342 BUILDINGS OF JAPAN. 



framework of pine, subdivided into small squares, the 

 ordinary size of a glass pane, which are covered with this 

 paper. At night, the entire building is surrounded 

 by wooden shutters which are carefully locked, being 

 considered all the protection needed against marauders 

 and housebreakers. Bettos and coolies, whose pace is 

 too rapid for the paraphernalia of clogs and umbrellas, 

 cover their semi-nakedness with a cloak and hat made 

 of rushes, which gives them a quaint appearance. 



On my return to the hospitable quarters I had occu- 

 pied before my Yeddo visit, my first care was to inquire 

 about a steamer for San Francisco, and learning that 

 there would be no departure for about a fortnight I at 

 once made arrangements to visit the hot springs of 

 Myanooshta and the lake of Hakoni, in order to obtain a 

 fair idea of the interior of the country. With some 

 difficulty I succeeded in obtaining the loan of one of 

 the very few carriages belonging to Europeans at 

 Yokohama, a kind of waggonette, drawn by a pair of 

 small horses ; my interpreter accompanied me, and I 

 was followed by two mounted guards. 



Our route lay along the Tokaido in a westerly direc- 

 tion, and presented few new features, — the usual 

 succession of hamlets and villages ; the ground un- 

 dulating, and here and there well wooded. I saw some 

 splendid specimens of 



