近所。山の上北町。ごみ。

　　The first thing in Yamanouekita machi that caught my eyes was the bottles of water that were placed near the poles, traffic mirrors and walls in the neighborhood. My host mother later told me that the bottles are for garbage. Started with these bottles, I got to know more and more about how people deal with garbage and what rules they are following in the neighborhood. In Yamanouekita machi, the way of putting garbage out is a serious matter. It is not simply one family’s own concern, but also a public issue of the whole neighborhood. Every day, I follow the same path going back and forth the house and the main road right outside the residential area. During the 8 minutes’ walk, I paid attention to the spots people put their garbage, the tools they use to gather the garbage and the way they handle the garbage along the path. It is difficult for me, a new comer in the neighborhood, to figure out how things work. But in fact, there is a comprehensive system involved in regard of the garbage issue in the neighborhood.

There is a self-governed community in Yamanouekita machi which is made up of a community leader and many group leaders. The neighborhood is divided into many different groups based on the location of the houses. New residents are told where and how they should put their garbage out by their group leader when they move in. I noticed that only one of all the garbage spots I know is officially marked by a board with the schedule and categories of garbage on it. But it is easy to tell where the garbage spots are based on the presence of colored nets and bottles of water or bricks. The nets are used to cover the garbage, while the bottles or the bricks are used to hold the net in place so that the crows and cats cannot break the garbage bags and eat food leftovers. Cats are expected to be scared away by the maximized and twisted images of themselves through reflections of water in the bottles. In order to keep the garbage spots clean, families which are using the same spot take turns to clean the spot every Monday, Thursday and Friday right after the garbage is collected. But for some spots, a net and bottles are not enough to keep the crows and cats away from the “delicious” garbage. In that case, garbage net cases have to be used. While the garbage net is provided for free by the government, the net cases must be purchased by funds gathered from the families which will be using the cases and some financial aid from the self-governed community. The only spot with net cases that I know so far is actually the spot next to my host family. According to my host mother, there are 23 families sharing this same garbage spot and thus the money needed to purchase the cases was divided by 23. But before anything can turn into reality, all families must come to the agreement that all of them are willing to have and pay for the cases.  The housewife who initiated the purchase went from door to door to introduce the advantages of the net cases and finally gained support from all 23 families.

Years ago, families do not need to communicate with each other in regard of their garbage. People in the neighborhood used to putting garbage right in front of their own houses. But in order to make it more convenient for the pick-up people, now nearby families gather their garbage in one single spot.

I learned a lot about the neighborhood from how people deal with garbage. It is an issue that is closely related to the common benefit of the neighborhood and the interactions between the residents, the self-governed community and the city government which require corporation from everyone.

日本。最初。印象。

Impression one

                It was at the Kansai International Airport that I spent my first night in Japan. I knew that I would need to spend a night at the airport because the pick-up service was not available the day I arrived. I thought that it would not be too bad staying at the airport for a night because it would be safe, clean and cool. It was indeed very safe and clean, but I was not able to sleep at all because it was too hot. In order to save electricity, the airport shut down the escalators, some lights and air conditioners around 2 am. The flash lights of the vending machines at the airport were not supposed to be on unless the machine was being used. The major reason for the airport to use as less as electricity is obvious. The influence of the 311 earthquake requires everywhere in Japan to work together so that the country can overcome the tragic. But I assume that even without the 311 earthquake, Japanese people have been always environmental friendly with a strong awareness of environmental issues since Japan is a land with scarce energy resources. Japanese people are trying to use the least energy in the best way.

Impression two

                Since I was sweating and unable to sleep, I frequently went to the toilet during my night at the airport so that I could wash my face and cool down a little bit. For me, the toilet was “friendly.” First of all, covers for toilet seats were provided so that people can use the toilet without worrying too much about being in contact of what the previous users may leave on the seat. But the most remarkable thing about the toilet at the airport is the small toilet seat designed for children. There are labels on the door showing that the small seat can be placed in the middle of the usual seat so that the hole will become small enough for children to use the toilet without the risk of falling into the toilet. This surprised me a lot because it was the first time I had ever saw toilet seats for children in public. And this made me believe that Japan is child-friendly country.

Toilet in Japan can also be very confusing to foreigners, but there are helpful instructions :

http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~ad8y-hys/movie.htm