So we're walking along the path leading down the hill from the temple Kiyomizu-dera, still on temple land as far as we know, and what do we come across but this bizarre advertisement for mulching machine / garbage disposal the Bio-Mate (complete with demo machine).

Japan is weird because its people prize convenience higher than the citizens of most of the rest of the world, but every once in awhile you'll find something where their way of doing something is ridiculously inconvenient compared to what you're used to. According to Jean-Paul, garbage disposals are one such area -- most kitchen sinks are without them, so you have to be careful to separate / strain your vegetable cuttings and what-not. I guess the alternative to a small kitchen-sink disposal is this monster?? Crazy...