Last Saturday I was woken up by loud music from a brass band. It originated from the neighbours – some sort of garbage facility. I didn’t think much about it, but when people started to give speeches, I just knew I had to take a look. And indeed, it turned out that they had an open day.
Well, it is not so much a garbage treatment facility – the place is way too small for this – but rather a garage for garbage trucks. And those were in fact the stars of that open day, which was mainly geared towards children. Kids were allowed to put on heavy gloves, throw garbage bags into the truck and push the button to make them disappear. There was also the opportunity to sit behind the wheel of a truck and have somebody take a picture of you. Yet another moment where I regret not being a small child any longer…
In any case, being the nerd I am, I found out that all over Kyoto, there are 7 such garages, with a total of 188 garbage trucks (mine only has 15), and each truck has a capacity of 2 tons. For a city like Kyoto with 1.5 million inhabitants, that does not sound like very much, but remember that those trucks are on the road almost every single day, with only very few holidays, for New Year, for example.
Back to the open day: Besides the trucks, there were little games set up for the kids where small prizes could be won, and there was a second hand clothing exchange. A few booths with small gifts and food were there as well, and a large stage with various acts. I did not stay very long, but I caught a cosplay performance by girls in brightly colored albeit a bit skimpy clothing. They did not look very enthusiastic though – probably there are better venues than a garbage truck garage? 