Posted with mod approval.
Japan's garbage system has a real learning curve — even for people who grew up here. Categories, ward-specific rules, color-coded bags, collection days that change by neighborhood.
I built an app to help with this. Open it and the home screen already shows you today's collection type, what bag to use, and what time to put it out. If you want to check a specific item, point your camera at it — food packaging, electronics, bottles, clothes, anything — and it tells you exactly which category, which bag color, and which day, based on your specific ward's rules.
Nearby recycling points on a map — batteries, old electronics, clothing. The app shows the nearest drop-off spots around you instead of you having to guess.
粗大ごみ support — scan a sofa or washing machine and it surfaces the phone number and reservation link for your nearest sodai gomi office directly in the scan result. No more digging through your ward's Japanese website at midnight.
If you're just visiting, there's also a tourist mode — no setup needed, just scan anything and get disposal guidance based on general Japan-wide rules.
Currently covers Tokyo (Shinjuku, Shibuya, Minato, Setagaya, Adachi, Nerima, Ota), Osaka, Kyoto, Yokohama, and Fukuoka. English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Turkish.
But I want to make it better — so I genuinely want to know:
- Is there still something that's confusing you or giving you trouble?
- Anything you wish an app like this actually did?
App is free to use, GomiSense on the App Store if anyone wants to try it and give direct feedback.
by pirefiterol