Life event guide
Year-End Cleaning in Japan: Clear Out Before Collection Stops
Garbage collection in Japan pauses for 6-9 days over New Year. Here is a backward-planning schedule for year-end cleaning (oosouji), when to book bulky waste pickup, which phone lines get busy, and what to do if you miss the deadline.
Based on official municipal information Updated Aug 2026日本語
Bulky trash — where do you start?
- Check item and size The bulky-waste threshold varies by municipality.
- Apply for collection Book by phone or online and confirm the fee.
- Put it out on the day Attach the paid sticker and use the assigned spot.
How many days can you actually not throw anything out?
Most people know collection pauses over New Year, but not how long. Counting the real collection dates from municipal calendars in our database:
| City | Collection zones | Last burnable pickup | First pickup in January | Days with no collection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamamatsu | 595 | 28-30 Dec 2026 | 4-8 Jan 2027 | 6-9 days |
| Hiroshima | 1,137 | 28-29 Dec 2026 | 4-5 Jan 2027 | 6 days |
| Sapporo (previous season) | 46 | 29-30 Dec 2025 | 5-6 Jan 2026 | 6 days |
Dates differ by zone within the same city, which is why these are ranges. In Hamamatsu, some zones do not resume until 8 January — nine days of food waste sitting in your kitchen.
In practice, your real deadline is around 28 December, not 31 December.
It is not always a New Year shutdown
Something less widely known: some cities collect right through the end of December. Here are the cities that publish a fixed, recurring closure period:
| City | No collection | Late December (29-31)? |
|---|---|---|
| Fukuoka | 31 Dec - 3 Jan | Normal until 30 Dec |
| Sagamihara | 31 Dec - 3 Jan (as a rule) | Normal until 30 Dec; public holidays are collected |
| Kawasaki | 1 - 3 Jan (plus Sundays) | Collected as normal — unless 31 Dec falls on a Sunday |
| Sakai | 1 - 3 Jan | Collected as normal, stated explicitly (no make-up collection) |
In Kawasaki and Sakai you can still put waste out on New Year’s Eve. (31 December 2026 is a Thursday.)
By contrast, Yokohama, Nagoya, Chiba and Kobe announce their year-end schedule separately each year, usually in November or December. If you live in one of those, check the city website once November starts.
Backward-planning schedule
Booking disposal comes before the cleaning itself. Do it the other way round and it slips into January.
November: book bulky waste
Bulky waste (sodai gomi) requires an application, and the collection date is assigned to you — you cannot put it out on the day you decide. December applications are heavily congested.
- Walk through your home and list the large items (furniture, bedding, bicycles, carpets, light fixtures)
- Apply to your city’s bulky waste centre — online booking is available 24 hours in many cities
- Buy the required fee stickers in advance
You do not need to clean yet. The point is to secure a collection slot.
Early December: appliances and recyclables
- TVs, refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners cannot go out as bulky waste. They fall under the Home Appliance Recycling Law (appliance disposal)
- Anything still usable should be sold now. Listings and shipping both get congested later in December
- Paper and cloth are collected only once or twice a month in some cities. Start with whatever is collected least often
Mid-December: clean room by room
Now you clean. Sort into three piles only — throw away / sell / keep. Put anything you are unsure about in one box and decide in January.
Late December: work through normal garbage
Count backwards from the last collection day. Collection points overflow on the final day, so spread your bags across the last two or three collections.
Where each thing goes
| Item | Where it goes | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Sofa, wardrobe, bed, bicycle | Bulky waste (booking required) | Book in November. Oversized items may be drop-off only |
| TV / fridge / washing machine / air conditioner | Home Appliance Recycling Law | Cities do not collect these. Retailer or designated site |
| Computer | Manufacturer take-back (PC Recycle) | Some cities accept them in small-appliance boxes |
| Batteries, power banks | Hazardous waste / drop-off points | A major fire cause. Never mix into burnable or non-burnable |
| Spray cans, gas canisters | Follow your city’s rule | Whether to puncture them varies by city |
| Fluorescent tubes, bulbs | Hazardous waste / drop-off | Do not break; wrap in the original box or paper |
| Kerosene, engine oil | Usually not collected | Take to a dealer. Never pour it down the drain |
| Clothing, futon | Cloth recycling or bulky waste | Futons are bulky waste in most cities |
| Large amounts of paper and cardboard | Paper recycling | Collected only monthly in some cities — start early |
Category names and rules differ by municipality. Always check your own city’s page.
Getting through to the booking centre
Redialling a busy phone line is the biggest time sink in December. Cities publish their congestion patterns:
- Mondays, Tuesdays and the day after a public holiday are heavily congested (stated by the City of Yokohama)
- Kawaguchi publishes hourly congestion: Monday 9-11am is the worst, with 9:00-10:30 and 16:00-17:00 also busy
- Online, chat and LINE booking run 24 hours in a growing number of cities — including over the New Year period when phone lines are closed
Chuo City takes phone applications until 7pm on 28 December, resuming 4 January at 8am. Yokohama’s phone line is closed 31 December to 3 January.
If online booking exists in your city, there is no reason to sit on the phone.
If you miss the deadline
- Drive it to the waste centre yourself — often same-day, and cheaper than doorstep collection in some cities. But year-end queues are long (Yokohama warns of waits over an hour at its self-delivery yard)
- Hire a removal service — worth it for volume, or for heavy items you cannot carry downstairs. Expect several thousand to tens of thousands of yen, and always get more than one quote
- Wait until January — the cheapest option for anything that is not urgent
Check your own city
The last collection day, the January restart, the bulky waste booking line and the fees are all set by your municipality. This site lists sorting categories and disposal methods for every city in Japan.
Common mistakes
- Cleaning first, booking second — it is the wrong order
- Saving everything for the final collection day — the collection point fills up
- Trying to put the four regulated appliances out as bulky waste — they will simply be left behind
- Mixing batteries into burnable waste — this starts fires in collection trucks and processing plants
- Assuming you can throw things out until 31 December — in practice the deadline is around the 28th