The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) reports that the mathematics teaching in Japan is distinctly different from that found in the United States. They attribute part of that difference to the professional development practice of Lesson Study. However, is the pre-service preparation of Japanese mathematics teachers also different? In an effort to understand the Japanese secondary mathematics student teaching process better, the author spent two weeks in Japan at three different universities and their affiliated junior high schools observing student teachers as they interacted with their cooperating teachers. This article is a description of that process as seen through the eyes of an American mathematics teacher educator. The author found that the main focus of student teaching at the observed junior high schools is on the preparation, teaching and reflection on the lesson itself.