River fun

 This is our river, the one near our apartment that flows into the Nakagawa River. I guess I really should call the a stream or a brook, but they are all the same described by the same word in Japanese, kawa. Here you can see a bunch of kids with their parents, mostly fathers, looking for insects along the edge of the water. One of the things that are taught in Japanese elementary schools is insects and the kids are encouraged to go out and collect them. Once caught the bugs are kept in containers at home or at school. The kids are fascinated by them. There are even stores where you can buy some of the more exotic kinds.

Here we see the equipment that every self-respecting grade school student owns. There is a net and a covered box for keeping the insects after they are caught. Actually looking closely at the picture, it appears that the box is in this case a pail, which means that the boy is trying to catch waterbugs. This part of the river has no fish at all, at least in the three springs that I have been here I have not seen a single fish. A little way down river where the water is a bit deeper I have seen small fish, but not here.