JAPAN Part 1- Hygiene & Cleanliness

One of the aspects of traveling is that it broadens our outlook towards life opening the passages of our mind to view our world with a new insight. Recently I got such an opportunity on my visit to the wonderland country, Japan. In this travel blog series, I would love to take my readers on an exquisite journey to savour the many positive traits we can welcome into our world. Each one of you would be able to take a leaf out of the book.

The first and foremost quality that cannot be missed by any tourist is the attention and care that every Japanese citizen gives towards the cleanliness of their country. Many countries are quite clean but Japan does stand out for the fact that it's kept clean in a very natural way. I did not find any municipal staff or community employee who might be assigned with the duty of sweeping or brooming etc. People themselves take on the duty to keep their city and their space clean. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the shop owners or the office employees start their day by sweeping the front of their workplace. It is not considered a menial job or a task that needs to be accomplished by a lower cadre. They broom right in the middle of the busy morning rush wearing proper professional attire consisting of suits, ties etc. A sight worth seeing for motivating oneself that no job is small or low and to look at the bigger picture.

The roots of this very important yet often ignored activity stem from childhood. The students in Japanese schools are taught to keep their classrooms, sports fields etc clean by making it part of their daily school timetable. This daily cleaning practice becomes part and parcel of their personality and habits.

The general rule in Japan is to take all personal rubbish back home to be thrown in their own dustbins and then to keep the rubbish bins outside for weekly disposal. One would rarely find a dustbin in Japan, yet every inch is kept clean & tidy. It won't be an exaggeration to say that we can even walk barefoot on the streets of Japan. That is the level of cleanliness I am talking about. Another important part of their culture is to take off their footwear at the entrance before entering their homes and in many instances other public places like some shops and offices as well. This limits the entry of dust and dirt inside. One more reason why there is such a high level of hygiene in the country.

Another noticeable part of their lifestyle is that almost all the toilets in Japan have an automatic system attached to the toilet seat. One can choose from the different kinds of sprays, pressure, angle, speed etc as well as the ultimate luxury of sitting on a heated toilet seat. The daily activity of going to the toilet becomes a kind of indulgence owing to such comfort and practicality. 

Inspite of such a big population, there is absolutely no pollution or other discomforts solely because each individual takes on the responsibility to keep their city clean and hygienic and that's a lesson to learn. One can only applaud the Japanese for their ultimate goal of keeping their area stunning and needless to say they have succeeded in reaching their goal for the world to see, appreciate and imbibe such a positive communal behaviour.