Satoyama II Japans Secret Watergarden

Each home has a built in pool or water tank that lies partly inside partly outside its walls A continuous stream of spring water is piped right into a basin so freshwater is always available People rinse out pots in the tank and clean their freshly picked vegetables If they simply pour the food scraps back in the water they risk polluting the whole village supply However carp can scour out even the greasy or burnt pans They do the washing up in Satoyama villages This traditional arrangement is called the riverside method Its used all over Japan Cleaned up by the carp the tank water eventually rejoins the channel