This article provides an overview of the Japanese school day, including its length and differences by grade level, lunchtime activities, after-school clubs and activities, summer vacation, extracurricular activities and private tutoring, holidays and other breaks in the school year. A typical Japanese school day begins at 8:00 am and ends at 3:30 pm with recess times throughout the day. There are several national holidays throughout the year along with local holidays that provide additional days off from school giving families time to explore different parts of Japan or even travel abroad during summer vacation which lasts six weeks starting from late July until mid September when schools reopen again for another academic year.