Morning journal and courier., 1884-02-05
AROUND THE WORLD.

AROUND THE WORLD.
 A Voyage in a Japanese steamer-A
 Slow, But n Cheap and Interesting
 TrIp-The Beautiful Inland Sea-The
 Harbor of Nagasak1.
 YELLOW SEA, ON BOARD THE STEAMER
 BEooNsHIRE, Dec. 15. To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 If anyone has an ambition to sec Japanese life, recommend him to take trip in one of the native steamers which ply back and forth along the entire coast line of the 1s- land. My own ambition in this respect has been thoroughly satisfied. I made the trip from Kobe to Nagasaski in a little less than three days, in one of the native "tes-pot steamers" as they are derisively termed by the foreigners resident at the open ports. The experience was altogether different from that afforded by any other sea voyage that l ever took. It must be remembered that these small steamers are offered and manned exclusively by Japanese, and are supposed to be built exclusively for the accommodation of native passenger freight traffic, ~ This sounds like verys Simple statement, but it involves good d1a, asI can personally tes- tify. None of e large Mitsu Bishi sAsam- CTS, prepareda1 eare for foreign patronage. ! were at hand, asRathsF 9kanf F tazry . cnUpIe of days waiting Tor one we resolved to ''see Japanese life" We were warned that the speed would be slow, but to this statement we merely made reply that no vessel could go too slow for cruise down the Inland Sea of Japan, the voyage of lifetime, celebrated in poetry and prose alike as the most inter esting voyage which the whole world affords. When we asked of a Japanese interpreter what would be the price of tickets he made reply: "For third class, four yen and half; for second, five yen and half for first six yen and half. This includes Japa- nese food, in quality according to the class of passage taken" After canvassing the matter thoroughly we concluded that we could afford to go first-class, and invested In tickets. Can any steamboat company in the world exhibit more reasonable scale of prices? A first-class ride, for two days and half, through the famous Inland Sea, for six yen and half-about five dollars in Ameri- can money! The time consumed by the reg ular ocean boats In making the trip is only about thirty-six hours, but the price for pas sage is eighteen Mexican dollars.
 We were informed that the steamer. would start from Osaka, twenty miles further up the bay, from which point the schedule of fares was the same as from Kobe. The sail ing time from Osaka was p. m., and we were informed that at six D. m we should be prepared to board the steamer. Moreover 8 runner for the company promised to come and call us when the boat arrived off Kobe. AS Osaka, though an immense city, cannot be said to be an open port owing to the pres ence of huge sandbar in the harbor, over which only the tiniest steam craft could pass, we knew that we should not have a very commodious boat and yet we reasoned that she must be of some size, owing to the treaoherous waters to be traTersed between Shimonoseki and Nagasaki.
 Six o'clock came but with 1t no steamer. We waited in suspense, peering anXlously out over the bay. Steam craft were moving about in beEildering confusion, and whistle signals startled us anon. But the clerk did not come for us and we remained in idle ex- pectancy. It is pretty sight-a Japanese harbor with it's numerous colored lights dan cling with the motion of the boats, and being reflected in 8 thousand fantastic shapes in the water Yet I am not used to it and do not want to get used to it. I ana tired of the sampan system and long to get back to the system of civilized harbors with wharves for the stea mers to go alongside.
 At seven o'clock the welcome whistle sounded and we were escorted to 8 sampan. Putting our luggage aboard, we entered the craft ourselves and were rowed out to the anchored steamer, some half 8 mile distant.
 
 to the steamer in a sampan on pitchy dark night. The bay was as smooth as milI-pond, but the waters were fairly alive with the sampans, which were strug- gling to get to the boat first and secure the best positions. Most of these sampans were supplied with green, red or blue paper lan- terms, which added much to the picturesque ness of the scene. Some, however, were without any means of illumination, and the first knowledge we would have that any boat was bearing down upon us would come when collision actually took place. All these bumps served to add to the exhilarating ef- feet of the experience, which was calculated to render any man apprehensive but they were taken good naturedly by the native pro- prietors of these rude craft
 The steamer proved to be mere egg-shell | of 8 boat, aud looked forward with no very 1 pleasant anticipations to the rough passage 1 after quitting the Inland Sea proper. Never | had appreciated before how diminutive the ! Japanese race really is. As moved through | the second class apartment and into the sa- loon set apart for first class passengers, my ] head frequently bumped against the ceiling and, during all the subsequent voyage, was compelled to conform my body to the shape | of 8 rainbow in order to move about any. l In passing up stairs I actually had to crawl l on my hands and knees. The second-class | compartment filled the body of the boat back | of the engine, while the cabin which we were l to occupy was at the extreme end, over the i screw. The former was matted and entirely l without seats, since the Japanese prefer to | squat; while the latter was carpeted with a l green Brussels carpet, and supplied with the | oldest kind of upholstered bench running l around the room, measuring six inches ln | width on the sides and three feet around the | curved bow. This seat, as I afterwards dis l covered, is seldom used by the first class Japs. |
 Upon being shown to this room, myself | and companion were directed to divest our selves of our shoes, which we reluctantly did. l Afterwards put mine again and trod that l carpet with lordly independence. noticed l that the porter always carefully removed his l shoes upon entering and cast many an insin- | uating glance in my direction but what of l that ? Had not paid six yen and 8 bslf for | my ticket, and did not that include every | privilege of the boat, from boring the pilot l with questions to trampling ruthiessly upon ] the best the boat afforded! We were practi- l cally masters of the situation, for the saloon 1 only contained one other passenger, we'll l to do Japanese who entered the room, bowed | politely, handed us his card printed in Japa- | nese, after first writing his narle upon 1t | in English, and then motioned two | friends to enter who had come aboard to ''ses him off," Although | reading and writing English to some extent, he could not speak word of it (which is quite often the case with young Japsn), and this was great comfort, for could comment 1 upon him as much as we wished right to his face without his being any the wiser for 1t. His Japanese friends entered, and tho three squatted in the middle of the floor around the brasier, and took 9 parting cup of tea together according to the Japanese custom. Presently the signal whistle sounded and they withdrew, leaving us three sole occupants of the room There were no cabins and berths The Japanese do not understand the use of such eonveniences. They carry a blanket with them when they travel and lie down on the floor like so many mummies, using the padded wooden blocks which arc furnished on board the steamer for pillows. At pre- | cisely eight o'clock the little screw began to churn the water and we were declared under way. I shall hardly hope to describe the voyage in detail.
 Early the next morning we stopped at place called Tadatz where our boat was again surrounded by sampans. Some of these were loaded down with articles of food or goods calculated to tickle the fancy of travellers. We purchased a dozen Japanese eggs for ten sen, and then forgot how thin shelled are the native eggs and broke several in handling | We also bought g crate of 100 oranges for |