Basic info and freegan places

Let's start from some basic things. Every country has its own system to dispose garbage and Japan is not an exclussion. People living in Japan have to sort their garbage mainly to burnable/non-burnable things, glass and metal (cans, jars' lids, etc.). In addition to that everything has to be put to transparent plastic bags for garbageman to see if there is no "cheating". It's an addvantage to freegans too, because you can quickly check what supermarkets throw away even without opening the bag :-) If you see many cans or bottles or just folded paper - don't bother with that bag and look for one that has apples or bannanas ;-) 

Next - what places are the best to dumpser dive? 
It took me a while to realise that. In Tokyo one can choose from 1) supermarkets; 2) convenience stores; 3) fruits&vegetables stores; 4) markets; and 5) 100 yen stores. 

1) When I came here, I first checked big suppermarkets, but found out that most of them keep their garbage inside the building and never bring them out. That's a pity because I know that some supermarkets throw away tons of good food. What I recommend is to check the supermarkets near you and see if they keep their garbage outside. If they don't - forget that place. If they do - check, what kind of garbage is that. Some stores keep only bottles and cans outside and never bring fruits, vegetables or out-of-date goods out. If you're lucky you may find some good dumpster diving spots just a few minutes from your home. But still supermarkets aren't your best friends. Despite the fact that there are about 8 big supermarkets around my place, only one of them keeps trashbins outside and never throws away fruits or vegetables (I can find out-of-date things though).

2) Second obvious place - convenience stores. There are many of them in Tokyo, but... they're not good to dumpster dive at all. They usually don't sell produce, don't throw away so much out-of-date food or even keep their trash inside. So don't bother with all those "7-11", "Lawson", etc.

3) You can also try checking fruits and vegetables stores in your neighbourhood. Some of them leave no trash, but some do. You never know what you're going to get :-)

4) Markets... There aren't many of them in Tokyo. I visited the biggest market here - Tsukiji - a few times and found out that it's a quite good place for freegans. If you live near it - use it :-) There is huge produce section and I always return from it with my backpack full of different kind of fruits and vegetables. The best time to go is from 9am to 1pm, but afternoon is OK too. 
Because it's a wholesale market, people throw away many things without much thinking. Look for piles of boxes or trashbags and check them. Some boxes look empty but may have many good things inside (for example, once I found whole box of tomatoes and another time full bag of ginger). 

5) 100yen stores... It's hard to believe, but they are the main targets for freegans. I'll write about them next time ;-)