2 college students run cafe bar in Osaka to promote forestation

By Kazuhiro Kuge

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charlie3 at 12:02 PM JST - 9th January

Give these guys a break. What does YOUR bar do to protect the environment?!

...Stones, Glass houses and all that.
techall at 12:04 PM JST - 9th January

My bar is not in the environment protection business.
franz75 at 12:32 PM JST - 9th January

‘Why don’t you consider an eco-friendly life with drinks in your hand?’’ but you drive your SUV after drinking, so...
kavikahi at 01:18 PM JST - 9th January

The only way to better this news would be to focus on local promotion.
aitim at 02:42 PM JST - 9th January

I wonder, if the two students had so much money to rent a place for cafe bar.... May be if they have donated one tenth of the money for forestation and use the rest of the money for study they would have done some real social work. I mean it’s good to see entrepreneurship drive in them but the tag of eco thing is more for business stunt. Any a very good business move I should agree and definitely appreciate. After all they are still helping in a cause whatever small may be.
mojibake at 02:53 PM JST - 9th January

candles made from recycled waste oil.

I'm betting the air in there is even HEALTHIER than the average smoke-infested bar in Japan.
Ranger_Miffy at 04:07 PM JST - 9th January

I wonder, shouldn't this be "REforestation"? And, please, no smoking in the bar, for a real "eco" statement. Anyway, I think their hearts are in the right place. Wonder what they will do next.
space_monkey at 05:36 PM JST - 9th January

In 2007 it was said Japanese use approximately 2.5 billion tissue packets a year or about 20 tissue packs per person.

Everyday, Japan prints 634.5 newspapers per 1,000 people. That's 74 million newspapers printed a day in Japan. Around 27 billion newspapers a year.

Additionally, every year Japan gets through roughly 24 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks . That’s 185 pairs for every person in Japan.

Overall, Japan is the third biggest consumer of paper in the world. Most of this paper is imported from other countries.

My question is, do they provide disposable chopsticks, free newspapers or tissues?

Are these trees being planted overseas or in Japan?

Basically, the best way to reduce paper consumption is to "make like a tree and leave" Japan.

Alternatively, blow your nose onto the street, eat with your hands and stay blissfully ignorant of boring Japanese news!!

:)
space_monkey at 05:39 PM JST - 9th January

Personally, I think it would be impossible to reforest Osaka. The concrete would wither up and die!
borscht at 06:54 PM JST - 9th January

Most of the comments so far remind me of a twist on an old saying:

It's best to curse the darkness than to light a single candle.

I'm sure everyone on JT is working to do their bit to recycle what they can and reduce consumption. These two students have taken their bit up a notch by spreading their message via a coffee shop that uses, they assume, as little energy as possible while introducing reforestation in a relatively painless way (for the businessmen who don't like pain.) Good luck to them.
buddha4brains at 08:54 PM JST - 9th January

Good for them. I have met students from this program and they are bright and ready to do something more than the sadsacks on this board.

As for the bar, is their vision imperfect? Probably. Will they learn from this experience? Most probably. Will their bar raise awareness? Most likely. Will it solve the world's problems? No. But they are doing something about a problem they recognize with the resources they have. They deserve full credit.
ptolemy at 07:06 PM JST - 10th January

We get a story like this that shows that some young people are becoming aware of the world outside and there is so mucg hate in the comments. Good for these guys, they are at least pointing out a problem OUTSIDE Japan. They have good hearts, so lets at least cheer that fact. Especially when so many their age care more about their next video game, Vuitton bag, or new cell phone. Good for you boys.
Mark_McCracken at 02:00 PM JST - 11th January

Good intentions are fine -like these boys, many people have them. However creating roughly 6,000 yen for charity is hardly newsworthy. Pointing out these boys' lack of meaningful progress does not equate to making hateful comments. By measuring their lack of actual improvement, we might help the students become more effective. For example, these boys might consider getting a job at McDonald's instead of running the bar, and donate 10% of their salary (about 90 yen per hour, roughly double the current donation) to the same cause.
rainbowoinlalaland at 06:56 PM JST - 11th January

awesome... its so heart warming in the middle of winter to read stories like this. Well done. If I lived nearby I would stop in regularly. A toast to some very inspired youths!
soothsayer at 07:52 AM JST - 15th January

What interests me is that they can't see the trees in their own back yard for the forest overseas. Why don't they set up a cafe to encourage the replanting of various native forest species in Japan and reduce the number of cedar trees which make up 43% or more percent of all forest here? That would definitely help the local ecosystem and, in time, reduce people's reliance on anti-hayfever medication.