TOURING JAPAN.

Auckland Star, Volume LII, Issue 72, 26 March 1921, Page 17

TOURING JAPAN.

(ATTRACTION AND DRAWBACKS ; 'By FliKm.Rk X STL'BBS F.H.GA) I Whatever \vr may think of 'apanose ! Policy. v.o nni-i all aaree that Jaoan is a '■•Miitim! fountry and it- inhabitants a I ppuplc 01 singular intcre:-! an.l .-harm. Mere wr !i,nc a territory aboir. iialf the size, i>, \Yu >ruit'i '.Va-Ic-, with a population of over tiO.OOO.OUO. R is a country, too, which, though beautiful, is very I mountainous, with a soil that needs assiduous cultivation to make it fruitful. Only 17 per cent, is arable, it is this limited area ami productiveness that ha» compelled the Japanese to look beyonJ their own country for support, and led them to an adventurous policy in Korea. Mani-imria, and China. It is not easy t<? fcay exactly in what the charm of Japan consists. It is certainly to a large evtent in its scenery, which is diversified and well-watered, with abundant vegetation, rivers, lakee, waterfalls, flower?, almost everywhere. It also owes a good deal to its extensive seaboard, its "innumerable buys and islets, and its unique Inland Sea. It is a pkturesque country. And besides this there is its artistic charm. its quaint architecture, its lovely temp'es and castles, its toms and wayside shrines. And then, above all. are the people (for there ir- nothing quite so interesting as humans I witn liieir quaint garb, strange v.istorrH. courteous manners, and active inquiring minds. NAGASAKI. Sfy first landing was at Nagasaki, t.ie ancient .Southern port, which possesses a. magnificent harbour, indented wit" numerous bay?, and surrounded by v.ooded hills. It has played an important part in the national history. It was here that the early Portuguese missionaries landed, and that the Japanese lirst made the acquaintance of Europeans, of Christianity, and of firearms. It was for long the only place, at which any communication with the outside world was permitted. When afterwards, in the first derade of the seventeenth century, the Roman Catholic missionaries were driven out and Christianity extirpated, ttie Dutch men hanls managed to gain favour, and maintained a commercial monopoly for more than two centuries. In the bay one sees tiie little island of Papenberg, where all the missionaries were collected and flung over I the cliffs into the sea. In addition to its ancient temples, Nagasaki possesses to<!ay large docks employing many thouCtlnds of hands. One sight that always interests the visitor here is the coaling. This is done chiefly by women. We had hardly dropped anchor before a, number of coal barges were alongside. Bamboo ladders were quickly erected, and in a few minutes the workers dropped into their appointed positions, standing one. above the other. The baskets, holding about fourteen pounds of coal, were fnen filled m the barges and thrown up from worker to worker until they -were finally tipped into the shute at the top- '■ means of these human elevators we oon had thirteen hundred tons of coal n board. From Nagasaki we proceeded through he Inland Sea to Kobe. Owing to dense ogs. we were nearly a week on the way, nd on at least one occasion narrowly ■scaped collision, but when the fog lifted he view of the numerous wooded islets rith scores of small vessels sailing round was charming, only comparable n my experience with such places as the it. Lawrence River, the Muskoka Lakes, nd Georgian Bay. KOBE. Our second landing was at Kobe, ihich I also visited later on: a big city, iuilt along the foot and up the alopee ot lills, with water-front below —not a. city there the tourist need linger long, and Fith the tilthiest slums I have ever seen i my life. Accompanied by a Japanese riend, I walked through a considerable lortion of these slums, the streets on«re ootpaths with tiny wood and .paper louses on eitTier side, and filthy open Irains and latrines—indescribable, unmaginable. In numerous cases the amily lives in one little room about ight feet square. I spoke to the Prefect if the Province on the subject afterwards, and he acknowledged the truth of ny description, but told mc efforts were icing made by the authorities to cleanse hese slums, but that one of the greatest ibstacles was in the opposition of the luin dwellers themselves, who preferred 0 go on in their old piggish way oE iving undisturbed. Of course this c*uiot be allowed and will not be, but from ny knowledge of city slum-dwellers, 1 an quite realise the difficulty. It will ake many years and much patience and noncy to overcome it. Something, howver, is already being done. There has teen established an industrial school, k"ith a small farm attached, for negrcted children: a muncipal market vhere the poor arc supplied at almost ost price-, municipal restaurants where 1 meal is served for about threepence; a ree hospital and dispensary; a seamen's iome: a kindergarten; a home for poor iien of tjO years of age and upwards who lave no relative to support them. TheTe s ai3o a ladies' society for visiting and issisting the very poor and several other >enevolent societies; so it mi»t not be nought that the Japanese are uniniiKiul of the distressed classes. Indeed -hey are very generous, and I may say at once that such institutions as above re to be found in every large city in Fapan, though, owing , to the Clan •ysteni which prevails throughout th<? %ast. in which every family regard 3 tself as responsible for its members, .here is less need for public charity than a European cities. From Kobe we ran through to Yokolama. the port for Tokyo, ajid one ef :he ports in the world. CLIMATK OF JAPAN". And here let mc say that the. climate >f Japan is much misunderstood and iverrated. In the south it is fairly dry. ait on the whole .lapaii lias a heavy ainfall. Purinp the months of March, \prii. May and June the weather is wet, ihowory, and frequently inld; in July iml \u"ii-t it is extremely hot and niitrirv: in September an,! October nearly ierfi-<"t: mil! from November to March litterlv fold. The jruide-books advise .ourist's to vi.-it Japan in the spring on i, .-mint of the cherry-blossom, which is •crtaiiily very beautiful, but the climate > so uivonnortahle at this time of the ■car. an] tlii , m.-i.l- -.. atrocious, that 1 vuuM (.tron.dy £.!\l?e the visitor to go luring the Jiutmnii. -ay during Septemicr ;iT\d 0.-tolir.-. \. 'n'li tin , weather is lerfect un'l ti" , i-iiry-unlhcinuma bloom. Knottier important ud\anta™e is that at hi? M-a-'Hi it •.. I'.t-ii'r t» it't satisfactory icvomimidiiiioii. "1 ■■<■!■■■ '»■■■■• fe w counrie> that beat Japan :ir point of attra.-----ivonor-s. '.:ut there n;v many — N'cw Zeaand and Australiii !•'•■ example—that icnt it in the matter vi jliuiate.