Although the country has no mountains of exceptional altitude or rivers of extraordinary length, the conditions of climate and soil are such that not one of the mountains is without woods nor one of the rivers without limpid water. So well distributed, too, are the highlands and streams, that places of beauty are everywhere to be found in the interior, and owing to the configuration of the coasts as well as to the number of islets, gems of scenic loveliness abound by the seaside in all the provinces. Moreover, in addition to wealth of natural charms, numerous shrines and temples of note exist in the choice districts of the main island, so that architectural, glyptic, pictorial, and horticultural beauties supplement the attractions of the scenery. The main island is richest in places of note, and Kinai and its neighborhood are the most favored parts of the main island in this respect. From 794 A. D., when the Emperor Kwammu made Kyōto his capital, until the Emperor Mutsuhito moved to Tōkyō, a period of over eleven centuries, Kyōto remained the imperial seat of government. Hence it offers numbers of historical relics, and is further happy in the possession of scenic beauties attractive at all seasons of the year. Separated from Kyōto by a range of hills is the largest lake in the empire, Lake Biwa, noted for the Ōmi-hakkei which have ever been the theme of poets and the inspiration of painters. At a distance of nearly twenty-five miles from Kyōto is Nara, the imperial residence during a large part of the eighth century. Nara abounds in things historical, the most noteworthy being the shrine of Kasuga and the Temple of Hōriuji, places nobly planned and naturally lovely. Tōdaiji, a large temple erected by the Emperor Shōmu, is more than a thousand years old, and contains the celebrated Great Image of Buddha. The cherries of Mount Yoshino and the plums of Tsukigase, displays of bloom that have no peers elsewhere in the country, are in the same province as Nara. Farther west the face of the Inland Sea between Shikoku and Sanyō-dō is strewn with hundreds of little islands whose shining white sands and green pine-trees combine to make a beautiful picture. Among spots renowned for exquisite seascapes may be mentioned Waka-no-ura in Kii, the Sumiyoshi beach in Settsu, Suma-no-ura, the Maiko beach, and Akashi-no-ura in Harima, and Itsukushima in Aki. The last-named place is a small island close to the seashore, composed almost entirely of fantastically shaped cliffs and strange rocks. On it stands a gracefully modeled shrine said to have been built by Taira-no-Ki-yomori of the twelfth century, the hall and veranda of which seem to float on the surface of the water. The singular combination of water effect and architecture and the loveliness of the whole view suggests an enchanted abode of fairies.