The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-01-21

visible from sea level. it is one of
 the most sublime of all the works of
 nature. Mt. Ranier as they say at Seattle. or Tacoma. as as 1t is called in
 the city of that name, and Popocata- petl, near Mexico's capital, are the
 nearest approach to Fuji, so far as the writer's observation goes. Pictures
 of Fuji are to be found on everything: they are printed on silk. embroidered on screens. worked on velvet, carved in wood and wrought in bronze and stone. We saw it from Lake Hakone a beautiful sheet of water some :, 900 feet above the ocean. The foot hills which surround the lake seem to open at one point in order to give a more extended ciew of the sloping sides of this sleeping giant
 And speaking of Hakone 1t is one of the beauty spots of Japan. On an island in this lake Is the summer home of the crown prince. Hakone is reached by six-mile ride from Mi yanoshita, a picturesque little village some sixty miles west of Yokohama There are here hot springs and all the delights of a mountain retreat. One of the best modern hotels in Japan. the Fujiya, is located here, and one of the earliest guests was Gen. Grant when he made his famous tour around the world. The road from the hotel to Hakone leads by foaming mountain streams. through closely cultivated val leys and over a range from which the coast line can be seen.
 Nikko, about 100 miles north of To- kio. and Nara, about thirty miles from Kyoto. are also noted for their natural scenery. but as these places are even more renowned because of the temples located there, they will be described later. The inland sea, which separates the larger islands of Japan, and is it. self studded with smaller islands adds interest to the travel from port to port Many of these islands are inhab- ited, and the tiny fields which perch upon their sides gives evidence of an ever present thrift Some of the is lands are barren peaks jutting a few hundred feet above the waves, while some are so tiny as to look like hay stacks in a submerged meadow.
 All over Japan one is impressed with the patient industry of the people. If the Hollanders have recaimed the ocean bed, the people of Japan have encroach- ed upon the mountains They have broadened the valleys and terraced the hillsides. Often the diminutive fields are held in place by stone walls, while the different levels are furnished with an abundance of water from the short but numerous rivers.
 The climate is very much diversified, ranging from almost tropical heat in Formosa to arctic cold in the northern islands; thus Japan can produce almost any kind of food. Her population in 1903 was estimated at nearly 47.0OO, 900, an increase of about 13,5O0,009 since 1873. While Tokio has a population of about 1,5o0,000; Osako a population of nearly 100000, Kyoto 1000 Yokoha- ma S0O,00O and Kobe and Nagoya about the same, besides many large cities of less size, still large majority of the population Is rural, and the farming have a decided preponder- ance of the Federal Congress or Diet. The population, however, Is increasing more rapidly in the cities than in the 
 The stature of the Japanese is below that of the citizens of the United States and Northern Europe. The av- craze height of the men in the army is about five feet two inches, and the average weight between 120 and 13O pounds. It looks like burlesque opera to see. as one. does occasionally. two or three little Japanese soldiers guard