Chap. XIY. KAMAKURA. 227 
of the finest views in Japan. On the south was 
the sea, with the beautiful little island of Ino-sima, 
famous in Japanese history; to the west was a 
chain of mountains, with Fusi-yama towering high 
above them all ; while, far away in the east, the 
capital itself may be seen on a clear day. Down 
in the valley below us we could discern the roofs 
of the houses and temples of Kamakura, the 
ancient capital of the country, to which we were 
bound. 
Having rested for a while on this beautiful spot, 
and enjoyed the view which lay spread out before, 
us, we set out again on our journey. The road 
now led down the mountain-side, a portion of the 
way in a ravine, down which a clear stream was 
running, shaded with lofty trees. At length we 
reached Kamakura, which presents, at the present 
day, no appearance of having once been a capital 
town. It is simply a country village, with a few 
mean shops and some good inns or tea-houses. 
But its temples, and the scenery in the neighbour- 
hood, will always render it a place of great attrac- 
tion to foreign visitors, as it has been for ages to 
the Japanese. It is situated at the head of a 
valley, with hills on each side and behind, and 
open in front to the sea. A fine avenue of pine- 
trees extends from the temples down to the beach. 
Handsome broad roads intersect each other and 
this avenue at right angles, and these are also 
fringed on each side with clumps and rows of 
trees. Cryptomeria japonica, Pinus massoniana, and 
