Long commutes to school were the norm.
Japan has an efficient public-transportation system, so yellow school buses were nonexistent. Most of the families I met in Japan also only owned one car, and even that was usually reserved for special occasions.
Instead, in the rural area I lived, students commuted to school by public bus, train, bicycle, or some combination of the three.
My school, which was surrounded by rice fields, was located about a 15-minute walk from the nearest train station.
School districts also weren't based on students' addresses, which is generally the case for public schools in the US.
Japanese students take a countrywide entrance exam and attend a school based on several aspects, such as price, location, affiliation, and education quality.
A 20-minute commute would've felt long back in Oregon, but some of my classmates traveled up to two and a half hours each way to get to school.