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of the valley and abuts on the river. From thence the pine mountain known as Nambu-fuzi is constantly in sight for the four ri to Morioka, from which it stands in a Northwest direction. I was fortunate enough to be able this day to hire a jinriksha, with which by the aid of occasional walks to keep myself warm, two stout coolies managed very well to get me over the latter twenty-five miles of the road. A large new wooden bridge—lately substituted for a bridge of boats—spans the Kita-kami at Morioka, which is situated on the left bank. A tributary stream meets the main river in the town; it comes from the Eastward, and up its valley runs a road to Miako on the East coast.
Morioka, though large, is a poor looking place. It is said to contain three thousand houses, and 13,000 inhabitants. It is favourably situated, and in a beautiful country. The surrounding hills are cultivated for a considerable distance up their sides. We were lodged at the Honjin or Government hotel.
Leaving Morioka in the morning, we travelled the whole day up the left bank of the Kita-kami, climbing in the first part some rather steep hills, which abut upon the river. We halted at a small place called Shibutan for dinner, right abreast of Nambu-fuzi, from which point I was enabled to make a sketch of this fine mountain. Its conical form is tolerably perfect. The lip of the crater is very clearly visible. There is little or no wood except quite near the base, where the sides emerge into gently sloping grass plains, which form a beautiful middle ground in the picture. I should roughly estimate this volcano at over five thousand feet above its base, which would make it about 7,000 feet over the sea level. Its detached position gives it a very commanding aspect, so much so that next to Fuziyama I think it the finest mountain I have seen in Japan.
The valley of the Kita-kami becomes much more confined above Morioka, and the river itself loses the character of a navigable stream. Its still considerable volume is more or less obstructed by rocks and boulders, and it is
