Lettuce story

Spring has arrived, the nature is waking up and sharing its products. I really enjoy to go the markets and see how the green grocery products change depending on seasons. It is an advantage, the more products markets have, the cheaper and fresher we can buy.

In Japan essentially, if you are frequently checking the markets, you can see what is in season, what is meant eating these days.

These days are lettuce days. Fresh, crunchy vegetable is in front of the markets and with a reasonable price.

One day at the market, I was busy choosing and buying among many lettuces. I was checking if it is full inside. There were also other costumers around me.

One kind lady had come near me and advised me to check the heavy ones and then check the head to be white as a sign of freshness… She even showed me some examples. And I chose one, showed the lettuce to her and she approved “yes that is good”. I smiled, thanked her, put the lettuce to my cart and continued my shopping with that smile. Even now, when I am writing a have a smile on my face.

That lady was really kind, she helped me, and didn’t care whether I am Japanese or not. She also had a plain easy to understand Japanese, I understood her and felt homelike. When I was shopping, I had a small kind talk with a lady most probably living in the neighborhood. Isn’t it homelike?

That lady is the Good Karma of my day, she is the proof of many more kind Japanese people.

Cheers,

Ece

Green coke

I really really like coke. Sometimes I even consider whether I am addicted to coke or not. The sugary, bubbly drink…

The red and blue and grey and black labels are what we are used to have. So it took me a while to notice the green label.  Apparently it was launched in March 2015 in Japan. I was a little behind. :)

The idea of the green comes from healthy, as of green juices and smoothies. And the name is Coca Cola Life. They cherish life. They don’t want anyone to be unhealthy.

The change is the ingredient that is used as sugar, a healthy sugar is used. It is stevia. In Japan, stevia is known as a healthy sugar beforehand, so I don’t know the coke costumers of Japan will switch to the green label or not.

The shock to the change was the same when the black label came, as the zero… I remember it, I felt the same doubt, confusion denial and of course curiosity.

Now I feel the same.

The doubt: Do I need another type?

The confusion: What could be the difference?

The denial: I like the old ones.

The curiosity: I will try anyway, like it is not a big deal.

And the final step was there. I am standing in front of all the bottles. I have the temptation to go and buy the ones that I know and like.

I have drunk the green finally. I felt like it was the taste when I first tasted zero for the first time. Similar but different… Known but new…

It is not a fully global label product, so it is another specific Japanese experience for me.

Cheers,

Ece

Where to put my garbage?

I was used to recycling before I moved to Tokyo. I consider myself conscious about recycling. And of course, like many things that I have considered, all of those are different in Tokyo.

this sign is for plastic

There are two classifications of garbage. Burnable and unburnable. Unburnable ones are recyclable. There are also other different groups under unburnable title.
  

Anyway, it took me around a year to figure this out. It is not because I was ignoring it, it was because there were too many to consider.

I had my own challenges to figure things out at home. When I am outside, most of the time I was too afraid of throwing my litter to the wrong basket. For a year, I had carried some litter in my pocket and in my bag. All of the trash that I created was travelling with me, and at end of the day, I would sort the trash at home. Calmly…  I still keep some litter with me and bring it home, there are still some tough items to sort out.

My most problematic item is plastics. Yes, plastics can be burned, but it can also be recycled.

 What happens when the plastics is dirty with food?  The correct act is always to wash and recycle the plastic. I came up with my own answers. If I can wash the plastic, it can be recycled. If I am not in the mood of washing, I just put it in the burnable bin. Sometimes I question my recycle consciousness. Am I still a good and responsible person when I put plastic in the burnable bin?

My confusions are not finished. All of the plastics bottles should be put into recycle bins without the wraps and caps. The wraps are mostly made with some dents as a line to make it easy to unwrap. So the plastics bottles are collected in a different way rather than other plastics.

Ooh well, I was not good at that subject either. I had recycled the plastics bottles with caps and wraps for a period of time. And at that time I was proud of myself that I was recycling. When I saw different bins for bottles, I realized that I was doing wrong with good intentions. Well well, I was not as good recycler as I thought.

Cans and glass are also put into different bins. I didn’t make any mistakes related to that rule. :)

After I had sorted the trash, I faced the next question, when to put the garbage out?

If you are living in Tokyo and if you are lucky, you apartment would have an area designed for trash bins which means you can put your trash out anytime you want. You just have to put it in the bins. The trash will be gone in the mornings of days designated by the ward.

blue bins for burnable, grey bins for plastic

here is there place to sort the bottles,cans and glass

If you live in an apartment not having bin area, you have to follow the sing informing the time when you can put your trash out in time for the trash collection. This is a well-respected rule which is keeping the streets clean. There are separate days for burnable and unburnable trash.

And, of course, I had my challenges with this rule. I had missed the trash collection day and made the trash stay with us and stink at home for many days. And I also put the trash out at the wrong time, and watched staying along the road for days. I have also confused the days and put the burnable on unburnable day or vice versa.

It is really shameful, I even followed my trash bags and started to track them whether they are gone or not.

I conclude that I am conscious about the recycle but I am not a natural recycler, I gave a lot of thought to my garbage.

Cheers,

Ece