Together they explored the alternatives and concluded that a new approach other than traditional education was needed, one that stressed the human side of learning and had peaceful coexistence with others as an objective.

Middle school students enjoy dances, a week-long ski trip, Kazuno, and many other holidays and traditions.

Nishimachi owns a piece of land in Kazuno, Gunma Prefecture about 3 hours travel away from the city.

The land belonged to Ryoichiro Arai, Tané Matsukata's maternal grandfather who was a silk producer.

The Yashiro Media Center, housed in its own three-floor building, contains about 18,000 books, 70% in English and 30% in Japanese, and uses the Dewey Decimal System.

Nishimachi's outdoor education center, Camp Rioichiro Arai "Kazuno," is in Gunma Prefecture, 150 kilometers northwest of Tokyo.