366 
THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. 
[chap, XVIip 
whole family lives all day. The streets have thus a very lively 
appearance, and offer the foreigner an endless variety of remark¬ 
able and instructive pictures from the life of the people. The 
European part of the town, on the other hand, is built with 
stately houses, some of which are situated on the street that runs 
along the shore. Here, among others, are to be found splendid 
European hotels, European clubs, counting-houses, shops, &c. 
Not far from Kobe, and having railway communication with 
it, is Osaka, the largest manufacturing town of Japan, famed for 
its theatres and its dancing-girls. Unfortunately I had not time 
to visit it, for I started for the old capital, Kioto, a few hours 
after the Vega anchored, and after I had waited on the governor 
in order to procure the passport that is still required for travel¬ 
ling in the interior. He received me, thanks to a letter of 
introduction I had with me from one of the ministers at Tokio, 
in an exceedingly agreeable way. His reception-room was part 
of a large European stone house, the vestibule of which was 
tastefidly fitted up in European style with a Brussels carpet 
gay with variegated colours. At our visit we were offered 
Japanese tea, as is customary everywhere in Japan, both in the 
palace of the Emperor and the cabin of the poor peasant. The 
Governor was, as all the higher officials in Japan now are, 
dressed like a European of distinction, but he could not speak 
any European language. He showed himself, however, to be 
much interested in our voyage, and immediately ordered an 
official in his court, who was well acquainted with English, 
Mr. Yanimoto, to accompany me to Kioto. 
We travelled thither by a railway constructed wholly in the 
European style. At Kioto my companion, at my special request, 
conducted me, not to the European hotel there, but to a 
Japanese inn, remarkable as usual for cleanliness, for a 
numerous crowd of talkative female attendants, and for the 
extreme friendliness of the inn jaeople to their guests as soon 
as they indicated, by taking off their boots at the door, that it 
