On returning on board I found that the head of the village had sent his small present on board of stinking salt fish. The gunning party had shot ducks and seen pheasants, but it was the wrong season: the natives, of their own accord, never disturbing the game between the months of March and September. Had we given permission, our decks would have been crowded with the villagers from morning till night, but we allowed them on board only occasionally for an hour. [Sidenote: Nanbu Harbour, Japan, July 25.] Before I was up a present of saki in a neatly japanned little tub, two parcels of the dried sea-slug or _bêche de mer_, done up in paper bags on a japanned tray, were brought off by the principal traders of the place. Mr. Aston came from the _Serpent_ to interpret; they smoked their pipes. I gave them a couple of small bottles of eau-de-Cologne, and wrote my name on their fans; they went away delighted. Suttie, who had been on shore early, shot a fine swan, and Pusey had killed an animal the doctor pronounced to be a fennec; it was very savage, and showed fight with the famous dog Carlo, after having been badly wounded; it had a small foxy head, a short brush, and hair long, like some Scotch terriers. He was not sweet! Leaving the _Serpent_ to sound round this splendid harbour, particularly one of refuge should a vessel be caught in those gales so prevalent on this coast in winter months, at 10 A.M. we cleared from the numerous native boats and steamed out of the harbour. Weather and climate much the same as in our own dear isle at this time of year. [Sidenote: Hakodadi, July 26.] In the Straits of Sangar we met a strong westerly breeze, and that, with a lee set, obliged us to get steam up in the other two boilers. We came to in Hakodadi Harbour. Found a whole fleet of Japanese junks with but few European vessels. There is not much to attract in the town, shops containing nothing but what was imported. A fishing-party was immediately formed to start on the morrow for the Lake Cuoma, situated beyond the hills that rise from the plain. On the north side of the harbour, at a distance of about 20 miles, a river entering the sea on the east side was said to be full of salmon and trout. The European residents were particularly kind in providing us with ponies, while Mr. Deas most good-naturedly offered to accompany us. Half a dozen pack ponies were provided to carry on our commissariat and a change of clothes; these were to have started some hours in advance, but the usual mistakes were made of not equally dividing the packages, and after landing, beer cases had to be opened and repacked, smaller loads being more conveniently balanced on the packs. It was a little after noon that our party of seven, in addition to servants, got fairly under weigh. We enjoyed our ride along the shores of the harbour, and then on the plain, which almost imperceptibly begins to rise towards the mountains, over which our route lay.