Every day I am amazed at the efficiency of Japan. Everything has been streamlined – from supermarket
checkouts to train timetables. Space,
resources, everything is used to its full potential. There are rice fields next to high rise apartments,
balcony and potted gardens; every square inch is productive and useful. But sometimes it seems this uber efficiency makes
life slightly more difficult – especially for foreigners.
In Japan, walking and eating is considered impolite. It doesn’t stop anyone from doing it, but it
does make trash cans a bit hard to find.
And when you do find them, they look like this –
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| Even with the helpful pictures, trash disposal takes a bit of mental effort |
To streamline waste disposal, the public trashcans are
divided into sections. Only, I don’t
always know what my trash is classified as.
Also, you can’t always find a full set of trashcans. Sometimes it is just one. For example, next to a drink vending machine,
you might only find a can for PET bottles, cans, and glass bottles. It makes tossing your trash a cognitive
process that can took me a good five minutes the first few times.
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