dewelar wrote:the computer club (where we never actually did anything...club-like)
I think in all my clubs, we did usually do club stuff (when we did meet) contrary to the Japanese trope of "clubs that do nothing". Even though our Chess Club was only like five guys, we'd play at lunch and once we even had a small informal play-off against a rival school. We were impressed that they had new-seeming pieces and matching vinyl roll-up boards — our stuff was all old, worn, and mismatched. I won against the guy I played, and he graciously congratulated me and thanked me for the game. I heard years later that he went to prison for a murder, so there's that.
Math club went to and held local math competitions, CSF had community volunteer work, etc. It was far from frequent, but it was always at least relevant.
astronomy club (where all the other members cared about was doing laser shows in the planetarium)
OH SHIT I totally forgot about astronomy club! I was in that too! We didn't have a planetarium, but we did have a real permanent-structure observatory with a dome and everything, though we didn't use it, in favor of being outside under the wide sky. Even in the winter chill. Ah, good times.
Even at Yamaku, the clubs are so much more formal than ours were.
I think that's a general feature of the Japanese system. When I first ever heard the concept of club membership being mandatory, I was pretty surprised. "Way to suck the fun out of it, guys!"
College was a lot different, though.
For me, too. At that point nobody cared about clubs anymore.