A Japanese village in the shadow of Mount Fuji and famed for its crystal-clear ponds has a culture-clash problem brought on in part by its states as a UNESCO World Heritage site: Western tourists tossing coins into the ponds.
The eight ponds in the village of Oshino Hakkai are fed by mineral-rich spring water from an underground reservoir fed by snow melt from Fuji, and often teeming with koi. They are noted not only for their beauty but as the focus of the Fuji-ko religious group, whose members take a purifying bath in the waters before climbing the mountain.
The waters are so clear that in one, the Wakuike pond, it is possible to see the bottom under four meters of water, but that pond is the one that has most been affected by the coin tossers. Scuba divers and other volunteers regularly try to keep the waters clear of coins, but there are concerns that the coins will affect the water quality in the ponds.
Village officials told press that “It’s an endless cycle — as soon as we pick them up, more are thrown in.” The village will set up an offering box by the ponds and encourage coins be placed there instead of in the ponds. Warning signs are being posted in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean.
Image: Shōbu Pond of Oshino Hakkai (663highland/Wikimedia Commons)
