Henry J. Neils’
Travelogue of 1959 Great World Cruise
Henry J. Neils was a businessman from Minneapolis. He wrote a daily diary of his voyage on the 1959 Great World cruise. Presumably, the 30 faded typewritten sheets had been duplicated for distribution to his employees.
The transcribed document now forms 25 pages of the Timeline, accessible from links on the January, February, March and April 1959 month pages. This was the first special feature to be added to the Timeline as it entered its 2nd year of being on-line.
Henry's quoted text throughout the site start with this indicator: H.J.N.…
Henry J Neils’ Travelogue 05 April 1959
Nagasaki, Japan
H.J.N.…
And now we come to Japan…
This group of islands - Kyushu, Shikoku, Honshu and Hokkaido comprise an area of
148,000 square miles. In addition, there are some 3,000 smaller islands, some of them not even inhabited.
The population totals ninety million. The people are of many origins, primarily from Korea, the closest mainland. They are robust looking, kind of roly-poly, with pink cheeks, very clean and well-dressed, even the tiny tots.
The school children wear uniforms; boys black with cap, girls dark blue dresses. Our friend from the United Press tells us that since the war and the new diet and better standard of living for the average citizen, three inches has been added to the matured youth compared to his parents.
Western clothes are worn universally by the men and younger women. Women in the country are seen still wearing native dress. Manufacturing, shipping, fishing and agriculture are the main sources of income.
H.J.N.…
Japan is now the largest builder of ships in the World. The gardens are beautiful. Every little patch of ground is
cultivated. Even the hillsides are terraced to provide more land for gardens.
Seventy-five percent of the land area is mountainous and well-covered with pine forests. The trees are quite small and stunted and do not compare with our timber in the U.S.A.
Shintoism is the native religion, but Buddhism, introduced from China several centuries B.C., is equally popular. The former is the way of the gods taking care of earthly life (Shinto means God) and the latter taking care of the hereafter in the stages of reincarnation.
Marriages are performed in the Shinto Shrine, and funerals from a Buddhist temple. Cremation is the form of burial, the ashes being interred under the headstone of the family plot.
H.J.N.…
The trip from Okinawa to Nagasaki was a little rough. It was the first time dishes in the Observation Lounge slid off
the cocktail tables and spilled nuts and canapes all over the floor.
What fun some of our Cedar Lake squirrels would have had in this situation. The kerbs were set on the tables in the dining room. Many passengers did not come to dinner.
The monsoon from the south was suddenly halted by a cold front from the north. Then it poured with rain. The weather cleared slightly by Sunday morning, 05 April, when our ship arrived in the harbour of Nagasaki.
The temperature was 60°F. and the wind still blowing a gale from the North West. This was our first taste of Siberian air. The Japanese officials had difficulty coming aboard. but finally made it.
We then received some welcome mail. The wind kept increasing and weather forecasters predicted no let-up. At this point, our Captain decided to cancel the landing by ship's launches and to sail for Kobe instead.
Only the passengers (22) who had booked overland tours were taken to Nagasaki by a large tender. All remaining passengers were disappointed, but agreed that the Captain had made the right decision.