TTokyo

No littering 🚯 in Harajuku

  • October 14, 2025

Although Tokyo is a city famous for good manners, there are still several “unmannered” areas in central Tokyo， such as Kabukicho, Ikebukuro, especially Harajuku.

It’s too far-fetched to say it’s a “foreigner problem”, because according to my observation during just 3 minutes there waiting for the traffic light, not only were some white peoples and east-southern peoples littering, but also some young Japanese people. This has almost become a unique landscape of Harajuku – maverick people, maverick behaviour, maverick culture.

This scene, which is almost like performance art, also frequently appears in the corners of Osaka. ( the second picture was taken in Namba, Osaka ) For some reason, a scene that would make people smile knowingly in Osaka feels a bit out of place in Tokyo, at least from the author’s perspective. Is this prejudice against the city, or a helplessness toward its chaotic order?

by Tuffie_the_rat

40 comments

  5. There is always littering, for example after a Taurus you can find the broken combini umbrellas in every wind pocket/corner of buildings.
    Somehow that was never an issue.

    Not condoning the above of course. And not placing any garbage bins anywhere, is moronic. Every Hanami and Hanabi has them for example, so the concept is understood.

  6. Ha, overly dramatic with your descriptions much?
    Entertainment districts in cities being entertainment districts is all that this is.

    The second picture with all the bikes in front of the “No Bicycle Parking” sign truly captures that Kansai idgaf spirit for sure though.

  7. >This has almost become a unique landscape of Harajuku – maverick people, maverick behaviour, maverick culture.

    >Is this prejudice against the city, or a helplessness toward its chaotic order?

    Brother it ain’t that deep, people litter and dump bicycles if they think they won’t get caught.

  9. Maybe two things i want to Point Out.

    Point 1: If the trash Management system is designed like that and then problems ocure, maybe its time to rethink the approach and introduce trash cans again. or even better, evaluate and ask yourself what the reasons for littering are. Putting on a No Littering poster is not gonna change it. I don’t like littering, but there are people interacting with a system. Maybe instead of ranting about it, they should think of sollutions. And that is adressed to the people in charge and the media.

    Point 2: don’t get me wrong. They picture Shows littering and i dont like it either. but in my view it is a “considerated” type of littering. Whatever the reasons for throwing the trash on the ground, it was not thrown randomly on the street which would look more messy on an huger area. In this case it is concentrated on one spot. Easier to pick up, does not mess up an whole area, one could say its the japanese way of littering 😂

  10. It’s time for Japan to bring back the public trash bin. It’s been 30+ years since those incident now, it’s time to move on.

  12. Japanese ppl for sure. Young Japanese don’t care cuz they can blame tourists.

  18. You were saying “the author”, I can’t find a link. Are you referring to an article, or am I misunderstanding something?

  19. >Although Tokyo is a city famous for good manners

    I would not say this. I would say Tokyo is famous for people conforming to norms, which people unfamiliar with Japanese culture might confuse for good manners.

    >This has almost become a unique landscape of Harajuku – maverick people, maverick behaviour, maverick culture.

    Following the lead of a hundred other people is “maverick”?

    Instead of trying to ascribe a personality to geography, doesn’t it make much more sense to just say people tend to conform to expectations of what they see around them? So when people see a giant garbage pile, it makes sense they would add to it. Who is going to scold you for littering when many dozens of people already got away with it?

  21. I’ve seen the same in Osaka and Kyoto, could be a foreigner issue, but I’ve also seen it in non-tourist areas

  22. ![gif](giphy|RgalFvrRCgb5fu3O1s|downsized)

    You know, Japan, trash bins exist. Use them. Why so paranoid? ?_?

  24. No no no, that’s just the neat pile of rubble corner. They are helping the garbage men.

  25. That first photo though a lot isn’t spread everywhere.

    I’m reminded of some of tidiest litter I had ever seen in Shinjuku one morning. It was placed on a utility box, out of the way, and drinking items were arranged by type and size. Even the wrappers had been flattened and folded and I was left wondering if they had a iron or something. Probably just a lot of time until the trains started.

  28. Kabukicho and Ikebukero can’t be blamed solely on foreigners. But Harajuku, mostly yeah.

  29. The last time I was in Tokyo was late 2018. I’ll be going again in about a month. When I was there last, if I had trash and no trash bin in sight, I’d carry it with me, until I found a place to throw it, or until I got back to my hotel or AirBNB. It wasn’t that difficult, and l truly hope it won’t be this bad when I’m there.

  30. I’ve seen a lot of comments lately on things where people say, “But even the local Japanese people do it.” My question is can you tell if they’re Japanese if you dont hear them talking? The top countries visiting Japan have been China, South Korea, and the US.

  33. The only city that has ton of trashbins and it shocked my a little after something like Kobe, where trashbin is a dream, was kyoto

  34. I don’t get why people shit talk Ikebukuro. I lived there first a year. It was pretty clean, especially compared to this.

  39. Ah yes the pile at the end of takeshita (opposite from the station), a bit to the right, almost in front of the pet shop ?

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