On the way to work

I have to say that one of the first things I am noticing is that despite being in a huge urban area, everywhere is so CLEAN. There is absolutely no trash, buts, NOTHING i the streets or on the sidewalk. It's kind of freaky. Today I saw a woman waking ob the street pick some trash from an otherwise spotless street that wasnt even her own! definitely their is the this is our community vibe going on. The other strange thing for me is how QUIET it is also. It's almost like being in the suburbs, in terms of noise level.

There are vending machines like every 10 feet with anything from beer to asprin, and of course soda and drinks. But rarely do you ever see someone walking and eating/drinking. There are lots of posters of what I guess are politicians all over too. I especially like the one this guy. There is just something about him....


Recycling here is a HUGE deal and if you don't follow the rules you can get into some trouble. Things are separated into burnable(moerugomi), non-burnable (moenaigomi)and recyclable. It's kind of a hassle but once you get used to it it's not a big deal and with the amount of trash a city of this size must make, its probably a good thing to do...


Finally, I found my new coffee shop, but it's not like my beloved Starbucks. The employees are polite but reserved, like in most shops and for a coffee that is about half of a starbucks tall size, its like 3 bucks..it is pretty good though I must admit. And the name is ST MARC'S CAFE so it must be meant to be...lol