FUJI A GREAT SIGHT

Evening Star, Issue 26087, 29 April 1947, Page 8

FUJI A GREAT SIGHT

KIWIS ON LEAVE IN JAPAN MODERN TOURIST HOTELS “ We passed close to Mount Fuji in the train, and it certainly is a lovely sight,’’ writes a Dunedin soldier in a letter to his parents describing a leave period spent at the Kawana Hotel, about three hours’ run in the train south of Tokio. “ Fuji is perfectly shaped, and one of the few natural beauty spots of Japan that can compare with New Zealand. “ Before the war the Kawana Hotel was one of Japan’s leading tourist hotels. We left Kure at 3 p.m. on a Sunday, and arrived at Kawana about 10 o’clock on the Monday morning. It was the longest train trip we have made, but we had sleepers and were reasonably comfortable. On Monday afternoon we played golf of 12 holes on the Fuji course, which is supposed to be one of the best in Asia. On Monday night we went to a mock sukiyaki dinner. The New Zealand Movie Unit was there, aud took quite a few shots of the show. “ On Tuesday morning all the New Zealanders played film stars for the movie unit. We went out horse riding for about two hours. They snapped us in the saddle, and then they took some pictures of ,us refreshing ourselves from bottles in front of the swimming pool. In the afternoon we played more golf, and at night we were entertained at a real sukiyaki dinner. It was difficult sitting on the floor eating with chopsticks, hut was a lot of fun. “ On Wednesday we went a trip to Atami, which is where you branch off the main line to Tokio for the Uzu Peninsula. There is a very pretty town there, with a large number of hotels which attracted many tourists before the war. The peninsula is called the Riviera of Japan. In the afternoon we played more golf, and on Thursday we went on an all-day trip to Tokio. We arrived there at 11.40 a.m. and left at 5.30. “On Thursday we went to Ito, which is largely composed of hotels, Japanese and Western. There are about 50 of these, so you will guess that before the war it was a very popular place. We also visited the Ito Girls’ High School, where the choir sang, for us. It was about the most beautiful singing I have ever heard. “ In Tokio we saw the Emperor’s Palace, the Diet building, the Dai Ituki building, and the Ernie Pyle building. It is a modern city, and they certainly have some big buildings. The centre of the city did not seem to have been bombed at all, though the outskirts were very badly damaged. “ On our last night at the Kawana Hotel we were given a farewell dinner of six courses, and we were all sorry to leave the place. It was the best holiday I had even had.”