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Apsara
Joined: 20 Sep 2005
Posts: 2142
Location: Tokyo, Japan
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 Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 11:19 pm Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
| If Japanese are so clean, why do they burn garbage in the parks and dump over 150 tons of it in just one park? |
Again Glenski, the question was not "are Japanese people impeccably clean?", but "Is Japan clean?"- nobody is claiming that all Japanese are especially neat all the time- a trip to the beaches south of Tokyo in August will get rid of that idea very quickly, but the fact remains that because there are people who do come around and pick stuff up, the country is clean when compared to most other countries- have you been to Paris, for example? You can barely take a step there without standing in doggie-do, and because the rubbish bins had all been welded shut to prevent terrorism, rubbish just blew around in the streets- or at least that was the case about 10 years ago when I first went there.
Can you at least concede that Japan, in general, is a pretty tidy country? If not, you may well be the only person in the world who thinks otherwise.
Incidentally, I have not seen garbage being burned in parks, and I spend a lot of time in them. |
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cornishmuppet
Joined: 27 Mar 2004
Posts: 642
Location: Nagano, Japan
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| Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:13 am Post subject: |
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Complaining about the debris left after a once a year event is like saying England is a dump because of the debris left behind after Glastonbury music festival.
No where else in the world have I heard about organised sunday morning cleanings of the local neighbourhood. No where else have I been made to pay money just to ensure someone cleans up the garbage station at the end of my street every week. By saying Japan is clean is not claiming it to be some spotless utopia, just that on the world stage it ranks very highly among the cleanest countries, probably second behind Singapore, which is legendary for cleanliness.
I'd say some people's expectations are a little high, and this 'myth' concerning Japan's cleanliness is proving a little difficult to break. |
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fat_chris
Joined: 10 Sep 2003
Posts: 3198
Location: Beijing
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| Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 3:12 am Post subject: |
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| pastis wrote: |
One thing is for sure though, you simply can't compare Japan to most of the rest of Asia... most other large Asian cities or capitals have open sewers and piles of rotting trash left in the streets for long period of times (like try going to Bangkok where the smell is often so strong you can literally 'taste' the odor and get gag reflexes), and you're complaining about a bit of litter left behind in parks during major festivities, all of which is promptly cleaned up within a few days...
I won't say Tokyo is "spotless", but it's definitely a clean metropolis. |
Yes, the rest of Asia, i.e., the aforementioned China. When I went to Yokohama's Chinatown, I was surprised, "this can't be CHINAtown, it's too clean!"
Now, Manhattan's Chinatown...that is more like the real deal--the garbage, the pungent smells...
And then there's Calcutta. Yes, let's just be thankful Calcutta isn't in Japan.
Regards,
fat_chris |
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eIn0791207912
Joined: 12 Jan 2009
Posts: 33
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| Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 9:02 am Post subject: |
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| The way the OP describes her time in Korea, it sounds as if the place is quite similar to China, so I'm sure she will agree with most of us that Japan really is that clean. |
first, i'm a him, not a her
second, i too reacted positively to Glenski's photo. wow, i love how all the bags r tied tight, and dont have the tops half open for the trash to pour out. or corners ripped off or holes torn in them where people have seen something in the trash that they wanted, so they took it. i swear to u ive seen it happen on a number of cases. some people just casually see something and they get it, others get in there knee deep and rumble around for the "good" stuff i guess. yes, many koreans dig in the trash and take stuff out. im shocked every time i see it happen. yet im the dirty one because i eat my french fries with my hands? |
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Cool Teacher
Joined: 18 May 2009
Posts: 930
Location: Here, There and Everywhere! :D
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| Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 5:12 am Post subject: |
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| eIn0791207912 wrote: |
first, i'm a him, not a her
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Your a bloke!!!  It's funny when life has little misunderstandings...
But, I agree with everyone here that Jpana is a clean country and you won't have to worry about many of the things you might worry about,. Clean and safe... 
You will do well here, sir!! |
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dove
Joined: 01 Oct 2003
Posts: 271
Location: USA/Japan
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| Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 12:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Japan has the cleanest public restrooms of any country I have been to. I travel all over the Tokyo area for my job, and most (all?) restrooms in train/subway stations are maintained. In NYC, try to even FIND a public restroom in a subway station....most have been locked for years. Tokyo is a paradise for incontinent and small-bladdered people. |
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