352 
THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. 
[CHAr. XVII. 
had of the neighbouring mountain ridges from the top of ,Asa- 
mayama was thus concealed. Only here and there an opening 
was formed in the cloud, resembling a sun-spot, through which 
we got a glimpse of the underlying landscape. When we came 
to the foot of the mountain we long followed a ridge, covered 
with greenery, formed of an immense stream of lava, which had 
issued from an opening in the mountain side now refilled. This 
had probably taken place during the tremendous eruption of 
1783, when not only enormous lava-streams destroyed forests and 
villages at the foot of the mountain, but the whole of the neigh¬ 
bouring region between Oiwake and Usui-toge, previously fertile, 
was changed by an ash-rain into an extensive waste. Across 
this large plain, infertile and little cultivated, situated at a 
height of 980 metres above the sea, we went without a guide 
to the village Oiwake, where we lodged for the night at an inn 
by the side of the road Nakasendo, one of the cleanest and best 
kept of the many well-kept inns I saw during our journey in 
the interior of the country. 
Hence I sent a messenger on foot to Takasaki to order a 
carriage to Tokio. A former saiPMrai undertook for a payment 
of three yen (about 12s.) to carry the message. Oiwake is indeed 
situated on the great road Nakasendo, but it can here only with 
difficulty be traversed by carriages, because between this village 
and Takasaki it is necessary to go over the pass Usui-toge, 
where the road, though lowered considerably of late, rises to a 
height of 1200 metres. We therefore here used jinrihislias, a 
mode of conveyance very agreeable to tourists, which, though 
introduced only recently, has already spread to all parts of the 
country. 
Every one with an open eye for the beauties of nature and 
interest in the life and manners of a foreign people, must find a 
journey in Si jinrikisJia over Usui-toge pleasant in a high degree. 
The landscape here is extraordinarily beautiful, perhaps un¬ 
matched in the whole world. The road has been made here 
