Water

Japan is a mountainous island country. There are no large, extensive plains as there are in America (North or South), or Europe, or mainland Asia, and consequently there are no large rivers. Kamogawa and Takanogawa are as large as they come, for the most part. But it rains here a lot, and all that water has to make its way downhill and into the ocean, and it does it via a multitude of streams.

Unlike in North American cities where streams are often buried under the streets, the solution here seems to be to let the water stay on the surface. Now, because of the obvious danger of flooding, in the city the streams have all been regulated with concrete embankments. But even so, I am quite taken with the number and variety of watercourses that span Kyoto and (I suppose) other Japanese cities.

It is really quite wonderful how much clean flowing water there is in the city (and the water is clean and it is flowing). Indeed, sometimes one has to be careful not to step into a fast-flowing stream when taking a walk around at night. But the sight and sound of flowing water, even if bounded by concrete, is quite pleasant. Many a street has a streem running down one of its sides and it is quite usual to see houses separated from the street by what amounts to a moat with a small bridge over it! I must say that I find all this quite pleasant, and a much nicer solution than that adopted in North American cities, where streams usually get buried underground.

Water

Japan is a mountainous island country. There are no large, extensive plains as there are in America (North or South), or Europe, or mainland Asia, and consequently there are no large rivers. Kamogawa and Takanogawa are as large as they come, for the most part. But it rains here a lot, and all that water has to make its way downhill and into the ocean, and it does it via a multitude of streams.

Unlike in North American cities where streams are often buried under the streets, the solution here seems to be to let the water stay on the surface. Now, because of the obvious danger of flooding, in the city the streams have all been regulated with concrete embankments. But even so, I am quite taken with the number and variety of watercourses that span Kyoto and (I suppose) other Japanese cities.

It is really quite wonderful how much clean flowing water there is in the city (and the water is clean and it is flowing). Indeed, sometimes one has to be careful not to step into a fast-flowing stream when taking a walk around at night. But the sight and sound of flowing water, even if bounded by concrete, is quite pleasant. Many a street has a streem running down one of its sides and it is quite usual to see houses separated from the street by what amounts to a moat with a small bridge over it! I must say that I find all this quite pleasant, and a much nicer solution than that adopted in North American cities, where streams usually get buried underground.