The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1877-02-07

In word, how far dual is the life of
man, how far not?
Travelling in Japan.
We found accommodation, never so
very bad, in all the villages of any
size, and the Japanese hotels are as
good according to Japanese ideas of
comfort as those in any other country.
The rooms are clean, and a warm bath
is always to be obtained. The natives
sleep rolled in padded quilts of cotton,
and from these a fairly comfortable
European bed can be easily extempor.
lied, by spreading one for a mattress,
rolling up another for pillow, and
using a third as a cOverlet. We al
ways found the people at the inns civil
and attentive in the extreme. During
the whole of our journey of fourteen
days, from Kiota to Toxic, we lived on
Japanese food, with the exception of
four small pots Of Liebig's extract of
beef, and some spirits and tobacco.
Eggs and rice are always to be obtain
ed, and occasionally fish, with other
dishes, the origin of which the Euro
pean traveller would do we'll not to ask.
If accepted on trust, some of them are
by no means bad.
The Japanese appear to travel great
deal about their own country, and to
shift their residences frequently. Ma
tive guide books and itineraries are to
be obtained along all the roads of i'm
portance. They usually give the dis
tances between the towns and villages,
and a list of the best inns at each
place. On leaving an inn, it is the GUS
tom in some parts of the country, for
the landlord to ask you where you in
tend to stop the next night, and he
will then give you an introduction to
some innkeeper at the place you men,
ton, with whom he presumably has
some understanding. These introduce
tions are often useful, if one arrives at
an out of the way place late at night,
in which case the traveller might be
looked upon with suspicion. Some
times, too, the inns may be crowded,
and then the bearer of an introduction
will find the landlord inclined to make
more than usual efforts to accommodate
him. In the hill country the
rooms were usually in sets of three,
one behind the other, rising in steps,
the highest being furthest from the
road. These inns had chiefly been
built to accommodate the trains of the
Daimios in their progresses toward the
capital. The ssYakonins,'' or officers
occupied the highest rooms the s'Sa-
mauri,'' or soldiers, the next, and the
coolies and servants the lowest. The
highest rooms still appear to be kept
for the most distinguished guests. AS
we carried papers stating that we were
English officers-Yakonins, the coun-
try people called us-we were always
shown into the highest rooms and in
some cases it even appeared as if the
landlord turned guests whom he con-
sidered of inferior social rank into
lower rooms to accommodate us.
Nearer the large towns, however they
appeared to have grown more republic
can in their ideas, and no distinction
appeared to be made.
The landlady will often wait on
those whom she considers important
guests in person. This, however, is
but a doubtful advantage, for it usually
means that your viands, &C., are hand
ed to you by a creature with black
teeth and shaven eyebrows according
to the hideous custom of married
women in Japan,) instead of trim
little 'smusumie'' Ii. e., girl.) with
pearly teeth and laughing blue eyes,
who watches you all the time with
mingled establishment and curiosity.
On the whole one may travel in
Japan with comparative comfort, and
without encountering the filth and
squalor which those who leave the
beaten tracks of Europeans generally
meet with in the far East. If the
traveller makes up his mind to rough it
and cast aside European habits, and
adopt those of the natives, he will
travel with economy and speed. To
some men, however, this would be
simple misery, and such a one must
make up his mind to carry the imped-
imenta of occidental civilization with
him. His progress, however, would
be slow, and each additional coolie he
found it necessary to employ would be
a new cause of delay.
Maxims.
It is the rich who want most