We know that the Japanese are sticklers for cleanliness, but I don’t think that Parisians have a reputation for not being so neat and clean. I always thought that people in Paris were as “clean” as the people from any other city. Apparently, I was wrong.
There is actually a group of Japanese nationals who have volunteered to show the people of Paris a thing or two about cleanliness. The group is called Greenbird Paris, which is the first overseas branch of a nonprofit organization based in Tokyo. Greenbirds are basically volunteers of all ages, who have come to the city of Paris to clean it up.
Apparently, while Paris is known for its culture and historical monuments, these places are rife with trash such as cigarette butts, food scraps, and even dog poop! And the Greenbirds’ task? To get rid of all this trash with their “pincers”.
Why Paris, you might ask. Well, for one, Paris is one of the most popular destinations for Japanese tourists. As such, some members of the Greenbirds have seen firsthand what their city of dreams is really like in real life. Take the example of Mami Osafune. She is a 27-year-old student to psychology. She has been living in the city for 3 years now, but she still remembers when she first arrived. She shares: “When I first arrived at Roissy airport, it was a shock for me, because Japanese people always dream of Paris as being a beautiful city. When we find such disgusting trash, it doesn’t give a good image. So that’s why I got involved.”
One cannot help but applaud these efforts. And I am thinking that Parisians should pick up a tip or two.
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Posted March 24th, 2011 by Maki | Comments (3)3 Responses to “Parisians Learn A Lesson On Cleanliness From Japanese”
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Living in Britain I’m only a short plane trip to Paris (an=bout 1hr 30mins) and I do agree that the lack of cleanliness is not something you wish to remember. In saying that however its no worse than some areas of Britain.
I go to Japan at least once a year to visit my wife’s family and each time I’m amazed at how tidy everything is.
Take smoking for example. in Japan it’s considered rude to walk and smoke at the same time so there are plenty of ash trays on the side of the streets and yes, people do use them and there is hardly a cigerette end to be found on the street.
The same is true also for any type of trash. I think it stems from the fact that from an early age the Japanese are taught to respect their environments as a way of showing respect for others.
[...] Parisians Learn A Lesson On Cleanliness From Japanese No Comments – Posted by admin – Filed under Vacation in Japan Ad by Google google_ad_client = "ca-pub-9058170664534319"; google_ad_slot = "4185208288"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60; We know that the Japanese are sticklers for cleanliness, but I don’t thinkthat Parisians have a reputation for not being so neat and clean. I alwaysthought that people in Paris were as “clean” as the people from any other city.Apparently, I was wrong.There is actually a group of Japanese nationals who have volunteered to show the people of Parisa thing or two about cleanliness. The group is called Greenbird Paris, which is the first overseas branch of a nonprofitorganization based in Tokyo. Greenbirds are basically volunteers of all ages,who have come to the city of Paris to clean it up.Apparently, while Paris is known for its culture and historical monuments,these places are rife with trash such as cigarette butts, food scraps, and evendog poop! And the Greenbirds’ task? To get rid of all this trash with their“pincers”.Why Paris, you might ask. Well, for one, Paris is one of the most populardestinations for Japanese tourists. As such, some members of the Greenbirdshave seen firsthand what their city of dreams is really like in real life. Takethe example of Mami Osafune. She is a 27-year-old student to psychology. Shehas been living in the city for 3 years now, but she still remembers when shefirst arrived. She shares: “When I first arrived at Roissy airport, it wasa shock for me, because Japanese people always dream of Paris as being abeautiful city. When we find such disgusting trash, it doesn’t give a goodimage. So that’s why I got involved.”One cannot help but applaud these efforts. And I am thinking that Parisiansshould pick up a tip or two.Japan Blog [...]
That is funny!! Japan is a pretty clean and neat place, but going over to Paris to show them how it is down is a laugh. A lot depends on culture and how people are brought up!!
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