Homelessness

We don't have a house either but we are unlikely to have to live like this. We have seen quite a few homeless people in Japan and have been amazed at how orderly their temporary places are e.g. the cardboard laid out like tatami (sleeping mats), the proliferation of umbrellas (essential in Japan for both the heat and the showers) and even their washing hung out on coat hangers in the trees in a neat manner! Today we saw homeless people in Osaka sleeping on park benches but they had taken off their shoes which is the custom in Japanese homes - so unlike the untidy and scruffy stereotype of homeless people!