I seem to spend most of my time here carrying rubbish around. No, I have not become a crazy bag lady (though my friends wouldn't be the least bit surprised). It appears that the recycling system in Japan is so technologically advanced that there's nowhere to dispose of actual, bog-standard trash. There's an almost ridiculous array of public bins for everything from bottle caps to tissues (I'm surprised there's no facility for the disposal of pervy Japanese men, but that's for another blog). However, finding somewhere to dump your lunch leftovers is nigh on impossible. Is this a government conspiracy? Fattening the nation up by forcing them to finish their noodles?! The solution that many Japanese people have discovered is to freely dump their rubbish in the countryside. Mmm. Possibly not a long-term plan. Adding to my confusion is the problem of the chopstick. Eating out regularly (like the majority of the Japanese workforce) I'm going through about two dozen disposable chopsticks a week. Supermarkets and restaurants hand them out more freely than condoms in a West-Kent sexual health clinic. So here I am (taking the Tokyo plunge) with my first pair of permanent sticks. I figured the piles of garbage decorating the Japanese coastline didn't really need my hefty contribution. Not wanting to do things by halves I thought I'd embrace my inner child while I was at it - I mean, why not! 'When in Japan, do as the under-5's do!' After all, if Japanese businessmen can get away with bunny rabbit illustrated cheque books, surely I can pull off novelty chopsticks. The sublime and the ridiculous in perfect zen harmony? Oh alright then.