東京から宇都宮・福島・山形・秋田を経て青森へ（北海道）

18. From Tokyo via Utsunomiya, Fukushima, Yamagata, and Akita to Aomori (Hokkaido).

North-Eastern, and Ou Lines, Imperial Government Railways.

To Nikko (via Utsunomiya Jct.) is referred to in Rte. 13. At (139 M.) Koriyama, connections are made with the new cross-country line to Niigata, on the coast of the Japan Sea. At (168 M.) Fukushima, the Ou Line diverges to the W., but the main line continues N. to (206 M.) Iwanuma Jct., where it is joined by the Joban Line, which forms the subject of Rte. 17. Travelers can proceed N. to Aomori either over this line or over the Ou Line, but those destined for Sendai or Matsushima must not change at Fukushima. Between Tokyo and Aomori the rly. goes from Musashi Province into that of Shimosa, and crosses Shimotsuke, Iwaki, Iwashiro, Uzen, Ugo, and Mutsu

before reaching the top of the main island. Many splendid mts., some of them volcanic, flank the sustainedly interesting and picturesque line, which for some distance out of Tokyo follows the old Oshu-Kaido, once the favorite highway of daimyo and samurai cavalcades. A few of the former 87 post-stations (Eki) between Yedo and Aomori still stand. Beyond Akita splendid views of the silent Japan Sea are had from the train. For reference to sleeping-cars and extra-fare trains see p. lxxxiii. Aomori is the port of departure for the Hokkaido (Yezo). See the preceding page.

Tokyo (see p. 109). For the first few miles after leaving the tawdry metropolitan suburbs the rly. runs N.W. over a flat country where much of the garden-truck sold in the city markets is raised. The lowlands are subject to overflows during the summer rains. From 16 M. Omiya Jct. the trend is due N. through a number of unimportant towns to 48 M. Oyama Jct., where the branch line from Takasaki, on the Karuizawa section of the Shin-etsu Line (Rte. 6), comes in at the left and continues eastward to 31 M. Tomobe Jct. Henceforward the gradient slopes gently upward over a better country, with the fine Nikko Mts. in view. 65 M. Utsunomiya (472 ft.), the point of departure for Nikko, is mentioned in detail in Rte. 13. From Utsunomiya, the train proceeds N. over a steadily rising country intensively cultivated and flecked here and there with beautiful flowering trees. Tobacco is a conspicuous feature in the landscape, and many broad fields are given over to the raising of the broad-leaved taro plant (Caladium Colocasia; Jap. imo — which also means potato). The Negawa, Inari, Tenjin, and Kinu Rivers are crossed before 73 M. Hoshakuji is reached, and the intervening country is rendered picturesque by the many big undershot water-wheels which aid the farmers

to irrigate their fields. The rivers often prove bad servants, and are dreaded in the rainy season. The black, loamy soil is favorable to the exacting requirements of ginseng (which in a ferruginous soil takes on a reddish tinge that lessens its value), and at certain seasons the land is dotted with mats or thatched

roofs raised about 3 ft. above the plants (comp. Korea) to protect them from a too ardent sun. A great variety of fine trees thrive in the region, which is sentineled by lofty mt. peaks.

92 M. Nishi-Nasuno (Inn: Yamatoya, ¥2) is the usual point of departure for the locally celebrated (13 M.) Shiobara Mineral Springs (jinriki with 2 men, ¥2.20; basha for 6 persons and luggage, ¥3.60). The region is known for its beautiful maples and is popular with Japanese. The most frequented of the several resorts is Furumachi (Inn: Fusen-ro, etc., ¥2.50 and upward) in a picturesque setting, amid hot springs, fantastic rocks, mts. and waterfalls. About 5 M. from Furumachi

is Arayu, whence pilgrims start for the climb up (9 M.) Keicho-zan (5880 ft.), one of the peaks of Takahara-yama, in the range which separates Iwashiro from Shimotsuke Province. The ascent occupies a long tiresome day and does not repay one for the exertion. — A good view of the Shiobara Mts. is had from 95 M. Higashi-Nasuno, and steam can be seen rising

from Nasu-yama (6300 ft.; serious eruption in 1881) at the N.E. end of the short ridge. 97 M. Kuroiso (Inn: Tabakoya, ¥4), the starting-point for the (11 M.) Nasu Springs (at the base of the active volcano of Nasu; guide, ¥3.50; ascent in 3 hrs.), also marks the commencement of a roughish country of steep gradients, brawling rivers, wide curves, and tumbled hills — the latter densely wooded. Beyond (109 M.) Toyohara, the rly. reaches a point 1423 ft. above the sea, the highest between Tokyo and Sendai. The train now enters the province of Iwaki. 115 M. Shirakawa (Inn: Yanagi-ya, ¥4), 1269 ft. above sea level, was formerly the seat of a petty daimyo whose ruinous castle still overlooks the tidy little town. The Abukuma River runs past the upper end of the place and irrigates the broad paddy-fields in the environs. Good peaches are grown in the vicinity of Yubuki Station, near which the Imperial Household maintains one of its several game preserves. The good pike which traverses the region is sometimes flanked for miles by fantastic pine trees in imitation of the splendid cryptomeria avenues of Nikko.

139 M. Koriyama (Inn: Kimura-ya, ¥4), known for its manufactures of fine silken stuffs, is the point of departure for the Gan-etsu Line, which runs W. through beautiful scenery to Niigata (Rte. 6, p. 83).

Several good trains daily. Wakamatsu, 38 M. Niitsu (Niigata), 112 M. For fares and other information see the Rly. Time Table. Near (16 M.) Yamagata is the Kozakayama Tunnel, 1816 ft. long, one of the many that pierce the lofty mts. of the region.

Inawashiro 22 M. is the usual starting point for the ascent of the (dangerous) Bandai-san, a volcano with an evil reputation, near the N. end of the (10 by 10 M.) Lake (Inawashiro — good salmon-trout fishing) 6000 ft. above sea level. Like Asama-yama, Bandai-san is not to be trusted. The terrific and totally unexpected eruption of July 15, 1888 (which emanated from the adjacent peak called Ko or little Bandai), destroyed 4 villages, killed 461 persons, and devastated 27 sq. M. of territory.

Wakamatsu, or ‘Young Pine Tree’ (Inn: Shimizu-ya, ¥4), the chief town (803 ft.) of the Aizu District (Iwashiro Province; Fukushima-ken), with 40,000 inhabs., was formerly called Kurokawa, and possessed a castle built by the Ashina daimyos — from whom it was taken by Date Masamune in 1589. At the time of the Restoration the powerful Wakamatsu Clan remained faithful to the shogun, and the capture (Nov. 6, 1868) of the castle by the Imperial army closed the civil war in Hondo. Only the massive walls of the structure remain. The town stands near the E. margin of a wide plain known as Aizu-taira, 7 M. to the W. of Inawashiro Lake. Considerable lacquer-ware is manufactured for export; lacquer trees (Urushi-no-ki; Rhus vernicifera) thrive in the region, and their product (known to the trade as Aizu-urushi), along with the Aizu-ro, or vegetable-wax, is in demand throughout the Empire. Higashi-yama, a pretty watering-place 2 M. to the S.E. (Inn: Shintaki-ro, ¥4), in a densely wooded ravine through which plunges a mt. torrent, contains several insipid, odorless springs (122° to 131° F.) which burst from the volcanic soil and are led through bamboo conduits into the bath-houses. At Hongo, a small town 4 M. to the S.W., some porcelain is made. The mts. which surround the Aizu plain are lofty and majestic. — Beyond Wakamatsu the rly. descends through a charming country to (45 M.) Shiwokawa, thence to Niigata.

The Taira Line, a branch rly. forming an eastward prolongation of the Gan-etsu Line, runs from Koriyama through the picturesque valley of the

Natsui River to (52 M.) Taira, a town on the coast line between Tokyo and Iwanuma (Rte. 17). For fares, etc., see the Rly. Time Table.

Northward from Koriyama the main line bends broadly to the left and traverses a hilly district where sericulture is practiced on a large scale; the manufactured silk has a reputation for quality. 154 M. Nihonmatsu, with silk-mills, is one of the most important silk-producing towns in the region. The ancient and now ruinous castle was built in the 16th cent, by Hatakeyama Mitsuyasu, but his descendants were dispossessed (in 1586) by the militant Date Masamune. Niwa was the last of the daimyos at the time of the Restoration. Onward to (160 M.) Matsukawa the rly. threads the beautiful valley of the Abukuma River, with charming views. Hills hide these until we emerge beyond the Hiraishi Tunnel, whence a splendid panorama opens out far below at the left. Wide paddy-fields and mulberry plantations irrigated by the Sugawa mark the approach to

168 M. Fukushima Jct. (pop. 43,000), an important city in the prefecture of the same name, in a pretty valley almost surrounded by perennially green hills. The small Shinto shrine behind a huge granite torii in the N.E. quarter incloses some sculptured and gaudily decorated wood figures of Udaijin and Sadaijin; of several of the Gods of Good Luck, and a medley of bric-a-brac not usually displayed in such places. The eagle on the portico is boldly sculptured. The quaint carvings on certain of the tile-roofed dwellings of the city impart a templelike look to them. Foreign influence is a negligible quantity here, and the native life retains many of its ancient features. North-bound travelers interested in the scenery of the Ou Line, may elect to break the journey here and board one of the early morning trains for (302 M.) Aomori — a long day's ride. The Fukushima Hotel, with foreign beds, and plain but wholesome foreign-style food, is a 3-min. walk from the station (2 min. up the main st., then turn left; jinriki, autos); room, ¥2; meals, ¥2 each (upper rooms best; demand a mosquito-net). Several native inns (the Fuji-kwan; Fukushima-kwan, etc., ¥4.50) stand near the station; the Fukuyo-kwan is about ½ M. distant, near the P.O. The suburban tramway runs to a number of towns of no interest to foreigners. Foreigners are, however, usually of considerable interest to the yokels of the countryside, who chuckle immoderately and not unusually burst openly into laughter at the sight of one. But they are friendly and serviceable when the stranger needs them.

The Trains of the Ou Line run first W. then N. from Fukushima, through a picturesque region which deserves to be better known to travelers. Heavy snows sometimes delay the train traffic in winter. A specialty of the buffets on the through trains is stewed rice and eels which the train-boy

serves hot for 30 sen. Hot milk, fruit, bread, cakes, beer, bento (p. lxxxiv), etc., are sold at most of the big stations. Before following the excellent highroad which for many miles keeps off and on in sight of the rly. line, automobilists should read the 2d paragraph at p. lxxxvi. Beyond 4 M. Niwazaka (starting-point for the near-by hot sulphur springs of Takayu; and for Azuma yama, 6360 ft.), the train climbs through densely wooded hills pierced by several tunnels; the most conspicuous of these (the 16th) is Itaya, 5343 ft. long, with the far end (at 16 M. Toge Station) 2151 ft. above sea-level. Many of the terraces on which the rails are placed have necessitated elaborate and costly granite retaining walls, in addition to scores of snow-sheds. Not a few of the stations are placed at the end of short spur tracks, off the main line.

26 M. Yonezawa (Inns: Akaneya, ¥2, and several others opposite the station), with 36,000 inhabs., was anciently an important Tokugawa fief and the site of a quaint castle erected in 1238 by the Nagai family. Successive struggles for the possession of this fortified structure resulted in its ruination after it passed out of the hands of the powerful Uesugi family.¹ The town overlooks a wide plain dotted here and there with hamlets and mulberry plantations. Many of the descendants of the samurai of pre-Meiji days carry on a considerable trade in silk stuffs, which are manufactured in the region; the fabric known as Yonezawa-ori is particularly in demand. — The rly. now crosses the wide valley of the Yoshino-gawa, and its several tributaries. The women who work in the fields wear trousers and blouses and are with difficulty distinguished from the men. — 36 M. Akayu, at the far side of the valley, possesses hot sulphur springs where rheumatic people foregather. The country through which the rly. now leads is lovely; picturesque hamlets are strung along the splendidly metaled highway like the brown beads of a rosary, and they form symphonies in sepia against a green field. The line bends

1 The Uesugi were a famous daimyo family descended from Fujiwara Yoshikado (9th cent.). It came into prominence in the 13th generation (14th cent.), and from that time onward history is replete with the deeds of some of its illustrious men. Perhaps the most celebrated of these was Uesugi Kenshin (1530-78), a Buddhist bonze with a pronounced military talent. He was brilliant, fearless, and grasping; and, beginning by deposing his brother and assuming the administration of the paternal domains (Echigo Province), he added to these in such a bold and skillful way that erelong he had conquered Etchu, Noto, the island of Sado, and other territorial bits; thus threatening the supremacy and incurring the enmity of the great Nobunaga — at that time master of Japan. Kenshin did not hesitate to cross arms with his powerful foe, and had he not fallen ill and died at the early age of 48 the history of Japan, as far as Oda Nobunaga was concerned, might have suffered a decided change. Kenshin left no direct successor. He occupies a high place in the regard of the Japanese, and the temple of Uesugi Kenshin, at Yonezawa, is dedicated to him. The immense estates of this feudal lord were divided among his adopted sons, the descendants of whom resided at Yonezawa (or Dewa) till the Restoration. Many of the present families of Yonezawa are descendants of the early samurai, and

certain old customs still exist.

broadly to the right to avoid the steep hills which come down at the left, and soon leaves the valley behind at the right. Shinto shrines are as conspicuous by their presence as Buddhist temples are by their absence. Many of the dwellings are seen to have light-brown walls with dark-brown, thatched roofs — a northern differentiation of the old Yamato style of architecture.

Beyond 47 M. Kaminoyama (688 ft.), near the Mai River, with hot mineral springs, the smiling campania becomes a delight to the artistic senses; the odd heights and curious angles of the picturesque roofs; the level fields and the pretty hamlets that snuggle in sequestered dingles of the delimning hills; the attractive streams that meander languidly across the green meadows, dotted here and there with shrines and pines, and sentineled always by sky-blue mt. peaks, combine to produce a charming picture. The highroads look as good as those of the English countryside, and one longs to descend from the train and tramp or motor over their inviting surfaces.

55 M. Yamagata (Inn: Gotoya, ¥2), capital of Uzen Province and of Yamagata Prefecture, with 43,000 inhabs. and 8,000 houses, stands on the lower slope of the green hills which rise gracefully behind it, and is an important shipping-point for much of the rich produce of the region. Silk filiature mills are conspicuous features of the place, and many of the industrious inhabitants can be seen at work in their homes sorting cocoons or reeling the silken strands from them. One of the local specialties is a slightly acidulated plum jelly, made in thin layers, packed between corn-husks, and sold (12-20 sen a box) at the rly. station. Anciently Yamagata was known as Mogami, after Shiba Kaneyori, who received the Dewa Province in fief from Ashikaga Takauji in 1335, and whose descendants took the place and held it until they were dispossessed in 1622. The ruinous old castle is now occupied as a barrack. A popular resort of the townspeople is the village of Yama-dera (6¼ M. to the N.E.; good road), so called for the cluster of decaying Buddhist temples there said to have been founded by Jikaku-Daishi in 861. The rice grown in the vicinity of Yamagata ranks with the best in Japan.

The two lofty peaks seen at the left as the train proceeds N. are Gwassan (6200 ft.) and (at the N. of it) Chokai-zan (7200 ft.). Both are prominent features in the landscape as the train descends gradually over a rolling country to 93 M. Shinjo (Inn: Yaginuma, ¥2), 440 ft. above the sea, and the point of departure for a branch line W. to 48 M. Sakata (Inn: Miura-ya, ¥2), a small port on the Japan Sea, near the mouth of the Mogami River; and another one E. to 80 M. Kogoda, a station on Route 17. — The train now enters a more mountainous region and runs up through narrow valleys and a sparsely cultivated country, flecked here and there with lacquer trees,

glissading waterfalls, gorges, and tunnels. From the Innai Tunnel, 1086 ft. above the sea, it descends through other tunnels to 122 M. (and 679 ft.) Innai Station (Inn: Saito, ¥2) in Ugo Province, with one-time productive silver mines; the lofty mt. at the far left is Chokai-zan. — 124 M. Yokobori, a poor town, is remembered by the Japanese as the birthplace of Ono Komachi, a celebrated poetess (b. 834; d. 900), whose beauty and talent in youth, and poverty and wretchedness in old age, form the theme of many native writers. Tier after tier of lovely green hills rise in serried ranks at the left of the somnolent town, which overlooks a flower-decked valley through which a whimpering rivulet flows and chatters unceasingly. The region is a vast, lovely garden and orchard combined; the mulberry trees suggest the delicate gossamer silk which they help to produce, and the fields of waving grain the peace and plenty of a contented people. Beyond 132 M. Yuzawa the land flattens out like a Kansas prairie, and is dotted here and there with groves of plume-like bamboos, pines, maples, and fruit trees. The workers in the rice-fields wear wide pilgrim hats of straw, and strips of matting to protect them from the rain. When they walk the hats flap behind like big sunbonnets, the brown mats contrasting sharply with the green of the rice-plants and making the wearers resemble big brown bugs moving hither and yon. Every plain seems to have its corresponding river, some of them as big as the Arkansas; others small but treacherous, when the spring rains are abundant.

186 M. Akita (Inn: Kobayashi-kanzo; Ishibashi Hotel, etc.; ¥2.50), the capital (pop. 37,000) of Ugo Province and of Akita-ken (133 ft. above the Japan Sea and but 5 M. from it — tramway to Tsuchizaki Port), stands on the right bank of the Toshima-gawa and manufactures silk on a large scale. Fine peach, pear, and apple orchards are features of the environs. Akita has been a garrison town since a.d. 733, when a fortress was erected here as a defense against incursions of the Ainu. A long dynasty of fighting daimyos dwelt here until the Restoration, at which time the now ruinous castle was held by Lord Satake. The name Akita was formerly confined to the castle, the surrounding town being called Kubota. The fine old castle garden has been converted into a lovely retreat, the Senshu-en (N.E. quarter of the town), known for its splendid cherry trees. Certain branches of the native commerce know Akita for a special mat-grass (Nardosmia japonica) produced here and called Akita-buki.

191 M. Tsuchizaki, the port of Akita. The sea is visible at the left, and the long rows of fantastic pine trees which flank the shore, by leaning inward, indicate the direction of the prevailing winds. Beyond 195 M. Oiwake, the line turns inland and flanks the shore of the big (17 M. long, 7 M. wide)

Hachiro Lagoon. From 211 M. Kado, it turns inland and traverses a rolling country dotted with many pine trees. Only the sturdiest of these survive the wintry blasts which cross from Siberia and whip the coast hereabout. Long lines of snow-fences point to the severity of the winters. At 222 M. Hataori, a branch line diverges (left) to 3 M. Noshiro (Inn: Murai, ¥2.50), a coast port at the mouth of the Noshiro-gawa, and a shipping-point for copper ores from the adjacent hills. — The rly. now curves broadly to the right and runs S.E. to 232 M. Futatsui, where it turns again and runs N.E. through a mountainous country said to be rich in copper. At 251 M. Odate, some coarse lacquer-ware is made. Many hills, some stiff grades, and a series of tunnels mark the line to 279 M. Hirosaki (Inn: Saikichi, ¥2.50), a garrison town of 38,000 inhabs. in Mutsu Province, the northernmost on the main island of Japan. The mt. which rises to the W. of the town is Iwaki-san, or the Tsugaru-Fuji (4650 ft.), so called from the Tsugaru Strait and for the resemblance of the peak to the matchless Fuji-san of Kai Province. Three rivers, a tunnel, and 4 nondescript stations intervene between this point and 302 M. Aomori (see p. 318).