Unbeaten Tracks in Japan

As this was originally written, as a series of letters to Isabella Bird's sisters, her observations are delivered in a generally casual, chatty manners. Some of her comments on the minor discomforts of travel are pretty funny. Major difficulties and injuries are shrugged off matter of factly, even as she describes the beautiful landscapes she passes through. We heard about her on the NHK series, Journeys in Japan. What they didn't tell you is that Ms. Bird was very taken with the Ainu people she visited and engaged in some amateur anthropology with. Finally, the cover image shown here is a tad misleading about the horses and ponies she encountered, few of which were the least bit tractable. The treatment of horses she witnessed is appalling, and the horses fought back when they thought they could get away with it.