Eco Bacon

This bacon claims to be Eco and low CO2, so did they figure out a way to trap pig farts?

Eco Mark Program

I have noticed this mark on a variety of things from a Company Jacket to a box of matches and wondered what it was about.
According to the Japan Environment Association's Eco Mark Office, the Eco Mark is defined as a mark that can be applied to readily available products certifying them as less burdensome on the environment. Now that I know what it stands for, I feel obligated to keep an eye out for it.

Random Recycling

I'm not sure how, but I got it into my head that I needed to recycle all the end bits of the candles that I have been burning, to get rid of the tatami mat smell in my apartment, into a new candle. I wish I had photos of the precess because it took some silly experimentation. Not knowing where to find candle wick I tried burning bits of a few potential substitutes and settled in twine. Next, melted the remnants I was trying to recycle in a old glass food jar set in a pot of simmering water and strained out all of the old wick holders. I tied the twine to a drinking straw and coated it in the melted wax to stiffen it enough to hold a straight position in my new candle. I weighted the wick using one of the old wick holders and held the top in position by placing the straw on the rim of the new candle container. I poured the melted wax into the container and around the wick and ended up with a usable, but slightly funny colored recycled candle.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!

Trash Complication

After being woken up early this morning by water pipe construction happening on the road below my balcony I then had the unfortunate experience of finding a dead bird when I stepped outside to see what all the noise was about. First I felt sorry for the bird, but my next thought was, 'now, what type of trash classification does a dead bird fall into?' In my condo complex at home I don't even have curbside recycling, but here I've got an annoyingly large number of categories that trash must be sorted into. Burnable, Non-Burnable, Paper containers, Plastic packaging, PET bottles, glass, metal containers...I am pretty confident that the bird is Burnable. In 6 months this extensive level of sorting trash still hasn't become second nature and I often end up with daily piles of trash needing to be sorted.

Handkerchiefs

Handkerchiefs appear to be a necessity in the Japanese lifestyle. Hand towels are not provided in restrooms, dinner napkins don't exist, and in the summer it is so humid everyone is dripping with sweat, it turns out Handkerchiefs can help out in all of these situations. Until now, I haven't gotten into the handkerchief thing but, having won some at my team holiday party, I think today is as good a day as any to try it out.

One Cashmere Sweater with a Hole

...Can become one pair of leg warmers,

two Christmas stockings, and hopefully more Christmas decorations when I get ambitious again. I am still bummed that the sweater got a hole, but I get some satisfaction out of the things it has become.

Farmers Market

I'm off to the Farmers Market at the Oasis 21 in Sakae.

Finally a crisp Autumn morning, complete with a true blue sky.

The Market in action.

The Sakae area at ground level and the market just below ground in Oasis 21

One of the Oasis 21 staircases with the 'lake' above on the glass cealing

My Purchases. After getting over the fact the the green skinned citrus is not lime, I have started to like them, so I purchased some from an excited farmer who was offering samples to everyone who walked past.

Laundry Day

I've been told that in Japan a balcony is a utilitarian space rather than a place for relaxation. All the balconies are equipped with collapsible brackets to hold poles for drying laundry. My understanding is that most homes don't have clothes dryers and the dryers available are not designed to be vented outside like what I am accustomed to. During my Summer vacation I have enjoyed hanging my clothes to dry, it is a surprisingly quick process with the only downside being that my things end up a little bit stiff. I did rent a dryer, I tried it once, but I wont be using it again until it cools off around here. After a three hour drying time the most noticeable result was an already hot apartment turned into a sauna.

Forwarding Mail

While I am in Japan I am planning to forward my mail to my parents house. With the exception of my property taxes I can receive and pay all of my bills online, so this shouldn't pose much of a problem. Recently I ran across information about how much junk mail the average American adult receives, 41 pounds per year. Currently I take this junk to the paper retriever so I don't feel that guilty, but why not save the trees, energy and my time by stopping it before it arrives.

I used DMA choice to remove myself from direct mailing because it was free, but I've also heard that 41 pounds also works great.