Find a trash can in Tokyo ゴミ
Mission impossible?
We see it in Tokyo and elsewhere in Japan: clean streets, but not a trash can in sight! So what do Tokyoites do with their garbage? Traveling in the Japanese capital, and what to do with "gomi" (waste).
Nowadays, trash cans are elusive in Tokyo...but that has not always been the case. Most public trash cans were removed in 1995 after the sarin gas attack by the Aum cult in the capital's subway. Also, you are unlikely to see trash cans outside of residents: Japan practices recycling on a large scale, with rigor. The trash cans as you know them don't exist in Japan anymore, and communal waste collection, placed in colorful bags, takes place every morning.
Discipline and recycling
Since 1995, Tokyoites demonstrate good citizenship: you do not throw trash on the ground, and no one leaves their house without a plastic bag for small daily waste. Smoking in public, for example, was banned in several districts of Tokyo, and smoking areas designated, or a "pocket ashtray" has to be used.
Another reason for this cleanliness: from Shinjuku to Ueno via Ginza stations, every five minutes we see attendants, armed with tongs struggling to remove chewing gum and clean up trash. It is extremely rare to come across trash cans here, and if you do, it will be strictly for recycling in three categories for glass, plastic, and paper!
For smokers, check your surroundings before you light up as you may be in a non-smoking district. Furthermore, do not forget to carry a "pocket ashtray" in your pocket. Don't know what that is? Just ask any locals and they'll tell you!
The green tourist guide
- Most Japanese in general do follow the rules providing great examples but there are always some bad apples... so, "do not do" as they do!
Do not imitate Tokyoites who have the bad habit of putting their trash in bike baskets, or even worse throwing their trash in the Sumida river (even in Japan, it happens).
- Always take a plastic bag with you for trash, and once filled, throw it away at any major department stores or train stations (there are always bins in the restroom).
- Take your cans and bottles to the bins provided next to the tens of thousands of vending machines everywhere in Tokyo.
- Do not forget konbini (Seven Eleven, Family Mart ...) offer trash cans at the entrance, however normally reserved for customers, so at your risk.
