Garbage Puzzles

So one thing we thought we were prepared for, but ended up struggling with was the garbage system in Japan. We had heard many rumors before coming that the garbage system would be complicated and would require constant attention. We walked in eyes open. And yet we only this last week managed to mostly master it. That's five weeks of challenge.


So what's so hard about it? The basics seem easy. There are many categories of garbage, you put each category in its own bag, and you put each bag out on specific days. It is not unreasonable. In fact, Kobe seems to have a fairly uncomplicated system as compared to other cities in Japan. They also provided us withe two large booklets - complete with clear pictures and cartoon characters to introduce us to the local system. The toughest part is putting your garbage out by 8am but NEVER putting it out the night before. This rule seems more lax at some garbage stops, but ours is strict. I often leave by 7am, though, so this really isn't a problem either.

Here's the local system. Burnable garbage (food waste, paper, etc) go in the blue bag with the happy male pig. Burnables are collected twice a week across the street from us. This didn't phase us. I should point out, however, that the bag the garbage goes into is important. For household waste, you must use a special bag with the proper cartoon character printed on the outside. When we first bought plastic bags, we accidentally bought business garbage bags, which are much more mundane and much less cute. These may have worked fine, but I had heard stories about angry old ladies telling off foreigners for not taking the garbage seriously - so when I realized that my garbage bag didn't match the other fifteen neighbors' garbage bags, I got cold feet and took the garbage home again. I was able to locate the proper bags at the local corner store, though, so we switched bags put our garbage out with little further trouble.


Non-Burnables are collected on the first and third Tuesday of the month. Non-Burnables include plastic, styrofoam, etc. Non-Burnables must be taken down the street to the corner, but there is a clearly marked sign, so we didn't see any problem with that. Incidentally, Non-Burnables are represented by a very happy looking male cat.

On the second and fourth Wednesday, they pick up the recyclable bottles (PET bottles) and cans. This one goes in the bag with the happy duck. We didn't accumulate much of this sort of garbage, so we could mostly just ignore it for the first month. In any case, things were still clearly marked.

Here's where we ran into problems. There was a fourth category - represented by a very happy FEMALE pig (note the bow behind her ear and the cute dress) for recyclable plastic. Recyclable plastic could be told apart from non-recyclable plastic by a symbol with the characters "プラ” or "Pu-Ra" on it. This is short hand for "Pu-Ra-Su-Ti-Ku" or "plastic". We had some trouble finding the female pig bags. We couldn't find them at the corner stores and finally had to go to the larger grocery store in the middle of town. We did eventually find the bags we needed, though. Next, I somehow noticed that plastics I has assumed were not recyclable did have the PuRa symbol... in fact, crazy things were marked PuRa. Things like styrofoam. I had to dig through my bags of non-burnables and resort. In the end, there were very few non-burnables, and a huge stack of PuRa. I was feeling more confident, however, because I had clearly mastered the cartoon characters.

The PuRa mountain in the corner, however, began to grow to a distressing size, and no matter how many times I read the rule books, I could not figure out when to put it out. The other three types of garbage had clearly marked days - they were even marked on the signs at the pick-up points - but not PuRa. This took about three weeks to figure out, but at some point I did notice a little note in the garbage book next to PuRa that said "Kita-Ku" or "North District." I double checked at work, and yes, indeed, PuRa was a new addition to the garbage system and was only being piloted in the North District - not the Central District where Russell and I live. I had been separating plastics for no reason. We quickly crammed the PuRa bags into Non-Burnable bags and put them out on the next appropriate Tuesday.


Our final problem was another growing mound of garbage - cardboard. When you move into a new apartment, you do, in fact, collect a TON of cardboard. One whole corner of our apartment had been taken over by flattened cardboard boxes. The book made it very clear that cardboard was not to go out with burnables, but did not make clear when it SHOULD go out. For the first week this was one more puzzle than we could really deal with. We just let the pile grow. On the second Friday, I was taking laundry to the local coin laundry, when I spotted piles of magazines and cardboard on many of the neighbors' stoops. I ran to put my laundry in, but before I got back to the apartment, the recycling man came and scooped up the cardboard. I was disappointed, but I figured I knew the system now and within a Friday or two, I should be able to get rid of the cardboard. The next week came and no magazines or cardboard appeared. The following week, I somehow missed the pickup.

After two more weeks of waiting and adding to the pile, I was really ready to get rid of it. The problem was that I forgot the night before, and I had to run to get to work on the appointed Friday. I almost forgot again, but I spotted some cardboard so I ran back upstairs and made Russell help me haul the cardboard downstairs to our front entrance. While we were down there, we spotted an old man sitting by the side of the road. We were still not 100% sure we had things right, so Russell went and asked him. He wasn't sure about cardboard day, but he decided that it was probably on Wednesday, not on Friday. I was fairly confident he was wrong, but I didn't see any cardboard in the immediate vicinity and I didn't want to leave my garbage out when there was a witness. We hauled everything back upstairs and checked online. At this point I really needed to get to work, so I left Russell checking. About four blocks down the road, Russell called and said that yes, today was cardboard day, but it had to be tied in a neat bundle. He asked me to buy some string from the local convenience store. I managed to buy some string and throw it to Russell before rushing off to the train. In the end, I did make it to work on time (though I had to make my copies like a mad woman) and Russell managed to properly bundle our cardboard and put it out for collection.

I am pleased to announce it is finally GONE.

Golden Week Plans: Kyoto vs. Tokyo

So Golden Week is coming up. Golden week is the week in spring when there are three national holidays all in the same week. Because of this, most people (including me) get the whole week off. Prime sightseeing time!

So here's the dilemma - should we go to Kyoto (which is only an hour or two away and has many of the most important historical sites and shrines in Japan - definitely not to be missed) or Tokyo (which is more like four hours away, but has the added benefit of a visit with my host family of yore and some old students)?

If we go to Kyoto we can easily come home, so we don't have to worry about finding a hotel, and we can be more flexible in our plans. Maybe get in a hike or two - or detour one day to Nara or Osaka. The trip to Tokyo would require finding a hotel (difficult and expensive in Golden Week) but we won't have many other chances to make a big trip like this until summer break in August.

Hmmm...

Our Apartment

We are pretty well settled into our apartment. We had some interesting adventures furnishing it - and as you will see from the pictures, we are going with the "less is more" theme. The apartment is, of course, small, but we haven't had any problems adjusting to that. We are enjoying having less stuff and cleaning is a much simpler task. Here is a drawing of the floor plan.


Cool things about our apartment:
1. It's far enough uphill from the station that we get good exercise, but not so far that we wish we lived closer.
2. It gets a nice breeze when the windows are open.
3. Its quick to clean
4. It has one of the awesome sink toilets that I love. (see picture)
5. It has a lovely deep bathtub
6. It is bright and cheerful
7. It is in a quiet neighborhood
8. We have a gas stove!
9. We are close to a Saturday market.
10. We are close to an awesome coffee shop run by two old ladies that think we are hilarious. (The feeling is mutual)
11. We are walking distance from an awesome zoo full of all the cutest animals the world over.
12. The mob keeps down petty crime (not verified, but so we hear)


Things that aren't so cool about our apartment:
1. The sink only comes to mid-thigh - and its deep, so I have to bend way over to do dishes. Russell just does them on his knees. I'm serious.
2. The cabinets are made of plastic and are none too new.
3. The white floors mean I can see every speck of dirt, hair and skin that falls on it. Good thing for #3 above.
4. I don't have a washing machine and the laundromat down the block is closed for remodeling. That means we have to haul our laundry down the hill and back up again once a week if we want clean undies. This will improve when we either get a washer or the nearby laundromat reopens.
5. No matter the weather, everything always seems to be damp.
6. No heat (but we bought a space heater after a few weeks and summer is fast approaching, so this isn't a problem anymore).
7. The garbage system. Its not too bad once you figure it out... but it took us a full moth to figure out.
8. It took a month to get Internet.... but that's not the apartments fault.


This picture shows the entrance in the back left, our bedroom with our futon bed in it is in the back right, and the wall behind which is our bathroom. The toilet gets its own room and is behind the door just off the entrance. There is a step up into the regular bathroom with the sink on the right and the bathtub and shower through a door on the left. You can't see any of the regular bathroom because of the angle of the picture. One interesting thing about Japanese bathrooms (ie the bath part of the bathroom) is that the whole room is plastic and has a door closing it off from the sink area. Showering is NEVER done in the bathtub. The bathtub is only for soaking. No soap or other products are ever put in it. Showering is done outside the bathtub, as is all soaping up and scrubbing before your bath. Our shower is set up so it can be used standing up or sitting down. The bathub is not as long as an American bathtub, but it is much deeper - which makes the bath much more enjoyable.



This last picture shows our kotatsu. The same table Russell was under in the previous post. Notice that the futon (blanket) part is gone. It has warmed up the last week and we were worried the futon would trap moisture and mildew. It is now tucked away in the closet until after summer. I spend most of my time at the table. It is used as our dining room table, game table, Jaci's desk and general gathering place for papers and junk. Its tidy today, though, because its Saturday- cleaning day. You can see our two zabuton (cushions) in the picture. We sit on them when we are using the table. The man that sold us the futon for the kotatsu also handmade the zabuton. They are very comfortable, and we really need to go get a couple more.

You might notice that the term "futon" is getting tossed around a lot. It turns out that a futon can refer to several different things. In the West, we use the word to refer to a bed. That's true here too, but the futon you buy here are totally different than the kind you get in the U.S. They are basically just dense cotton pads that you lay on the floor. They aren't more than an inch thick - probably less. It took me a while to get used to ours - at first I would wake up aching in the morning. But now we are both very used to it and it is perfectly comfortable. The word futon is also used to describe the comforter that goes over the mat. They are just the upper and lower futon. Both the upper and lower futon have duvet covers that slip over them and eliminate the need for sheets. We just take off the covers and wash them when we need to. The only tricky part to the futon is that they mildew easily if the bottom futon is left on the floor indefinitely. Every morning, no matter the weather, the lower futon is damp on the bottom when we wake up. We have to at least turn it over every day so that the damp part can air out. Often, we prop it up on end against the wall so that both sides get plenty of air. The upper futon seems to stay drier, so we just fold it up in a corner for the day. Then to make the bed at night we toss down the lower futon and unfold the upper futon on top. It sounds like a lot of trouble, but its way easier than making a bed with multiple sheets and blankets. When we have a nice sunny day, we hang the futon out over our balcony (with very large clamps to keep it from taking a dive) and let it air out completely. It comes back in all fluffy and smelling like sunshine. I just hope we can keep the futon from molding when the weather starts getting really humid (and that day is fast approaching).

Dampness has been a constant concern. I spend a good half hour to hour every day pondering its effects and how to ward it off. We have learned a few tricks (like putting desiccant boxes in the closet), but on any given day a book left on the floor will have buckled pages the next day and everything in the house is damp on a rainy or humid day. Apparently in June we will have a "rainy season" (imagine a constant downpour for three to four weeks straight) and then everything will start getting much warmer and oppressively humid. Great. There must be dehumidifiers or something that can help combat humidity... we need to investigate.

Our Latest Adventure

After a couple years of laying low, we are finally off on another adventure. In mid-March, Russell and I headed to Japan, where Russell will be telecommuting and I will be teaching English.

After hours of blog issues, I am too tired for a real post, but I will put pictures up with some commentary to tide over anyone who finds this blog before I have time for a real post.


Our first week, we mostly just stuck close to home and worked on getting set up. We had to find a desk for Russell, get a bed, a fridge and a stove, find a table - that sort of thing. We also needed to set up a Japanese bank account, register with immigration, get cell phones, get internet, etc. Oh - and find a grocery store. After about a week, we did feel we had enough free time to enjoy the local zoo - which was walking distance from our house. It looked kind of small and cheesy, but I felt it was important to take advantage of "not-working" time and see some local sights. The zoo turned out to be awesome. There were many animals (all sharing a high cuteness factor) and we could get much closer to them than I am used to. Plus, the zoo is easy walking distance from our house.


We also had tasty panda steamy-buns (yes, he's quite edible). They were delicious and on-theme. The zoo is currently hosting two "rental pandas" (panda's on loan from China). They seem to be the big draw.

The second weekend, I wanted to venture further from home, and I had figured out that Himeji castle was close to Kobe. All I knew was that most of the castles in Japan have been destroyed by time or war, and Himeji is one of the few that has lasted. Others have been rebuilt, but other than one extensive refurbishing about 100 years ago, Himeji castle is pretty much the same as it has always been. I also heard that it was THE place to see cherry blossoms - and cherry blossom season was starting. I figured we could beat the crowds if we went a touch early.


Alas, it was a week too early for the real display of blossoms, but you can see them just starting to peek out. The castle was awesome. It was mostly empty inside, except for a few artifacts, but it was still really cool to walk through.


The next week was around April 1st and my starting day for work. I'll post more about work later, but I am really enjoying it so far. The people are great, the students are mostly great (if not too concerned with work) and considering all the horror stories I have heard about teaching jobs abroad, I am very pleasantly surprised at how well everything is going. I'm feeling very lucky.


We did get some cherry blossom watching in the first weekend after school started (but before classes started). Russell and I went to the Shukugawa stop on our train line where I had heard there was a popular cherry blossom park. It was absolutely packed with watchers and picnickers. The flowers were truly out that week and the festival food booths were out to serve the hordes. We tried takoyaki - a round doughy fried pastry with vegetables and octopus meat in the middle - , Russell had an enormous hotdog, and we also tried these pastries that were fried into the shape of fish. Inside they had Ahn (red bean) paste, which is VERY common in desserts here. I like it quite a bit, but I had to get used to it - I'm not used to beans being sweet. I wil post about food soon, too. So far, food has been going VERY well. Japanese food rocks.


One early problem that we had was with heat - or lack thereof. It turns out that apartments in Japan (at least the small cheap ones) don't come with any source of heat. I suspect that isn't a problem for 80% of the year - but we happened to arrive in a cold snap and we were freezing. It was warm in bed (thank goodness) but nowhere else. For one or two days, this was not a problem, but after two weeks we gave up on waiting for the spring to come and bought a space heater. We also began looking in earnest for a kotatsu (or heated japanese table). The space heater was powerful enough to heat our bedroom before bed time, but not enough to heat the whole apartment. Finding a kotatsu turned out to be almost impossible. It turns out, kotatsu are very seasonal purchases - they are the kind of thing that is only for sale right before winter time - not right before spring. None of the stores had them anymore. Finally, we ordered one on Amazon and had it delivered. We were very pleased with ourselves. We even bought a kotatsu futon (thick blanket that goes over the table and keeps the warmth around your legs) at a local blanket shop. The poor owner had to take us up to the attic to find the right kind of blanket - like I said. They are very out of season now. With the kotatsu, though, were were quite a bit warmer. In the photo, you can see Russell getting full use out of the kotatsu.

So that was the first few weeks. I will write more soon. Feel free to post questions or email them to me - questions about our experience, about something I say but don't explain, or about Japan in general. I will try to answer!