Japan is definitely the land of overpackaging.

When I go grocery shopping, I usually bring my own paper bag and get "ecology" points that add up to yen off on future purchases. On a recent trip, here is how the bagger packaged my purchases:

a lemon, placed in a small plastic bag
an avocado, placed in a small plastic bag
a package of strawberries, placed in a small plastic bag
a jar of tahini, placed in a special bubble wrap bag
a package of eggs, placed in a small plastic bag

So inside my recyclable paper bag, I received no less than five non-recyclable plastic bags.

Japan is also the land of irony.