More studying. I'm including another shot of my residence to give you some idea of the exciting life I'm leading here. As seen in the photo, you must take off your shoes at the door and put on slippers, for anyone not in the know.
I can't get over how amazingly well people follow the rules here. I have seen several occasions where a pedestrian will stand waiting for the light to change red for the oncoming traffic before crossing an empty street. Even when there's no car in sight, people don't jaywalk.
The city is so well maintained, and talk about an amazing recycling program! At our orientation, the guy spent 20 minutes telling us about how to recycle, since there's good dozen different bins for you to sort trash into depending on the type. Everything gets recycled, and even though it takes time to do it properly, the locals all follow the complicated instructions (such as washing empty toothpaste containers, and cutting off the ends before putting them into the right bin). Failure to comply results in an individual's particular part of the city getting less frequent trash/recycling pick-up as a punishment, and the disapproval of one's neighbours since it usually becomes clear who slipped up.
Consequently, there is a strong motivation to recycle properly. Unsurprisingly, the community takes a dim view on foreign students who aren't as motivated to get the recycling sorted properly, and I can't say I blame them. We talk about how great BC's recycling is compared to what we witness down in the US, but we've got nothing on Japan! Sure, I know it's more of a necessity here given the huge population, but it's still impressive.
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