If you’re unfamiliar with Japan, you might be wondering about the seemingly absurd topic of “Garbage Bins”. Well, gather around because you’re in for a trip.
Endangered Garbage Bins
Finding public garbage bins in Japan is a challenge. A challenge that not many tourists can conquer.
Well, some places do have them, but most do not. You won’t come across many garbage bins as you walk around the city, step into local parks, and sometimes, not even at train stations.
If you’re wondering why, there was the Tokyo Subway Sarin Gas Attack that occurred in 1995. Garbage bins were used to hide bags of sarin in high-traffic public areas. Sarin is a toxic liquid that quickly evaporates into a clear, odourless, tasteless, near imperceivable gas. After the attack occurred, the poor garbage bins were taken away, never to be seen again.
Given the rarity of garbage bins, you’ll often find yourself holding onto your trash until you come across one by sheer luck or resort to throwing it away at home. If you’re not used to this, which I don’t expect most people to be, then this will be quite the hassle.
Even though there are hardly any garbage bins around, at least we still have recycling bins for plastic bottles. So if you decide to grab a bottle of Oi Ocha, then there’s nothing to worry about! But if you decide to buy an onigiri from a konbini and save it as a snack for later… then you might be in trouble.
This isn’t so bad for the locals because they’re not the ones spending each of their days going on adventures through Japan from dawn to dusk.
Dealing With Trash
Here are three things you can do to lighten the burden of walking around with your garbage.
1. Pocket Trash Bag
In case you have any food garbage you have to hold on to, you can at least carry it more effectively. You can also just put it in your pocket or bag, and not worry about it getting dirty.
It’s sort of like carrying a pack of tissues on you. When you don’t need it, you don’t need it! But when you do need it, dang you really do need it.
2. Visit Konbinis Often
Konbinis will generally have garbage bins, so you could always stop along konbinis during your adventures to drop off some garbage.
Although for etiquette’s sake, maybe avoid dropping off too much garbage, and maybe treat yourself to a bottle of Oi Ocha while you’re there.
3. Plan Accordingly
Now, this sounds like unhelpful advice, but hear me out. I made the mistake of buying a cup of orange juice from a fresh orange juice vending machine and walking around the streets with it.
If I had thought about it a little bit more, I would’ve just not bought it, or drank it by the vending machine since there was a garbage bin beside it. The point being, a little thinking goes a long way. Unfortunately, I did not think, so I had to carry that little paper cup with me for next 8 hours.
So, if you’re still carrying that onigiri wrapper in your pocket, maybe now is a good time to stop by FamilyMart and throw it away.
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