The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1884-01-31
In Japanese Hotels.

The front of the house is entirely
open to the street during the daytime.
What serves for the office is in the front
room. The kitchen is also in front.
One will nearly always see list of
prices for lodging hung in the neighbor-
hood of the kitchen.
AS you ride by hotel on hot day
it looks very inviting. If the house be
a large one, you will see room after
room stretching backwards. In the
center of the house is an open court, in
which is Japanese garden, such as no
one else can make. Rockeries of old ,
and curiously shaped rocks, plants and
flowers artistically arranged, and some
times pond with goldfish. The par
lor is the back room of the house.
There is really very little difference in
rooms, as none of them contain soli-
tary piece of furniture. The woodwork
of parior is sometimes very pretty,
and there are pictures, with sometimes;
poem written in large characters on
silk, hanging on the walls. The rooms
are generally scrupulously clean. The
floors of all Japanese houses are COW,
cred with thick straw mats. On enter
ing hotel Cor any house) your shoes
must come off. A Japanese never wears
anything heavier than stocking when
in the house. Whenever there is any
woodwork in the floor it is kept highly
polished, as are also the Verandas,
which are an indispensable accompani-,
ment to a hotel, as it is by them that
the various rooms are reached. The
wood is SO smooth that it will show q
scratch, or mark made by a nail in:
the shoe, as easily as a polished table !
would do so.
On arriving at hotel you are shown !,
to a room, and girl waiter immedi-
ately brings tea and cake. The Japan
ese custom is to give little present of
money at this time; greater or less
sum according to the amount of atten-
ton you may demand.
The prices of lodging are generally
fixed at stated sums for first, second
and third class dodgers. This price in
cludes supper, breakfast and lodging.
Guests do not remain in hotel during
the day, excepting at the summer or
health resorts. BY eight o'clock in tho
morning the hotel is empty. Meals are
invariably served in the different rooms.
This requires large number of wait
ing girls. :
just raised from the floor. The price of
lodging with meals) is about thirty
five cents. That is to Japanese. For
eigners are charged for room rent and
for all food served. Last July l put up
at hotel over night Ny Japanese
teacher was with me. He had one
parlor and had another. Our food,
rooms, bedding were precisely alike.
He was charged forty-fve sen for room
and meals; was charged fifty sen for
room only, and in addition for every
separate item of food l refused to pay
my bill, but finally was obliged to pay
it or | should have made myself q great
deal of trouble. Most hotels prefer not
to take foreigners at any price. OF
course where we are served with chairs, /
table and a bed we are willing to pay,
extra for them. But we seldom find these
articles except on the main roads of
travel. One must be tired in order to-
sleep on the floor, lying on one thick
mat, with another similar one for a
cover. !.
There is no possible way to fasten'
the room at night. There are no doors
like our doors. The division between
rooms, as well as between the room and
the outer veranda, is nothing but paper;
paper sliding doors, which can be lifted
out of their grooves with the greatest
of ease, converting the house into one
large room. I have slept (?) for
number of nights in a room, all four
sides of which could be taken away in
five minutes time, and which of course
could be opened by any one. Strange
as it may seem, there is very seldom
anything like robbery. Things must
be left about the room, as one cannot
put all his possessions under the
pillow.