A Trip Around the World, 1910-1911

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August 18th.

They "put me off at Buffalo" soon after day this morning, and after an hour or so caught a Michigan Central train for Chicago, crossing over to the Canadian side and traveling all the morning across the beautiful, level farming lands of Ontario. Just after starting we stopped five minutes for a view of Niagara Falls--always glorious. About 1:30 we reached Detroit and were ferried across. Found the part of Michigan we saw a pretty farming country, mostly rolling, and, like Ontario, with plenty of stock. Reached Chicago about 9:00 p.m. This is Sister's birthday.

August 19th.

Awoke after a good night's sleep in the magnificent Auditorium Hotel and after writing a few letters and making a few purchases, went around to see Barnard & Branham and Mr. Hopkins, our advertising representatives here. Spent the rest of the day talking business with them and writing letters to our Raleigh office concerning the work of the next six months there.

At 7:00 p.m. caught the "Overland Limited" which should land me in San Francisco next Monday night.

September 9th.

Landed at Yokohama. Stopped at "Grand Hotel." Riksha to Thomas Cook and bookstore. Tiffin. With Mez to curio shop. Great dance at hotel tonight. Many women with dazzling diamonds, smoking cigarettes. Punkah kept room cool, Bamboo decorations, "Dixie" was loudly cheered and crowd rose to "Star-Spangled Banner", no others attracted applause.

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September 10th.

Breakfast. Cook's. Hurry riksha to station for Kamakura. Through farms, rice, millet, etc., one patch cotton. Much irrigation. Kamakura to famous temple. Beautiful approach. Great Diabutsu. Marvelously impressive for such simple outlines. Tiffin with Mez and Sliecher; Capt. Beall of Milledgeville, Ga., story about Brooke's dog: "only thing ever came from Porto Rico worth a d--n."

September 11.

Breakfast. Off for Tokyo. Tennessee woman. Tokyo the real thing at last. Great ride riksha past Imperial Grounds to near park. Met Japanese college boy. Temple, conducted by priests, took off shoes. Drank sake! Souvenirs. Ohara offers services. Visit AkasakaKu Kwannon, motley crowd; incense; hand-clapping worshippers, idol rubbed in two. Idol with toys. Anti-American speaker. Stepped on bridge sacred to Emperor----- By gum! Great day!

September 12th.

Off 7 a.m. for Nikko, but Japanese school children all sizes already in streets with book sacks. Saw farming on route. Nikko. Visited tomb Ieyasu, going by way of magnificent avenue of cryptomerias 200 feet high and so beautiful as to be alone worth coming all the way to see. Gorgeous temple and most impressive tomb, surroundings considered, of any man on earth, I should think, Napoleon not excepted.

At dinner met A. Kuster of Swtizerland and planned walk to Chumenzi tomorrow.

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September 13th.

Raining, so abandoned walk to Chumenzi and went with Kuster to see Ieyasu temple and mausoleum; well worth a second visit. Saw Koshin and sacred dance I missed yesterday. Bought souvenirs in temples and at shops. At tiffin our dainty Japanese waitress, merry but not loud. Afternoon to Gammon-gofuchi. Japanese huts on way very interesting. Saw blacksmith sitting down to anvil, and workers with straw for overcoats-- like broomstraw. Japanese school-children, boys in quaint, Dutch-like bloomers and caps, and both boys and girls with colored oil-paper umbrellas; a 17-year-old boy showed me his English Fourth Reader with Japanese key. Most children begin studying English at 13. Wish I could spend a week here.

Inside temple this morning, found another evil-averting charm not mentioned in guide books.

September 14th.

Went down about 9:00 to see Crown Prince of Japan and his retinue pass through Nikko en route to Tokyo. All in rikshas. Crowd absolutely silent--which I understand is required here.

Bade Kuster good-bye and Capt. Buchanan, and started for Lake Chumenzi with Mr. and Mrs._________Unfortunately rained, so we saw nothing, but our entire party took the weather and disappointment with absolute good-nature.

Buchanan came up with Mrs. McKim, a daughter of the BromoSeltzer king, the woman from Reno, who is here by way of getting six months "residence," then to get a divorce. Smokes cigarettes, of course! At Palm Beach she and another outgambled all the men.

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September 15th.

Left Nikko at 8 and came four miles through famous cryptomerian avenue to Iamachi with Buchanan. From there to Tokyo by rail. Here ran across Mez and Sleicher, and with them took rikshas and visited Shiba temples and tombs of Shoguns buried there. Temple attendant is studying English and wishes to go to California. Sleicher exclaimed on striking similarity of Buddhist and Catholic worship. Next to Shimmei Matsuri, the Shiba festival. Babies everywhere. Crowds very orderly. Side shows, dancing, shops and fakirs at temple doors; people clap hands and pray a half minute and spend rest of time at the Fair. Interested in seeing the little brown eight and ten year old Jap schoolboys squatting on their "getas" and reading the cheap booklets and spending their copper "sen" pieces for booklets instead of toys. "English Primers", and "EnglishJapanese Conversation" paper I found very popular. The prevalence of English may mean much in shaping Japanese civilization and religion. Temple-attendant this afternoon said in his home were 20 tablets to ancestors; 17-year-old librarian at Nikko (who was also studying English, and showed me his book) said six in his, and had rice for them each morning.

At night went with Mez and Sleicher as a "looker-on in Vienna" to see the Yoshiwara.

September 16th.

Went to the American Embassy where I found the Ambassador away, and to the British Embassy where I had most interesting conversation with Mr. Henderson. Returning to hotel called to see

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Dr. Okomoto (after first visiting Imperial University) at his business office. Was served with tea instead of cigars as in America, and had to duck my head in going through doors.

Spent afternoon and evening writing.

September 17th.

Went first to Yokohama Specie Bank where I cashed Cook's check for $50, getting 90 yen 70 sen; then to Japanese department store where bought ties, socks, etc. From there called at American Embassy to see about getting Turkish passports, and the Ambassador kindly urging me to lunch with him, I did so.

Returning to hotel, I found my young Japanese friend, Mr. Noborn Ohara, awaiting me, and we started for the Imperial Museum but finding the streets lined with people waiting to see the Empress pass, we joined about a thousand spectators near gate of Fine Arts Museum and waited an hour for her to come out--an elderly-looking woman in European dress. There were many policemen, trouble from Socialists or Korean fanatics being feared, Ohara told me. Heralds with flags went ahead of Empress, and court ladies and notables in coaches behind her? The thousand Japanese, young and old, did not make as much noise in an hour's wait as an American crowd would have made in 30 seconds.

Next visited tombs of Shoguns, guided by Buddhist monk, and then saw the Shinto fire-walking ceremonies. Amazing number of second-hand bookstores bear witness to the popularity of English: Books in English here are almost as inevitable as the Saturday Evening Post in America.