Tokyo, Japan | Due to the high cost of land in Tokyo, this playground was built on the roof of a school. The children are allowed to play only with soft balls, in case one lands on pedestrians on the streets below. The playground has a retractable roof that plays music as it closes. Every two days, the children clean the school. The principal says it’s important they learn to clean up after themselves.
Award-winning, UK-based photographer James Mollison has a rich, global background, being born in Kenya, raised in England and working in Italy. Mollison was featured previously at Neatorama for his series "Where Children Sleep." His latest project is a book called Playground, for which he traveled around the world to capture children at play during their breaks from school. He visited thirteen countries including Bhutan, Israel, India, Argentina, and the U.S.
See more photos from Mollison's fascinating series here. The photographs are available at the Aperture Foundation and his book can be purchased at Amazon.
Sierra Leone | The Kroo Bay Primary School in Sierra Leone was once used as an army base. There’s no sanitation or garbage collection, and the school closes from July to September because of floods from the Crocodile River. Teachers subsist on fees paid by parents.