Broadcasters' Eye S2012E03 - In the Heart of Nature: The Forest Kindergarten

Visit the idyllic mountains of western Japan and discover a school without any buildings, where nature itself is the classroom, and the teachers act as guides instead of guardians, encouraging their students to think and act independently as they grow up in the heart of nature.

Filmed over a period of two-and-a-half years in the rural town of Chizu, Tottori Prefecture, this eye-opening documentary introduces an unauthorized private nursery school called Marutanbo. The school's unique style of fostering independence in young children raises interesting questions about early education, and stands in stark contrast to the overprotective childrearing practices that have become popular in contemporary Japan.