Screengrab from viral video (Instagram/@thechaosdiaries)
A video showcasing the unexpected beauty of Japan’s gutter has gone viral on social media, drawing widespread attention for its surprising clarity and vibrant aquatic life.Shared by UK travel blogger Alicia Cooper, the clip captures fish swimming in crystal-clear water inside a gutter on Koi no Oyogu Machi Street in Shimabara, a city on Japan’s Kyushu island. In the video, Cooper dips her camera into the drainage canal, revealing colorful fishes gliding gracefully. A text overlay on the clip reads: “POV: you stick your camera in a gutter in Japan.” Cooper clarified in the video that the gutter is not part of the city’s sewage system, but a drainage canal fed by natural spring water. She added that the koi fish were introduced in the 1970s to attract tourists.The video, posted on Monday, has already garnered over 4 lakh likes. Cooper also cautioned viewers: “They don’t look like this in England. So, please don’t visit Japan expecting them all to look like this!” The post has sparked reactions from social media users. One commented: “Even the rivers of India are not this much clean as the gutters of Japan are.” Another wrote: “We can never worry about falling and getting dirty later in Japan.”A netizen reacted to the video and quipped, “Phir Nobita kis gutter mein girta tha?” (In which drain did Nobita fall?) — referring to the character from Doraemon.Cooper also shared a tip for viewers interested in seeing the site themselves, highlighting that Shimabara’s canals are fed by natural springs and hundreds of koi have been released along some of these waterways for tourists.
