How to Recycle Cans and Bottles in Japan

When you throw away the trash, can you follow the usual way in all over the cities in your country?

The way of throwing it  away depends on each cities in Japan. It's decided on whether cities have a good incineration facility or not, because the cost to get it is used from our duties.

In my city, we have a good incineration facility and can throw away the trash without difficult separations of it.

We have only 4 selections about throwing away, normal garbage including plastics and within 30cm length, big trashes over 30cm, cans and bottles, and old papers and clothes including cardboard cases.

But in some of other cities, they have to separate garbage more, which makes us confused when we move to another place.

Well, when it comes to the trash of old papers, clothes, aluminum cans and plastic bottles, we can throw away in 2 ways, one is it's gathered by the public cleaners for usual garbage and another is for recycling.

I'll talk about one of our recycling in our lives.
We have 2 recycling ways.

We can bring aluminum cans and plastic bottles to the recycled garbage box of supermarkets, but also have the system to throw them away at places children's associations decided and have managed.

The children's associations are consisted of kids' parents living in the area.

We have the days twice a month.

A company pick them up one after another and the children's associations get some money from the company later.

That's some of about recycling in Japan.As the last thing I want to explain about how to use the money children's associations get from the company.The children's associations use the money besides fees that kids' parents pay in order for kids to get along each other.

They make many plans to let kids have a good time together, which comes out to be good in our area.

We plan to keep Japanese traditional events and games, have kids make something for our culture exhibition at school, have a few parties and so on.

The most important task is to keep the Japanese traditional events and games to the next generation.

What are the Japanese traditional events?

They are 2 regional sports festivals in spring and fall and the fall festival at our regional shrine.

At the fall festival at the nearby shrine, we corporate with the regional people and make the event more exciting.

Kids and the people, bring and hang up miniature shrines named "Mikoshi" in Japanese and the 6th grade kids beat Japanese big drums on a truck if they want.

This is one of "Mikoshi", which have been kept carefully in all over the regions for a long time.

We can see them only once a year, in fall festivals.   

And about traditional games, we have the date to compete with a big long jump rope among the other children's associations in the area. (We have about 9 ones in my area.)
We also have the competition to play Japanese traditional cards named "Hyakunin-isshu".

Hyakunin-isshu

Many of the people here think about both recycling and Children's growth, we throw away the trash on the recycled days.
And the children's associations use the money for kids' good growth and inheritance of traditional Japanese cultures to the next generation.    

先週末の我が家は、インフルエンザウィルスが蔓延していました・・・。
息子が先陣を切り発熱、その後、娘も発熱、なかなか病院に行かず2日ほど寝込んだ挙句、結局病院に行った長男と、発熱してすぐに病院に行くと言った娘の、その後の経過は随分と違うものになりました。
娘はインフルエンザ予防と通常の風邪の処置をしてもらい、息子はインフルエンザの陽性反応が出たので、インフルエンザの薬を貰っただけ。
で、結果は、翌日には熱が下がった妹を横目で見ながら、ずーっと寝込んでいた兄ちゃん。結局熱が下がるまで、5日もかかりました。
兄ちゃんは高校生、今、試験前の大切な時期にかなり焦っていました。

ということで、週末はブログも書かず、のんびーり過ごしてました。
その間、友だちから日本のペットボトルのリサイクルについて質問があったので、今回、廃品回収を中心にブログを書きました。

というのも、この辺の廃品回収は子供会がやっていて、来年度は子供会副会長なんです。
うちの子は途中で辞めたものの、子どもが6年の時に親は役をしないといけないのが、うちの子供会ルール。
今年の6年の母は、私を含めて6人、それで70人近くの子どもが参加する行事を回していく…。
その運営が少しでも楽になるようにと、廃品回収業務もやっているんですよね。
3番目が6年なので、過去２回経験しているので、何となーく分かっているつもりですが、今年はその他に地区委員と指名委員も見事当たったようで、今現時点で有難いことに、3つも役が決まりました。
更にあと2つこれからくじ引きというのもあり、今年は当たり年になりそうです。
新学期に入ると、小学校の二巡目の委員決め…これ以上は増やしたくないなあ。

子どもの人数が増えれば増えるほど、役員や委員もその分回って来ますよね。
この世代、子育てと仕事と、人によっては介護と・・・本当に忙しい毎日を過ごしているはずなのに、どうしてこんな役員のお手伝いがあるんだろう？って、思ったことは何回もあります。
私はこの地区しか知らないから、当たり前と割り切り、淡々とこなしてきたのですが、他の地区も一緒なんかなあ…。

当たらないように、祈っておいて下さい～～

Our Selection of Inheriting Mother's Cooking

I saw an interview result about Mother's cooking we want to inherit to the next generation in Japan.
It's the results and pictures. Let's enjoy Japanese traditional mother's cuisines at home.

1. Nikujaga ( We call it for this dish in Japanese.)
   　：　Braised Meat and Vegetables with sugar, soy sauce and sweet cooking sake.

2. Curry Rice : Curry and Rice, different from the Indian curry.

3. Miso shiru : Miso soup. There are many different kinds of soups by changing ingredients. Healthy tasty soup containing plenty of vegetables. We often eat it and rice for breakfast here.

4. Onigiri : I explained before in my blog.

5. Nabe : A Japanese cuisine like a stew. We often eat it especially in winter and have a party with our families and friends. We can put vegetables, seafood, meat and other favorite ingredients in a pot. We have many kinds of soups as well. 

My family use this pot, because we can enjoy 2 types of soups and
daughters can't eat hot spicy nabe.

6. Hamburg : We say "hamburg" in Japanese for a hamburger steak. We have our own flavors at each home.

7. Karaage : This has also different flavors depending on the houses.
I often cook 2 types of Karaage, sweet soy sauce, ginger and garlic one or salt and pepper one.

8. Takikomi gohan : Japanese Mixed Rice. We place meat, seafood, vegetables and mushrooms as per our preference in a rice cooker.Of course we can make it with a pot, too. 

9. Tamago yaki : A dish was made by mixing eggs with stock, sweet cooking sake, sugar and soy source and frying it to become soft and fluffy. We have our own variations such as adding cheese and green onions.

10. Sakana no Nitsuke : Simmered Fish in sweet cooking sake, sugar and soy source. 

次世代に残したい母の味って何だろうって思って、ネットで見ました。
これがトップ１０。
なるほど、なるほど・・・自分の予想とそんなにも離れていなかったわ～
うちのほとんどの朝ごはんは和食なので、味噌汁が付いてくるけれど、でもダシはパックから取ってるので、完全なるおふくろの味とは言えないわ・・・。
鰹節から削って作ってるはなちゃんの味噌汁は、本当に美味しいんだろうなあ～。