Most first-time visitors to Japan are struck by how clean the country is

Post by Consultant32452 » Sun, Oct 13, 2019, 2:33 PM UTC

coldtea wrote: post #17

cumwolf wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

that's very fascinating, as someone who has only experienced Tokyo, I was amazed with how clean it was compared to other Eastern Asian cities (I lived in Shanghai). Wouldn't have guessed it was a bit of smoke and mirrors.

Or the parent's comment is a big of exaggeration to downplay the general cleanliness. Compared to most major global cities it's night and day. I'd take a hard look on NY, Chicago, L.A, London, Paris, Amsterdam, before I complain like the grandparent about the Japanese situation which is an order of magnitude better... Tokyo of course is on a league of its own, but here's Osaka Street View, go around, how does it comp…

Post by kgwgk » Sun, Oct 13, 2019, 2:35 PM UTC

kylorhall wrote: post #34

whiddershins wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe the explanation is a bit overwrought but it’s a fact that Tokyo is astonishingly clean, and I never once saw someone drop large trash in the street, even though there aren’t bins. That could be as simple as broken windows theory but the contrast with Brooklyn is striking. The cultural attitude difference is real to some degree. People tend to smoke while standing in one place, a designated smoking area outside…

There's no bins on the street because Japanese people rarely eat, drink, smoke, etc while moving, though Starbucks/etc has changed that a little bit, but I rarely see those discarded. You just don't have any trash to drop, you'd keep it in your bag if you did, and there's bins at konbini or vending machines everywhere. Today, like most days, on the news they had more videos of Rugby tourists passed out on the street,…

Post by electriclove » Sun, Oct 13, 2019, 2:36 PM UTC

pjdemers wrote: post #15

There are street cleaners in Japan. I used to visit Tokyo often and I would go running just before dawn. I saw plenty of people (usually elderly) collecting trash and sweeping up.

Post by sunstone » Sun, Oct 13, 2019, 2:45 PM UTC

tasogare wrote: post #33

netsharc wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was in Tokyo and Osaka these last weeks, and China before Tokyo. Landing in Tokyo after China was magical. People didn't shout in public or have their phones blaring. They let people disembark trains instead of just barging in as soon as the train doors open, and they queue neatly for those doors. And yes everything was clean and tidy. But the touristy area of Osaka was back to being dreadful. People cutting you of…

> People didn't shout in public or have their phones blaring. Yet Japan is a very noisy country. Store clerks shouting irasshaimase like robots, speaking elevators, politians in campaign and their cars with mega-phone, etc. added to paper thin (sometimes literally) walls make it sometime painful to live here.

Post by davidmurdoch » Sun, Oct 13, 2019, 2:50 PM UTC