Clean Campaign

This poster was near the entrance of a small train station. It encourages people to remember their manners and not leave their bicycles near the station.

This is a close-up of the poster. (I brightened it a little.) A sakura blossom is being crushed by a bicycle tire. Sakura is a symbol of spring, of new beginnings. Papa says sakura is the heart of Japan. Maybe other Japanese people feel the same way.

Check the labels below or do a blog search for other clean campaigns and recycling. If this is your visit to this blog, check March and April posts for more pictures of sakura trees and sakura products.

Class Notebooks

This is one of Little Brother's notebooks. Many designs are available. This one supports UNICEF.

Some notebooks have marks on them. The triangle and the hands that form the "e" tells that the notebook is kind to the environment. Bell marks are collected by schools to get money for equipment. Do a blog search of "bell mark" for more information.

There are different notebooks for different subjects. The 5mm masu is the size of the squares in this notebook.

This is one of Little Brother's fifth grade science notebooks. A teacher's handout was glued on one end of a page.

A Question about Pen Pals

Hi, M.B. Thanks for your question and for your work for the animals of the world. I would suggest joining the online forum of Voices for Youth. It is a safe forum for children from around the world to speak to one another about issues. You can post information there to find others who have similar interests and concerns. It is hosted by UNICEF.

Best of Luck!

Sponge Made from Recycled PET Bottles

This sponge was made out of plastic PET bottles. I found it at the 100 yen shop. It was cheap AND good for the environment! It's a good strong sponge. I think it will last a long time. Maybe forever! Click on the picture to see the English written on the package.

Clean Campaign 2006

This poster was on the platform of a station on the Keio Line. It is part of the Clean Campaign. The phrase above the hand and rainbow reads mina no te de utsukushii tamagawa itsu made mo... "In everyone's hand, a beautiful Tama River forever ". Perhaps we could say that a beautiful Tama River is in everyone's hands. It is our resposibility to keep the river clean and beautiful. Click on the label below to see more of the area's clean campaign.

River Water

Two people were handing out these cloth bags at a shopping area. A man handed one to me. There were pamphlets and a sample of paper towels in the bag. The pamphlets warned not to pour cooking oil down the drain. We should cool any excess oil and pour it into the garbage. Oil should be wiped off dishes before they are rinsed or washed. The pink pamphlet included oil-free recipes. The other pamphlets explained that oil is reaching the river water. It is harmful.

An Alternative Ice Cream & An Alternative Source of Energy

Have you ever had potato ice cream? Maybe it's not an option where you live. Ice cream made with potatoes can be found here in Japan. There is a sweet purple potato that is made into ice cream. There is also just plain potato ice cream. Here is a picture of a potato ice cream that has matcha or green tea powder in it.

(This picture was taken in the summer. See the sign for kakigori or snow cones? I posted a picture on July 26th. The signs are no longer around. You can't buy snow cones anymore. Summer is gone.)



Here is a city bus that uses compressed natural gas. It is much smaller than other buses in the Tokyo area. I think there are some cities in the U.S. that use alternative sources of energy for their buses. There are probably some in other parts of the world, too.