It is infuriating to walk around Tokyo the whole day, and not find a single bin to throw away your plastic wrapping from your sandwich.

Hong Kong resident Ruben Verebes. He visited Japan for the first time in September 2024 and said he was annoyed by the difficulty of finding a place to throw litter away.

JGovt try to double tourist number to 60 million tourist but unwilling to improve garbage collection at all.

ttps://www.eurasiareview.com/25032025-japan-sets-target-of-receiving-60-million-foreign-tourists-in-2030-oped/

Trash cans in tourist spots would not be difficult. Most cities in the world have them.

Most conbinis have trash cans where you can dispose of a sandwich wrapper.

Most conbinis have trash cans where you can dispose of a sandwich wrapper.

So it's responsibility of conbinis now?

No its not infuriating. Just dispose of the garbarge in the appropriate place, which is usually the place where you bought it.

the appropriate place, which is usually the place where you bought it.

So tourists shouldn't move around while they're here? Great advice. Sandwiches, ie "portable food," are the kind of things you buy in advance before heading out and then eating later when lunchtime rolls around.

Paying extra for a plastic bag can be a solution, but that just creates more single-use waste in a world already dealing with microplastic contamination. So let's have public trash bins like we used to!

Who will empty them? Also, Japan does not have a culture of standing and moving with food. People sit to eat, and if they do stand, they do so in the vicinity of where they bought it. There is literally a convenience store on every block, and there is no need to buy a plastic bag if you are in the habit of carrying a bag to put things into.

Who will empty them? 

Local government workers are just like those in other countries. Tourists do not follow the eating habits of the Japanese. They will walk away from a store with food in their hand without knowing there are no trash cans on the streets. There were when I first came to live here.

It is infuriating to heard tourism claim.

If you can not do like the local do, please stay home.

The majority of people who live here have no problem with dealing with their rubbish. The people who visit are guests and should follow the house rules. Why should local authorities, and by extension tax payers, pay to clean up visitors' mess? It doesn't matter what was done years ago, and it certainly doesn't matter what they do in other countries. This is Japan, so do as the Japanese do.

walk around an American urban city like Los Angeles, there are plenty of rubbish bins on the sidewalk AND piles of garbage around the rubbish bins. American are too lazy to even put garbage IN the garbage can. Fix one complaint but it'll only create another problem.

No its not infuriating. Just dispose of the garbarge in the appropriate place, which is usually the place where you bought it.

Who will empty them? Also, Japan does not have a culture of standing and moving with food. People sit to eat, and if they do stand, they do so in the vicinity of where they bought it. There is literally a convenience store on every block, and there is no need to buy a plastic bag if you are in the habit of carrying a bag to put things into.

I somewhat agree that us residents have already gone through the 5 stages of grief and have accepted that this is "normal" and that we are responsible for our own rubbish. But asking tourists who are here for a very limited time to stand around the area they purchased the sandwich is a bit much. Tourists have a tight schedule so they always have to be on the move. Grabbing a sandwich from a conbini means they don't have time to waste and likely can't even wait to get into a restaurant.

I understand your logic in that someone can buy a sandwich at 7 eleven and throw it away at the 7 eleven the next block down and I sometimes do this myself. However, there is an unwritten rule that you are actually not supposed to do this unless you are buying something at the next 7 eleven (same with using their restrooms). The reason being is these conbinis are a franchise and each owner is responsible for handling their trash bins and cleaning their restrooms. It is perceived as rude to just go in, use the restroom, throw your trash away and leave. If it weren't for my Japanese friends and wife, I would have never known to do this.

I feel like tour guide books should showcase where to throw away trash for tourists. If they are riding the bus on the highway, the SA for example usually has places to throw away trash. Things like that to help keep the tourists informed would be nice.

Trash cans where people may sit and eat or snack seems like a logical idea. no need to pander to the people who want to eat as they stroll about.

For summer there definitely needs to be more places plastic bottle recycling. Those things fill up in a matter of hours and people just continue to stack them when its full.

Tourists do not know the “house rules”.

Is there evidence that the tourists are leaving a lot of rubbish in the wrong place? It seems to me that the complaint is on the side of the tourists who are mildly inconvenienced but having to hold onto their wrappers.

someone can buy a sandwich at 7 eleven and throw it away at the 7 eleven the next block down

Yeah, I don't advocate for this at all. Residents here are conditioned to return their rubbbish to where they got it from, and this should be followed, irrespective of how busy a tourist may think they are. I would encourage people to eat properly at established restaurants rather than eating junk from the combini, but I guess that's not trending on Instabook or Faceterest.

I said the exact same thing in the 90s. Before the Aum attacks, we could find garbage cans in various public places but afterwards they were almost all gone. I expected the trash cans would be returned after some time once they hysteria and paranoia of the attacks faded away but they haven't.

In fact, it seems to have gotten worse and it's even harder to find one now and this is especially problematic with the massive increase in tourists. We need to have more public trash cans again like we used to have before '95.

Yeah, I don't advocate for this at all. Residents here are conditioned to return their rubbbish to where they got it from, and this should be followed, irrespective of how busy a tourist may think they are. I would encourage people to eat properly at established restaurants rather than eating junk from the combini, but I guess that's not trending on Instabook or Faceterest.

@Negative Nancy

My bad, I think I may have misinterpreted your other comment. Yes, it seems you are not advocating for throwing trash away at a different conbini location.

But asking tourists who are here for a very limited time to stand around the area they purchased the sandwich is a bit much.

That just an excuses, they can wait 5min, no?

If not, please stay home.

Tourists do not know the “house rules”.

When visiting a country, you must learn the rules. It is the minimum courtesy.

I agree! It's ridiculous!

There are bins inside literally any convenience store.

As opposed to other countries where there are trash bins scattered around in public, and the public manages to litter much of their trash on the streets?

So it's responsibility of conbinis now?

Yes, partly. The convenience store sold the wrapper. The customer purchased it.

There is a healthy element to this cultural mentality—don’t purchase something unless you’ve thought about the trash it will produce and how you will dispose of it.

Japan has the convenience of purchasing but the inconvenience of trash. Many Japanese people comment, “I’m not going to buy that. I don’t have a place to throw away the trash.” It’s refreshing to see people consciously consume less because they consider the trash.

So it's responsibility of conbinis now?

If they sell sandwiches in plastic wrappers, yes!

I keep mentioning this, but Myeondong in Seoul (its like Shibuya) has pedestrianed streets with food stalls down the middle. Above the street, there is a banner saying "just give your trash to any stall". You can see it here.

https://tiffycooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Myeongdong-Street-Seoul-768x1024.webp

yep it’s bad even the conbini don’t accept the garbage you buy from them .Last time I was in town I left my can outside the store after the staff refused to take it

I do. not litter,i put my trash in my pocket

Yrral

I do. not litter,i put my trash in my pocket

How do you put an empty oily bento box in your pocket?

I don't know what is the problem... you buy a sandwich to eat it either in your house or office... if you eat it outside, still you will eventually return to your house/office (or hotel room)... where usually there are bins to dispose of trash.

I do it here in Japan, I did it when I was in Panama, Ecuador, Pakistan, Kenya and Germany... where is the trouble???

where is the trouble???

The trouble is that unlike you, there’s a very large percentage of the world that are completely unable to finish consuming something without immediately feeling that it’s disposal is now someone else’s problem.

The thought of keeping, say, an empty pet bottle in their bag for a few hours until they reach a disposal point horrifies them.

few hours until they reach a disposal point horrifies them.

....I suppose that is some sort of a mental disorder....

People here whingeing and whining about how "When in Rome do as the Romans do" when in reality, if countries take away their basic tourist infrastructure - tourist centres, multi-language menu options, rubbish bins, ATMs that accept international cards, English menus at restaurants etc. etc. - they'll start complaining too. Rubbish bins are part and parcel of city infrastructure and in cities with a high tourism traffic, essential. If Japan wants tourists but also wants to maintain order, they need to compromise and install bins around the cities, especially at and around popular tourist attractions.

Just take your trash home/hotel. Also, there are hundreds of public garbage bins all around Tokyo. They're at the conbinis.

What is really annoying in Tokyo and most bigger cities, is the lack of benches to take a break.

The lack of trash cans of course is ridiculous. The defenders of that here even more.

Japanese? They dislike it as much as everybody else, they are just a) used to it b) have their daily routine and c) are in shoganai mode.

Tourists: Good that they are there, since they are not used to it they complain.

But who could empty those trash bins? A question the whole world has been pondering, a solution seems impossible, it simply can't be done! We have to wait for AI to develop further to ask that question I guess. Or we could try thinking ourselves.. ah no, there is no solution..

As for the Romans, Japan of course is incredibly dirty. Countryside, cars, bikes, friges, microwaves, explore a forest near a road near a city/town/village, it's amazing. Cities? Clean, yes. (But so are many Europeans cities, despite the claim to the contrary) Trash cans wouldn't make them dirtier. One reason for the lack of trash bins is the fear that the romans would dispose of their household trash there. The whole Aum and terrorism thing at this point is just a pretext.

@Negative Nancy

Also, Japan does not have a culture of standing and moving with food. People sit to eat, and if they do stand, they do so in the vicinity of where they bought it.

Oh, they do. Nowadays there's even a word for that: 'tabearuki' (literally 'eat & walk').

Also, not a recent trend, but in every festival there're always some stalls selling food, so they do have this 'culture' of standing and moving and eating.

vallum

Tabearuki is generally used to mean going around an area sampling the various local foods, not literally eating while walking around. When it is used to mean the latter, it's almost always with a negative connotation.

Wasn't there a story about convenience stores not offering seating anymore? So the accepted practice is just to stand around with your meal?

WasabiJune 5 10:41 am JST

That just an excuses, they can wait 5min, no?

If not, please stay home.

I thought we were supposed to be enjoying our food. Now we have to wolf it down to make the next event?

Daniel NeagariJune 5 04:24 pm JST

I don't know what is the problem... you buy a sandwich to eat it either in your house or office... if you eat it outside, still you will eventually return to your house/office (or hotel room)... where usually there are bins to dispose of trash.

I don't know what trips you plan, but for me, it could be 16 hours before I am back at the hotel.

He should stick to Hong Kong.

God forbid we conform to the etiquette of China. Or US, EU etc…

I for one like the fact people don’t walk around in public eating all over the streets, or drinking enormous size Starbucks on the train etc.

I respect the culture enough to act like the locals do. I have no problem without overflowing smelly trashcans everywhere.

lets protect the small things that made us love Japan in the first place. Its politeness, cleanliness and its high trust society.