JAPAN’S RECOVERY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19259, 25 August 1924, Page 8

JAPAN’S RECOVERY.

(From Odr Own Correspondent.) LONDON, July 15. Mr and Mrs John P. Hooton (Auckland) and their daughter arrived in London after making their way up through Australia to Borneo and the Philippines, thence to Hongkong -and Shanghai and on to Japan “We had a vsrv interesting tour in Japan.” writes Mr Hooton, “visiting Kyoto, Nara. Suma Park, and other well known places in the cherry-blossom time when Japan is at its best. We also visited the scenes of tho earthquake at Yokohama, and it is wonderful what an amount of work' they have put in at reconstruction during the few months since the earthquake. Out cf a population of 500,000 before the disaster there are now settled in Yokohama as many as 250,000. I visited Kobe 13 years ago, when the population was 300,000. It has now risen to 800,000 — probably the greatest percentage of increase in the world.”

After leaving Japan, Mr Hooton and his party went on to Vancouver. Now that the observation cars are on tho Canadian Pacific Railway, they found tho 'journey much more enjoyable than formerly. “New Zealand is well associated with the Rocky Mountains.” says Mr Hootcn. “At the ‘Groat Divide,’ where one stream flows to tho Pacific and the other to the Atlantic, there is a statue to the memory of Sir James Hector, New Zealand’s greatest scientist. Ho was the discoverer of tho ‘Kicking Horse Pass,’ and gave tho pass that name.” On the journey _ from Montreal to Liverpool the Montcln.ire made a record as regards speed, and came through the Belie Isle Channel. The coast of Labrador was visible, and also were many icebergs. About the end of November or early in December the travellers will set out on their homeward journey.