横浜から富士山を巡って精進湖へ

3. From Yokohama around Fuji-san to Shoji.

Around Fuji-san to Shoji forms one of the most delightful short trips in Japan and is recommended to lovers of exquisite mountain, lake, and forest scenery. While it can be accomplished leisurely in 4 days (3 on a pinch), a week should be devoted to it. Early spring or fall is the loveliest season, although the region is singularly beautiful at all times of the year. The inns are clean, attractive, and cheap; a little English is spoken in them, and a guide from Yokohama is unnecessary. The Shoji Hotel — the objective point of most travelers to the dis-

trict — stands on an elevated promontory overlooking the gem-like Shoji Lake at the N.W. foot of Fuji in Kai Province, Yamanashi-ken (telegraph and telephone connections), and the English-speaking proprietress will, on receipt of advance advices, have the hotel coolies meet the traveler at any near-by point, relieve him of luggage and responsibility, and conduct him safely to the hotel. Their pay is ¥2.50 a day, and besides being trustworthy, they are useful in many ways. There are no discomforts, and the alternate boating and walking between Kami Yoshida and Shoji is enlivened by some of the most magnificent views imaginable of the lordly Fuji — views of the N. side, which travelers along the Tokaido miss.

The shortest, quickest, and best way from Yokohama to Shoji is by the Tokaido rly. to (2 hrs.) 51 M. Gotemba (for fares see the Rly. Time Table), thence by tramway to (20 M.) Kami Yoshida (in about 5 hrs., fare ¥1.), where the coolies sent from the Shoji Hotel will meet one with chairs or horses. The uncertainty of making close connections with the tram at Gotemba, the beauty of the scenery beyond Kami Yoshida, and the fact that the trail might prove difficult after nightfall, make it undesirable to expect, or attempt, to accomplish the outward trip in one day. Furthermore, the tram-ride is tiresome, and ladies particularly will be glad enough for the night's rest in the clean little Osakabe Hotel (¥4 a day) at Kami Yoshida (cars stop at the door), where chairs, a table, semi-foreign food, and minor comforts are provided by the obliging hostess (English spoken) and host — a maimed veteran of the siege of Port Arthur. [Travelers from Tokyo can reach this point by proceeding over the Central Rly. Line (Rte. 25) to (50 M.) Otsuki (in about 4 hrs.; for fares see the Rly. Time Table), whence the tramway runs up the valley of the Katsura-gawa to (12 M. in about 2 hrs.) Yoshida — an extension of Kami Yoshida.]

The cost of a chair hence to Shoji is ¥10 (4 men at ¥2.50 each), but if one goes via the lakes it will be used but little. Jinrikis are usually available to Funatsu. Unless one plans to shoot the rapids of the Fujikawa, and not return via Kami Yoshida, the best way is to go via the lakes and come back by the alternate, overland route described hereinafter. In this case heavy luggage can be left at the inn and picked up later. Travelers who contemplate climbing Fuji (see p. 45), then going to Shoji, and joining the rly. (via the river-route) at Iwabuchi, can save time and money by leaving the tram-car at Subashiri (7 M. from Gotemba and usually the station from which Fuji is ascended), climb the mt. and then go on to Kami Yoshida. The boat-hire (for a small party) on the first lake (Kawaguchi) W. of Kami Yoshida is ¥3.50; on Nishi, the 2d lake, ¥3 (about 20% more is expected in bad weather — at which time the lakes should be avoided). The fares

from Shoji to the river or the rly. are mentioned farther on.

The country between Yokohama and Gotemba is described in Rte. 24. The Gotemba inns are mentioned at p. 48. The tramway station is 3 min. walk to the right of that of the rly.

Cars leave at frequent intervals. Special cars for a party can be hired at moderate prices.

The line ascends via Subashiri to (4 hrs.) Kago-zaka ('basket trail') Pass, whence returning cars come down by the pull of gravity, often at a disconcerting speed. Beyond this it is downhill over a winding road (Yamanaka Lake at the right), with fine views of Fuji at the left to (2 hrs.) Kami Yoshida (returning cars leave hourly), a picturesque village at the N. base of Fuji, which towers grandly above it (summit 11 M.; halfway on horseback). Hence via the lakes (Kawaguchi, 3 M.; Nishi, 7 M.) to the Shoji Hotel is 15 M. (12 M. overland). — The inn at (1 M.) Shimo Yoshida (the upper end of Kami Yoshida) is the Togawa (¥5 a day).

The road winds across the fertile fields of decomposed volcanic drift to (20 min.) Akasaka village, where the overland trail (which avoids the lakes) turns up at the left; the straight road leads in 30 min. to Funatsu, a picturesque cluster of houses, embowered in mulberry trees, at the upper edge of Kawaguchi ('River mouth') Lake (4 M. long). Sericulture is the chief industry of the region, and almost every homestead possesses one or more primitive silk-reels. Boatmen are on the watch for travelers, who are conducted to the near-by landing. If one happens to pass this way in autumn, when melons and strings of yellow corn are drying beneath the eaves of the overhanging, heavily thatched house-roofs, and the hills roundabout flame with scarlet foliage that reflects its wanton beauty in the pellucid waters of the lake, one will register a scene not easily forgotten. Nagahama, at the far end of the lake, is a bit over 1 hr. sail, or row; thence it is a fairly stiffish 30 min. walk up Toriizaka to the crest of the ridge separating the lake from the adjacent Nishi-noumi ('West Lake'). The views here are splendid, embracing as they do the two gem-like lakes nestling in their green beds and reflecting, in an inverted way, the exquisite cone of Fuji. The boat-landing is at (8 min.) Saiko village, and the keeper of the poor and misnamed Matsuya Hotel owns the boat and keeps the oars; hence to the lower end (1 M.) of the lake is ¥2. The boat grounds at a point somewhat to the left of the squalid village of Nemba, near the Shoji trail; which plunges at once (left) into a wild, semi-tropical, bird-infested tangle of black doleritic lava streams significant of Fuji's tremendous activity in the past. Few byways in Japan are as interesting. The decomposed volcanic detritus, a sheltered situation, and almost continued moisture have produced a wealth of beautiful wild flora in which brilliant green mosses, lovely ferns, and Florida moss (Dendropogon usneoides) are conspicu-

ous features, — the latter pending in ghostly gray, filiform festoons from the tall trees just as it does from the patriarchal eucalyptuses in Chapultepec Park, and from the giants of Virginia's Dismal Swamp. Great lianas wind round the stems of the trees and bind them into an almost impenetrable jungle. The volcanic streams are easily defined, and where they cross the path the amygdaloidal stones are seen to be covered with lichenous forms. In some places gaping caverns are exposed, in the dark, cold depths of which snow often remains throughout the summer. The obsidian-like edges of certain of the black stones cut one's shoes like glass and emphasize the value of the useful waraji. The wonderful and varied plant- and bird-life; the fantastic rock formations, and the extraordinarily singular aspect of the place — mediaeval rather than modern, with a suggestion of elf-land — are sustainedly interesting. Travelers should remember that the fragrant white flowers of the Andromeda japonica (Japanese, asemi) so much in evidence will poison one if held between the lips. For 1 1/2 hrs. one tramps steadily through this labyrinthine Japanese everglade, up hill and down dale, emerging finally, and abruptly, on the silent shore of the beautiful, irregular Shoji Lake (Shoji-ko), 300 ft. deep and 3160 ft. above the sea. The path half-circles it to a landing toward which a boat puts out from the (1 M.) hotel on the opposite shore.

The Shoji Hotel (¥8.50 a day, Am. pl.; less by the week; reduction for a longer stay) occupies a commanding position on the Unosaki promontory, above a charming little bay a mile or more from the small cove in which nestles the nondescript Shoji village. Excellent fishing in the spring and summer. Carp (koi); a species of cat-fish (namazu); goldfish (funa; comp. p. civ); and several minor species are the most plentiful. Boats 50 sen an hour; ¥3 a day. Fishing-tackle in the hotel. Good bathing in the cove near by. Many wild ducks make the lake a winter rendezvous, and pheasants and wild boars infest the forests. Splendid pine trees overhang the lake, which reminds one of the silent tarns of Maine or Upper Canada. The lake floor is supposed to be warmed by subterraneous fires, since as soon as the ice (2–3 ft. in winter; fine skating) thickens at the surface, the fish disappear to return to the surface in balmier weather. As none of the lakes round Fuji's base have visible outlets, and as the water-lines change frequently, the natives hold the belief that they are connected with subterranean watercourses (see p. 45).

From Eboshi-ga-take, the lofty hill (40 min. climb) behind the hotel, all the lakes are included in the fine panorama. Maruyama (3750 ft.), a rounded hill on Fuji's flank (good 1/2 day excursion; guide 2 yen; 3 yen for the day), contains a locally celebrated Ice Cave (Koriana) popular with tourists. Entrance fee 50 sen. For some unknown reason the ice never melts entirely,

and after a prolonged cold spell many huge icicles pend from the roof to meet the icy stalagmitic forms which rise in jagged irregularity from the cavern floor (of unknown thickness). If the traveler breaks any of these a recompense will be demanded. To this bizarre cold-storage plant the Shoji folks bring silkworm cocoons (kaiko) and store them to prevent unseasonable development. The cave is believed to have been anciently a big breathing-hole for the volcano. There are many lovely walks in the Shoji neighborhood.

The Overland Route from Shoji to Kami Yoshida embodies much the same scenery as the lake route, except that it skirts the shores of the lakes nearer to the mt. The charge for a chair to (halfway) Narusawa is ¥2.50; to Kami Yoshida, ¥5. Coolie only, ¥1.20. If one expects to board the 11–12 o'clock tram-car at Kami Yoshida for Gotemba, and thus reach Yokohama early in the evening, one had better make an early start, say 7 o'clock. The hotel boat takes one to a different landing on the opposite side of the lake, and the first part of the way is through another, and equally attractive, section of the extraordinary lava-field traversed on the outward journey. In the early morning when the entire forest is dew-gemmed, it is as beautiful a deep tangled wildwood as one could imagine. At the end of 2 hrs. we enter a sparsely wooded country, at the right of which Fuji rises in a splendor indescribable; white, cottony clouds drift round its flanks, and the snow on its summit — gloriously beautiful against the steel-blue sky — resembles vast billows of corded silk. Numerous lava streams are crossed, and these alternate with groves of stunted trees and prairie-land. Beyond Akasaka village we follow the same road as on the outward journey. The straight road goes to Shimo Yoshida.

From Shoji via (5 M.) Lake Motosu to Yokaichiba Village, where one boards the boat for the Rapids of the Fujikawa, is about 18 M.; a leisurely day should be devoted to it as the scenery is charming and will often detain one. The river can be reached easily before twilight, and the boats do not start until early morning. Horse with coolie to act as guide (along the lake shore), ¥4; on foot with coolie, ¥2. This latter method is preferable, for not only can the journey be shortened about 3 M. by climbing over Myojin-yama (1000 ft. above the lake, impracticable for horses), but from the pass one obtains one of the most extraordinarily beautiful panoramas in the neighborhood — including Lake Motosu, Lake Shoji, Fuji-san, hundreds of square miles of intervening valley, and a prospect that holds one spellbound by its varied and entrancing charm. The pretty village of Furuseki is passed before Tambara (with a poor inn) is reached. Here it is best to board a boat and go down the river (1/2 M.) to Yokaichiba, where there is a better inn, the Fujikawa, or Wakaoya Hotel (¥2), and where the innkeeper will plan for a boat for the following day.

The prices of these are advancing steadily; a special boat (which will make the trip in about 5 hrs.) with 4 men costs about ¥20; the daily mail-boat (¥3.50) takes about 7 hrs. Additional information concerning the rapids will be found in Rte. 25.

Those who do not care to rejoin the Tokaido Rly. by the river-route, may proceed from Shoji via Lake Motosu to (13 M.) Kamiide (coolie to act as guide and carry luggage, ¥5; with a horse ¥8), whence a light rly. runs via Omiya to (15 M.) Suzukawa (fare 90 sen), a station on the main line of the rly. The branch is being extended and eventually will pass through Shoji en route to Kofu. One with a little time to spare will feel repaid for turning aside (1/2 M. on the Shoji side) near Kamiide to see (on the slope of Fuji-san) the lovely Shiraito ('white thread') Waterfalls, of crystal clear water with a tint like that of a fine blue-white diamond. The environing region presents some extraordinary features. In some places big streams of water gush noisily and with great violence from holes in the ground, that are supposed to be the outlets of subterraneous channels draining the Fuji lakes. Certain of these streams unite and form the Shiba River, which in turn plunges over a wide, semi-circular precipice of black lava and constitutes two big waterfalls, the O-daki and Me-daki (male and female), about 80 ft. high. The scores of small ones are referred to as their children. The myriad tiny streams which spurt out from the crevices in the rocks resemble nothing so much as fragile white threads, whence the name. Near by is the remarkable Otodome Cascade, 100 or more ft. high, and about 30 ft. broad.