ー英会話講師の英語日記ー　札幌英会話スクールSTEP UP（札幌駅、大通駅徒歩５分）

Why I am happy to live in Japan – Part 6: Clean Streets

2018年1月11日 (木)

Today’s entry is more about Sapporo than Japan in general; there are some cities, even in this country, with really dirty streets! I see garbage on the street, litter on the street, spilled drinks and oil, chewing gum, graffiti, and sometimes even urine. There are many reasons why a city might have dirty streets, and of course each city has its own character, but to be honest, I don’t like walking on the street when there is a lot of garbage and mess everywhere.

Sapporo has the cleanest streets of just about any city I have ever visited. (As I remember, Salzburg also has very clean streets, but it’s been a long time since I’ve been there.) I think that there are mainly two reasons for the clean streets here in Sapporo. First, people don’t litter that much. I think it is easier to litter if there is already a lot of other garbage on the street. However, if the street is very clean, people are less likely to leave their garbage on it. The second reason is that we always have a lot of people working to clean the streets. I see many people, both volunteers and employees of various companies and organizations, out cleaning the streets every day. People sweep up leaves, collect garbage, and clean up spills very quickly. I have never encountered a bad smell or an unsanitary situation anywhere in Sapporo. This is another reason why I am happy to live here.