Most of cities in Tokyo have strict rules for disposal. It often drives me crazy so, those rules must drive most of non-Japanese freak out.

In my district Fussa, I have to buy certain garbage bags. Blue bags for burnable waste, yellow ones for unburnable waste. If I use other bag, they don’t take my bag. I usually buy M-size bags. 10bags for 300yen.

And next, it is the most difficult part. You have to separate garbage. Burnable ^[1], unburnable, cans, glass bottles&jars, metals ^[2], PET bottles, plastic bottles, newspapers&magazines, cardboard boxes, clothes ^[3] and large refuses. To dispose large refuses, you have to buy a ticket and call cleaning section. Disposal fee is expensive. Really. To throw old washing machine away, costs about $25.

Except large refuses, CE, PC, you have to place a garbage bag at certain trashstation before 8:30 a.m on certain day. We have a calendar for it.
^[4]

I’m sure those rules freak you out when you start living in Tokyo. But it is one of the thing you have to get over in this city.