In the early part of their journey, they followed a somewhat different road from Kämpfer’s, all the way by land, not crossing either the bay of Ōmura, nor that of Shimabara. They passed, however, through Shiota, as Kämpfer had done, famous for its large water-jars, and visited the hot springs in that neighborhood, and also Saga, capital of the province of Hizen, remarkable for its handsome women, its rice and its fine porcelain. The roads were found such as Kämpfer had described them. Proceeding onward, still by Kämpfer’s route, they reached Kokura on the ninth of March. The following description of Japanese houses corresponds sufficiently well with that of Kämpfer, while it gives a rather more distinct, and somewhat less flattering, idea of them. “The houses are very roomy and commodious, and never more than two stories—at most twenty feet—high, of which the lower one is inhabited, and the upper serves for lofts and garrets, and is seldom occupied. The mode of building in this country is curious and peculiar. Every house occupies a great extent of ground, and is built in general of wood and plaster, and whitewashed on the outside so as to look exactly like stone. The beams all lie horizontal or stand perpendicular. Between these beams, which are square and far from thick, bamboos are interwoven, and the space filled up with clay, sand, and lime. The roofs are covered with tiles of a singular make, very thick and heavy. The more ordinary houses are covered with chips [shingles], on which are frequently laid heavy stones to secure them. In the villages and meaner towns I sometimes saw the sides of the houses, especially behind, covered with the bark of trees, which was secured by laths nailed on it to prevent the rain from damaging the wall. “The whole house makes but one room, which can be divided according as it may be found necessary, or thought proper, into many smaller ones. This is done by moving slight partitions, consisting of wooden frames, pasted over with thick painted paper, which slide with great ease in grooves made in the beams of the floor and roof for that purpose. Such rooms were frequently partitioned off for us and our retinue, during our journey; and when a larger apartment was wanted for a dining-room, or any other purpose, the partitions were in an instant taken away. One could not see, indeed, what was done in the next room, but one frequently overheard the conversation that passed there.