departure from school (when they check in and out). As a parent, this is reassuring.

As for where everyone goes to buy food, it varies.

N Junior High campuses are generally located in decent downtown areas, so there are many places within walking distance to buy food. The most common ones are convenience stores, McDonald's, and Starbucks, I suppose.

And what's more, everyone uses cashless payments for this too (looking into the distance). My son learned how to use mobile ordering early on, and he makes quick payments at McDonald's using Apple Pay.

He has ANA Pay linked to his Apple Pay. PayPay would be fine too, but it jumps to an external link and requires re-logging in, so I taught him that Apple Pay is easier.

But to think that a junior high student is paying with Apple Pay... I can't believe it from my generation's perspective (late 30s). Right? (Showing my age here).

My son's lunch situation

As for what my son usually does, it's something like this.

• He brings a bento on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

• He buys food outside on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Currently, my son's campus is packed. It seems he sometimes loses time waiting for the elevator when going out to buy food, and since that's a hassle, he made a routine of going out on Tuesdays and Thursdays when it's less crowded.

The things he buys vary by day, but it seems he goes to McDonald's quite often.

Although I say he brings a bento, my son doesn't like cold white rice or side dishes. So, I pack him a soup jar filled with plenty of soup.

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays he has soup, a rice ball, and bread (apparently he will eat white rice if it's in a rice ball, what's up with that?). Tuesdays and Thursdays he has soup plus something bought outside. It seems he manages by leaving some room in his stomach on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Oh, right. I get asked this a lot too.

Well, it's bound to go up, haha.

However, perhaps because we've been managing things well lately, I actually feel like our food expenses have gone down. Also, the fact that my husband is currently working abroad and it's just me and my son living together is a factor. In the end, it's a wash.

I make a large batch of soup for dinner the night before and have it for my own lunch as well. Since I'm in the middle of a diet, I try adding plenty of agar noodles to the soup to get some extra fiber.

It feels like we each just combine things however we like to eat.

By the way, regarding the topic of “what comes out of the food budget and what comes out of their own pocket.” I've written about this in a past article, but it's roughly like this.

I've written about this in a past article, but it's roughly like this.

• Standard allowance: 3,000 yen/month

• Meal allowance: 3,000 yen/month

I give them 6,000 yen a month, and we decide on the breakdown for the time being.

From here on, it's up to them. They can save it, or they can stop by Starbucks.

I don't give any extra money beyond this. If they run out, they have to dip into their own savings. If they don't want to do that, they have to manage with what they have, no matter what.

Personally, even if there are 5 days a week where a full bento is needed, I don't intend to reduce the meal allowance. I want them to think about how to manage that themselves. This is also a lesson in money.

At first, they struggled when they ran out of money, but by deciding to "go out and buy lunch on fixed days of the week," they seem to have increased their enjoyment. Since they only go out to buy lunch twice a week, they can use the money relatively freely. They really thought that through.

As for what happens during summer vacation and such, I still provide the meal allowance then too. So, I guess that means the total allowance is 6,000 yen, haha. Well, that's fine.

Since they pay for things like going to the movies themselves, they seem to understand the purpose of the meal allowance.

They will be a high school student starting next spring. I'm thinking of keeping the meal allowance as is, but increasing the standard allowance a bit.

With all that said, it seems my son is also learning a little bit about money through his lunch routine.

That was the situation regarding N-Junior High students' lunches.

That's all for this time.
Thank you for sticking with me until the end.