where does the youth hangout after school?

where do high school and university students or basically the youth hangout most of the time after school. Please tell me areas that are not very touristy. Not anything about nightlife or clubs please. Maybe something like cafes, lounge, flea markets, shopping centers... Or do they just go straight home to study? I'm just curious about the youth student life in general.

Mister Donut.

For secondary pupils, classes are continue until 15:30 or 16:00. Some pupils enjoy school sporting or cultural clubs until 17:00 or 18:00. Those pupils straight go home after that activities. Some pupils don't involve in school activities. Some straight go home, hang out in shopping mall(Occasionally), visit MacDonald's etc. High school pupils don't have money much. So they normally straight go home. Some pupils go an extra tuition after school.

Most high schools prohit students to hang out after school, so while many involve in school activities, cram schools and part-time jobs, obvious hang-out places are limited.

That said, girls tend to go puri-kura (which are usually located inside game archades) and boys go to game archades to do games, especially when they don't have the money to go eat ramen or have soda in fast food shops.

Most game archades don't allow those 16 yrs old and younger after 6pm, so younger students in uniforms are usually asked for IDs before being politely asked to leave. Then they might just chat standing in the middle of a terminal train station or something.

For college students, it's totally different. They are free to go anywhere (especially if they're over 20), so anything goes from school cafeterias, coffee shops, karaoke, early beer and pizza, bowling, movies and so on.

Generally speaking, high school students travel to their nearest city center, avoiding the eyes of their teachers, while college students just hang out in their campus neighborhoods.

Flea markets are almost always open only on weekends, so you can't go there after "school".

Meanwhile, on weekends even high school kids are more free to do a lot of things, and many would go to the mall, parks, karaoke, theme parks, seasonal festivals and events.

It's different in the city where there is a lot of choice on things to do; where I live there is a McDonalds right next to a high school, and that's pretty much it for entertainment close by. I'm sure you can imagine what going in there around 6pm looks like, and outside is like a bike forest!

It's a sad thing to say - but many Japanese kids tend to study at McDonald's or other cafes over a drink and such.

Is that sad??

In many Asian countries, students get quite a bit of homework. It's not uncommon to see students completing their homework (normally from a textbook or workbook) at cheap cafes or fast food restaurants like McDonald's. It's become so common that even McDonald's now have individual spots where students can charge their phone or laptop at some locations....

I guess I'd prefer to see kids being kids than always completing homework - or that's what it looks like....

Okay, in Japan we have an expression "gakusei no honbun wa benkyo" which means "The duty of a student is to study".

If we are talking about "kids" in elementary school age or younger, that's slightly a different story, because in the first place we don't want to see them spending money on junk food without being accompanied by a parent. Ideally kids that age would study in their living rooms with the help of their parents (although many end up doing all their studying in cram schools), and then they'd go out to play in parks, friend's homes or public recreation centers.

Meanwhile, senior high school studies are more difficult and the parents can't help much any more. So ideally "kids" or young adults help each other. Strictly speaking, many are not supposed to go to McDonald's on their way home, but if adults can work in cafes and Denny's, why can't high school students study in Mc. It's more fun than the library, or even the school lounge if they have one.

Also, just because you see someone studying in Mc, that doesn't mean that the person doesn't go out to play after they're done studying. If you go to school, you need to review your studies at one point or another.

I'm not saying that a lot of the Japanese youth are overloaded with their studies. Many still are (although despite the impression that many people might have, the Japanese youth do have a lot of fun). I'm just saying that there is nothing wrong with young people studying in McDonald's as long as they aren't occupying seats for too long.

Family restaurants with drink bar.
In a city where I live students tend to gather at Gasuto to study.