Page:TASJ-1-3.djvu/233

 the ancient seat of a daimio, and still important from a commercial point of view. It is one of the great centres of production and supply of the west side of the main island, and particularly of the province of Echigo.

From Bakata to Sekigawa.—Route by causeway in the middle of the rice-fields from Bakata to Arai 3 ri. Arai is a large village of from 4 to 5,000 souls. From Arai the road rises by gentle but continuous slopes. Passing Mihogi you cross the very picturesque torrent of Sekigawa, of which the two steep banks must be climbed by a zig-zag path which has a pretty effect. Sekigawa is a wretched village, but the honjin is good.

Immediately after passing this village you climb a stiffish pass called Kumasakatoge, and on descending from this pass come upon the pretty village of Nojeri, on the border of a little lake of the same name.

The lake of Nojeri is very picturesque and well situated. The form of it is somewhat curved and its length appears to me not to exceed a ri and a-half. It is embellished with little well-wooded islands, and has but few fish. On its banks tower the three summits of Kuroshime yama.

From Nojiri to Murei (3 ri) the road traverses some pleasant woods, and redescends to Murei with tolerably rapid slopes. You then find yourself by the side of a great torrent which empties itself into the river of Shinano.

Leaving Murei you enter the mountainous part of the pass called Koda mazaka. From the top of this pass you behold the vast panorama of the basin of the Shinanogawa, peopled with numerous and rich villages, and the view is bounded to the south by the high mountains of the Shinano district. The whole of this region appears rich and cultivated.

As soon as you descend into the valley you meet a long succession of villages, nearly contiguous, which end at the temple of Zenkoji, 4 ri 20 chô from Murei. This temple, which has no other merit than that of being very large and situated upon a rather towering hill, is one of the most celebrated and most frequented in Japan. The