Cleanliness and Safety

I have been in Tokyo for a week. There is so much to see and do. I have barely scratched the surface. I am excited about the experiences and opportunities I will have. A couple of observations to share:

I have never experienced a cleaner urban environment. I've been around the city enough to have seen trash blowing around, or garbage piling up somewhere. However, I haven't seen any such thing! Not only are there no signs of garbage, but there is also a dearth of garbage cans! Are these facts related?

The other day, I was enjoying a delicious piece of bubble gum as I was walking around. As expected, the bubble gum lost its deliciousness in about 10 minutes. I was ready to deposit it into the nearest public garbage can. I walked and kept my eyes open for the nearest receptacle. I didn't see one. I kept walking. I still didn't see one. This was a an area of high foot traffic without a garbage receptacle anywhere. I actually did see one small receptacle near a vending machine, but quickly realized it was only intended to recycle the plastic bottles used from the machine. Interesting! To show my American Independence, I tossed my spent gum onto a shrub. JUST KIDDING! I chewed it all the way until I could dispose of it at home.

Of note, the focus on proper garbage disposal and recycling is clear here. It is much more organized than the USA, which I appreciate--although it is more work to separate items.

My other observation is that I haven't seen any homeless population/tents/panhandlers in all of these populated areas. Back in the USA, it is a common sight that is very sad. As I have traversed the city in the past week, I have seen nothing of the sort. It makes me happy to see that this isn't a huge problem in Japan. Simultaneously, it makes me sad to know how much of a problem it is elswhere in the world. Of course, I realize that I have only seen part of Japan, but I expected to see at least some of these issues in the biggest city.

I suppose all of this is related to the other big observation so far: I feel very safe walking around in Tokyo, day or night. I certainly don't want to let my guard down or put myself in dangerous situations in the future, but I am shocked at how safe I feel in Tokyo--day or night. In Chicago, I was always very careful and aware of my surroundings with the intention to be safe. I will never let my guard down. Tokyo, however, seems very safe. In the city, there are small police stations interspersed through town. This creates a feeling of being watched over by your local police force. I quite like this! Also, the police stations have "most wanted" posters displayed on the walls. I remember seeing these in the states as a kid. Why don't we ever see these anymore posted in the USA?

One week into my stay in Japan, and I couldn't be more impressed with the city/country as I see it so far.