Tokio has many other temples and parks, but of these, as I have said, Ueno is the most popular; around us were crowds of gayly dressed grown people and children, all in holiday attire; various games for adults and children were in progress, and there was a tea-house where refreshments were being served. To me this appeared in very truth a park for the people.
The Botanical Garden is also quite interesting. A long, imposing street led down to it from Ueno Park, and on this were situated the principal shops of the city, with curio nooks in abundance. These, of course, were larger and more pretentious than the bazars spoken of elsewhere, some of them being three stories in height, the first of the kind we had seen in Japan. Taken as a whole, Tokio is a large, populous city, with a bright future before it. I now was obliged to turn my face toward Yokohama, it being a comparatively short distance from Tokio. Here I found a number of friends whom I had met at different points and who were about to leave for San Francisco,—my own departure for North China to occur the following morning.
To visit North China, I was compelled to return to Shanghai in order to join the Collver Tours party I had met at Kyoto. I left Yokohama on March 3d by rail for Kobe, arriving at the Oriental Hotel about 9 p.m. The route by day was very pleasant, as we saw much fine scenery, and for some time Mt. Fujiyama rose before us in the distance. At Kobe I found that the steamer, Mongolia, would be delayed, and therefore I would need to remain there until the second day. The following morning, I took a jinrikisha ride to the country and revisited several points of interest.
June 6th: I was awakened at seven on the morning of June 6th by the voice of the guide saying, "We are now in the narrowest part of the Inland Sea." I arose quickly, and, glancing out of the port-hole, beheld a scene of loveliness which caused a spontaneous exclamation, "Oh, how beautiful!" Before me on the left was an island clad in verdure; behind, the towering mountains; then farther off, a lesser peak, sloping down to the sea; a promontory jutted out at the right, ribbed with terraces from which peeped forth tiny shoots of delicate green. Scarcely had I time to catch a glimpse before the panorama changed. This scene was repeated with slight variations until suddenly there appeared a break, and in a cove were moored many little boats; next came a tall mountain sloping down to the sea, with a wealth of foliage along the side, while on the top was a fringe of tall trees, like so many hills seen in Japan. I had cause to wonder if this too was not one of the many expressions of Nature's artistic sense.
One scene succeeded another, and I became almost oblivious to all thought of dressing until the gong rang for breakfast. I felt rebellious, and, on that morning at least, the meal seemed a desecration, the sacrifice of an opportunity. Once before, I had a similar early morning experience; that was at Laggan, on the Canadian Pacific Railway, when, on awakening, I beheld directly opposite my window lovely Lake Louise and the beautiful glacier mirrored within the opalescent blue. This day in Japan ended with a glorious sunset, and, as the gold and azure melted away into nothingness, it was a fitful close to hours of rare enjoyment.