Picture taken by me in Okinawa
Since my boyfriend R has come to study abroad with me in Japan, he has also noticed a difference in how Japan handles environmental responsibility. Since I’ve been here for five months already, it’s interesting to get a fresh perspective on everything again.
Biking
After cramming our bikes in a supermarket bike lot, R said to me, “You know what I just realized? If this were America, all those bikes would be cars. It’s stupid to have a car for just one person. It makes me think of our school and how the parking garages would always be full…that’s ridiculous.”
Pushing this topic further, we asked ourselves why is it that in America, it’s next to impossible to get anywhere without a car? Japan has incredibly narrow streets with little to no room for bikers, and yet I feel safer biking here than in the wide roads in America, where drivers might not look out for us. (Yes, “us.”)
Garbage
In Japan, everything gets sorted and packages are labeled so there won’t be any confusion–specifically pointing out which part of the product is paper or plastic. It’s a pain but there are bins set up specifically for each category.
When R and I went to a Starbucks in Shinsaibashi, we went to throw out our garbage in the appropriate bins. The staff there told us to just give the tray to her–probably under the assumption that as foreigners, we don’t know how to sort garbage properly. This is a valid assumption: where we were, there were many foreigners. Most if not all of them were abroad on business trips, and judging by the way they behaved in the store, gave little to no thought about respecting the country they were in. The staff most likely had problems with foreigners tossing the garbage all in one bin, even though in Japan there are ones that are specifically assigned for burnables, non-burnables, and even left over drink/ice.
Heating
Contrary to in America, many Japanese households do not have a lot of insulation despite areas that get cold weather. Even though R flew in from snow-riddled New England, he kept complaining about how cold it was inside our dorm. Shouldn’t he be acclimated to cold weather already? He isn’t used to the lack of heating in buildings, which freaks a lot of other students out (including myself during the first few cold spells.) We do have heating in our rooms, but we are advised not to leave it on all day. Our rooms are small enough so that they warm up quickly, so it isn’t a big deal for me.
Likewise, when I stayed over a few times at a Japanese household, the house was extremely frigid. But after closing up the doors and making dinner and having some lively talk, the room that we stayed in became quite warm. There was a small heater in the room that I slept in, set on a timer so that it didn’t run all night. The family was generous with the blankets and sweaters, too, which made a big difference. Now when I go to sleep, I always set a timer for the heat to turn off during the night. And I feel a chilly, I just put on another layer like a scarf or a jacket.
Leftover Food
R seemed to admire the fact that the family we had dinner with used up all the food in one way or another–even left over broth from a hot pot. When one of the kids spilled too much soy sauce on his plate, his mom told him to pour it into the miso soup, which is a really clever way to not let it go to waste. It is common for people to eat every grain of rice in their bowl, sometimes pouring some broth or hot water to get the grains that are stuck.
In all of my visits to Japan, I’ve never seen a garbage disposal in a household kitchen–just a simple sink strainer to catch things that might block the pipes. Even in our dorm, the sinks in our kitchen are lined with such strainers, which quickly fill up with wasted pasta, rice, and other foods that students leave behind.
Dining Out
Aside from the obvious portion size factor, there are other little things that indicate a conscious effort to help the environment. Napkins are tiny and only one accompanies your take-out–if any. Like I said above, they divide their garbage as well as have aplace for you to dump leftover drinks/ice to make garbage sorting easier.
Recycle Shops
Recycle shops are common here. Kind of like thrift stores in America, recycle shops are where you can sell clothes and buy them at discounted prices. Many people take advantage of these stores because the clothes are carefully sorted by the staff, which makes for a lot of good finds.
If you’ve ever seen a typical Japanese apartment, you will find yourself wondering how someone who lives in a country with vast materialism manages to have so little material possession in their homes. This is because they more than likely get rid of their un-wanted items on a regular basis, using these recycle shops to free up room in their tiny apartments.
Conclusion
I’m not saying that America should adopt the same environmental policies that Japan has. Nor am I saying Japan has perfected the concept of environmentalism. Obviously there is a culture factor: I’m pretty sure a lot of people would be suing their heads off at the notion of a plastic sorting crackdown (a bin for bottles, cans, AND plastic wrap? The nerve!), possibly doubly-so with the one-napkin-per-meal idea.
It’s just that living in this country and seeing how we can drastically cut down our waste–and still thrive as a industrialized nation–makes me realize how we could go about doing things differently back in the States. We could grab one napkin from a restaurant instead of a handful, creating less demand for them. We could bundle up instead of crank up the thermostat, or close up a room to build up heat.
In any case, I will keep trying to look for other comparisons and write about them here. I am planning to take these ideas home with me, and I hope that some of you in the States might feel inspired to do the same.
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