Thursday 6 September 2012

I don't think this would happen in Aus.

Last weekend we had grass-picking day at our apartment building....again ... Today was the turn of JR East Yotsuya.  At the station there were three staff out grass picking in 35 degree temperatures.  Pulling out weeds and bundling them.... all day...  I thought to myself  "lawnmower" and "whipper snipper" and "roundup".  And then I reminded myself I am in Japan.

4 comments:

Rurousha said...

:D!

Same when they're cleaning a massive station ... with a bucket and one mop. Yet that selfsame station is cleaner than any other station I've ever seen anywhere else, except possibly Germany.

Go figure.

Cecilia said...

To be fair I should have said that the way they were doing it left it looking meticulous.

There was botanical ethnic cleansing happening - the tall plants were being pulled out, the grass left as was. Much harder to achieve with any of the methods suggested above.

SomedaysSarah said...

In Canada it would have been done in a ride-on mower the size of a small Japanese truck. It would have been done in about five minutes, but it'd look horrible! The labour intensive Japanese way often seems like a waste of time but it almost always looks so much better, doesn't it?!

Cecilia said...

It does look good.
The place at Yotsuya station is quite interesting - it has been an overgrown mess for years. It seems like there are plans a foot for it... though what I have no idea.