The country all along this coast was mountainous, which was the reason of going by sea instead of by land, the land road being very difficult. This coast seemed, nevertheless, to be highly cultivated, the mountains in many places resembling beautiful gardens. At the places where they landed, the children were very numerous. “I observed,” says Thunberg, “that the chastisement of children was very moderate. I very seldom heard them rebuked or scolded, and hardly ever saw them flogged or beaten, either in private families or on board the vessels; while, in more civilized and enlightened nations, these compliments abound.[48] In the schools one might hear the children read all at once, and so loud as almost to deafen one.” Whenever the Japanese went on shore, they killed geese and ducks for the Dutchmen to eat; but at sea they had scruples about killing them, though in fine weather the Chinese teal (_Anas galericulata_), and several sorts of ducks, fairly covered the water, so as to look at a distance like great islands. But, though scrupulous themselves, they made no objections to Thunberg’s killing them; though, not being allowed the use of fire-arms, it does not appear how he did it. At length, on the seventh of April, after a disagreeable and dangerous passage of twenty-six days, they reached the harbor of Hiōgo, whence the next day, partly by land and partly in small boats, they proceeded to Ōsaka. Here each of the travellers disbursed sixteen taels in presents to the captain and crew of the vessel, for the hire of which the sum of four hundred and eighty taels was paid by the East India Company. They stayed at Ōsaka only a single night, during which they bespoke from some merchants, who visited them[49] with samples, several articles, such as insects of copper, artificial trees varnished, fans of various kinds, writing paper, paper hangings, etc. They left Ōsaka early in the morning, by torchlight, and, following the same road which Kämpfer had taken, reached Miyako at night. “Except in Holland,” says Thunberg, “I never made so pleasant a journey as this, with regard to the beauty and delightful appearance of the country. The whole country, on both sides of us, as far as we could see, was nothing but a fertile field, and the whole of our long day’s journey extended through villages, of which one began where the other ended.”