The Real Reason Why Streets in Japan Are Clean Despite the Near Absence of Trash Cans

Last month, I received a message from a friend. "I've arrived in Japan, but I've been walking around with a plastic bottle in my hand for a long time in front of a convenience store." On her way from the airport to the hotel, she couldn't find a place to throw away her finished tea bottle, so she ended up carrying it all the way back to her hotel room.

She is a friend from Australia, and this was her first time in Japan. What she noticed immediately upon arrival was that there was almost no trash on the streets, whether at the Shibuya Scramble Crossing or the approach to Senso-ji Temple. Yet, no matter how much she looked for a trash can, she couldn't find one.

"Isn't this a contradiction?" she asked, genuinely puzzled. There are almost no trash cans, yet the streets are clean. It seems many people from overseas encounter the same question, and posts about "Japan having no trash cans" are a staple topic on social media, frequently covered in travel blogs and videos as well. This time of year, with summer festivals and fireworks displays following one after another, the accumulation of trash from food stalls makes this question even more pronounced.

A friend who got lost looking for a trash can

To conclude, the reason there are few trash cans in Japan is not simply because "manners are good, so there's no need to install them." The background to the current situation involves both a clear historical trigger and a certain sense that Japanese people possess unconsciously.

To be honest, I was raised being taught from childhood that it is natural to put trash generated outside into my own bag and take it home. At the time, I never once thought that was anything special. I only became able to explain in my own words why we do that after I became an adult and was asked the same question many times by friends from overseas.

In this article, I will write about the real reason why there are few trash cans, the Japanese sense that lies in the background, and how travelers can actually behave so they don't have any trouble, incorporating my own real-life experiences.