Is the lack of trash bins such a big deal?

When I step out of my house, the last thing I think about is how to dispose of waste on the go. Whether I’m on the way to or from work or お出かけ odekake, going out for the day, I dispose of PET plastic bottles or aluminum cans in the bins at train stations. I stash grubby stuff or packages in a plastic bag in a pocket for disposal when I get home.

A vending machine with a bin for containers on a train station platform

Today’s report about inbound visitors frustrated by the lack of garbage bins leaves me puzzled. The top concern for tourists, according to the Japan Tourism Agency, is how to dispose of garbage on the go, with over 20% of visitors claiming it’s an inconvenience.

I don’t get how this is so inconvenient, but then again, I was influenced by William Gibson’s protagonist in Pattern Recognition. The main character, Cayce, relocates from the US to London and perceives the architecture of life as a “mirror world”, similar but subtly different from the US. I experienced echoes of this “mirror world”  in Japan and on trips to the UK. Stuff works, people get along, and the experience is familiar and alien because the origins and technology have different roots but achieve the same ends.

This is how I see the “inconvenience” of Japan’s waste disposal. The country’s history, culture, and infrastructure are different, so I’ve been accustomed to consuming and discarding things the Japanese way. It isn’t inconvenient if you know how Japan Inc. operates.

Japan’s commercial infrastructure has waste bins at convenience stores, supermarkets, and shopping centres in most urban areas. You simply have to know where to look. Parks and festival vendors provide waste disposal, too. Getting rid of your stuff on the go is just a matter of adjusting to the way Japan’s “mirror world”. 

Are you like me, at ease finding appropriate waste disposal? Do you need tips on how to get rid of garbage on the go?