Most first-time visitors to Japan are struck by how clean the country is
Undiluted orientalism.<p>I was in Osaka this weekend and litter is everywhere. By far one of the dirtiest major cities I’ve seen in East Asia.  In the city I live in in Japan, the rice fields are full of coffee cans, plastic bottles, and bento packaging thrown out from cars. Streets are covered in cigarette butts and somehow I see natto containers in the middle of nowhere. Going hiking, I see tea bottles and plastic bags from convenience stores all over the damn place.<p>Most parts of Tokyo and cities with tourism are generally clean because there are heavy cleanup operations. People are still littering just like everywhere else.<p>> Invisible dirt – germs and bacteria – are another source of concern. When people catch colds or flu, they wear surgical masks to avoid infecting other people.<p>But you’ll never catch people washing their hands and grandpas always pull down their mask to cough so as to not dirty it.  I caught a news program during flu season last year telling people how to avoid the flu. Their recommendations? Keep your stomach wrapped and extra warm, and drink green tea since it cures influenza.