Connecticut western news., 1880-03-24
Japan Letter, No. 1.

Yokohama, Japan, April 18th, 1879.
 Everything is very strange here. The city is very pretty and picturesque, but the change is so great coming from America. If you came here from London, the change would be grad ual, and the Oriental costums would come up on you by degrees, but by the route I came, you are thrown into 1t at once, and hence the more striking to see living realities of the out landish pictures you see on fans, and many things more curious and strange. The houses are low, with tiled roofs. The streets are mostly narrow; there are few wide, fine streets, however: mere 1 are no @ side @ walks walks.
 aton walk very little in the streets but they are crowded with natives. There are very few horses here & few of the rich foreigners keep pony and carriage. You see the ladies and children riding, especially along the Bund, which is a long avenue next the bay It is 8 wide street with fine houses and gar dens on one side, and the water on the other The bay presents 8 lively scene there are no docks. The vessels anchor off from shore, and all the traffic between the ship and shore is done in boats. There are some steam tugs but hundreds of native boats which are shoot ing around the bay ill every direction, and make more noise than the Chicago hackmen, which is saying great deal. When vessel arrives it is surrounded with these native boats, each having two or three natives, aux ious to get passengers. When you get on shore you are surrounded by crowd of men, each having large baby carriage q call it,)
 but they call them jinrikisha. The people ge, one in each carriage, and away the men run at the top of their speed. It makes no differ ence whether you ride ten minutes or an hour, | they run all the time. The price for the jinrikishas is ten cents an hour, or ten cents | from boat to hotel. When more than one go | out to ride, they each take carriage and go
 along in string, the men shouting to the na
 tives to get out of the way, for they all walk in
 the streets. You would laugh at the scene.
 They charge 60 cents day, or ten cents an
 hour for the iinrikisha, and take you every ! where you should see the men run. The
 streets are level, and are composed of hard
 gravel, very smooth. but no pavement. Ii you go to livery stable to get horse to ride,
 a runner goes with you to hold your horse
 when you stop. The shops are just as you see 1 them in pictures the goods and wares are
 spread around, and the shop keeper sits down l in the midst.
 1 I went to church and Sunday School twice yesterday. In the morning l went to the | union service, held at a very pretty church
 built by fund which was appropriated for | that purpose by the board of foreign mission.
 In the native Sunday School there were about
 20 scholars, in the foreion 60. The churches,
 like all other large buildings, are low, and very strong, for this is the land of earthquakes | Outside of the town every place is made available for cultivation. The mountains | along the bay are terraced to the top, and cul
 carry water up by hand for irrigation. There
 is dense population to be supported, and it
 is necessary to make the land produce all it is l possible.
 The native men and women dress much alike, except the hair, which is the chief orna-
 ment of the woman.
 There are number of war ships in the har- | Dor, English, American, French, and Japanese,
 and look so pretty. The shipping hws otl
 better anchored off from land than it does ly ! ing at docks. Everything is drawn through | the streets by men. There IS just now a drag
 passing my window. drawn by natives. It is
 two wheeled truck drawn by three men
 they draw at least ton load They go along
 shouting alternately word that sounds like l Hollker. One repeats it in loud voice, the1
 the other. It is said by two of the men, sc
 each repeatit at the second stop. keeping time. ! will leave at six o'clock this evening for l Kobe, by steamer, and arrive there Wednes-
 day morning.
 ! KOBE, JAPAN, May 4, 1879. l arrived here Wednesday morning, after a
 very pleasant passage down the coast. We l were near enough to see the shore with
 glass, nearly all day Tuesday. The views
 were grand and exciting, being so different l from anything ever saw before, The shore l Is rocky, but the mountains that arise from | the shore seem to be earth, covered with yer l dure to the top The mountains are not at 1 all like our hills, but are clusters of peaks
 standing up in points. and the formation of | each peak commences from the plain. It 8 ems like great many conically shaped
 mountains packed together. Kobe is built !
 this at least 800 feet high, and there are resi-
 dences and gardens all the way up their sides,
 which presents very novel and beautiful ap-
 pearance. The town is very pretty; very
 wide streets all the buildings are neat, and
 m good repair. Of course the native town | Hiogo is Japanese, and is beyond my power
 of description. The whole scene seems like
 picture. The Oriental costumes that look so queer in pictures moving about in every direction. Iremember seeing picture some 1 where of bullock cart driven by an Arab, | rude structure with wheels made of blanks, drawn by single bullock, shaped like buffA-
 To without such long hair. had not been in | Kobe an hour before saw train of five or six just such bullock carts driv en by just such I individuals. Yesterday there was a crowd of coolies carrying coal on their shoulders from the bay to the mill. They have basket sus pended from each end of long pole, and carry it balanced on their shoulders. Every thing is moved by man power. If paper is to be sent away they tie five or six bundles to- gether, and two men carry it suspended from pole. The foreigners are mostly English and Scotch they are very friendly and agree-