The stores are amazingly ubiquitous. Oft-cited stat is that most Japanese live within 3 minutes of one. Pay bills, ship, receive, and many other services that a tourist won’t know about. [via Innovation. Culture. Design.]

If garbage is going to sit out in bags, why not make the bags pretty? A very Japanese form of urban beautification. As a research participant once told me, the Japanese have a saying, if a pot stinks, put a lid on it. (I’m sure I’m misquoting that rather badly)