Where to throw away trash in Kyoto
479 disposal points in Kyoto are on the map. 52 of them have been checked on the ground in the last 18 months — the most recent on 2026-09-12. Those are the ones this page lists first.
A point counts only with a survey date.
No purchase, no ticket.
Bottles and cans only, or customers only.
The newest date anyone recorded here.
The points worth walking to
Checked points first. Tap one to open it on the map with walking directions.
Stations with the most points nearby
| Torokko Arashiyama Station | 32 |
| Arashiyama Station | 28 |
| Higashi-muko Station | 22 |
| Toji Station | 16 |
| Ryukokudai-mae-Fukakusa Station | 15 |
| Nishi-muko Station | 11 |
| Nijojo-mae Station | 11 |
| Omuro-Ninnaji Station | 10 |
What the bins here accept
| General | 348 |
| Pet Bottle | 119 |
| Can | 118 |
| Other | 113 |
| Glass | 103 |
| Food | 3 |
How disposal actually works in Japan
Public bins are rare, and that is deliberate: most were removed from stations and streets after 1995 and never came back. What replaced them is a set of habits rather than infrastructure.
Bottles and cans are the easy case — there is almost always a recycling box beside a vending machine, and it takes bottles and cans only. A coffee cup or a wrapper does not go in it. For those, a convenience store where you buy something, a station platform, or your own hotel is the realistic answer. Carrying your trash for a few hours is normal here, not a failure.
Questions people actually ask
- Can I use a convenience-store bin without buying anything?
- Officially no — those bins are for customers, and many stores moved them inside for exactly that reason. Buy a drink and it is uncontroversial.
- Why does the map show so few bins in Kyoto?
- Because we only show what is on record. 479 points exist here in the data and 52 have been checked recently. We would rather show you four you can trust than forty you cannot.
- What do I do if the bin is gone?
- Tell us — one tap on the spot screen — and it drops down the ranking for everyone else. Then take the next checked point on the list; the app shows it with the walking time.
Open Kyoto on the map
Nearest first, with who is allowed to use each one, what it takes, and how recently anybody confirmed it was still there.
Open the map here