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 06-09 April 1959
Kobe and Kyoto, Japan
H.J.N.…
Clear, Temperature: 57°F.
Population - 1.2 million.
This port is situated on the eastern end of the inland sea. Its harbour is tremendous, with seawalls protecting the
pier from tidal waves. As you approach the harbour you see shipyards, piers, warehouses, steel mills and factories
stretched out for miles.
In fact, the area to Osaka, about twenty miles distant, is all a huge industrial district. The high hills in the background act as a screen and shelter against the north winds. Smoke and haze envelop the city.
H.J.N.…
The Caronia was made fast at the pier at 4.30pm. This gave us a few hours to visit Motomachi Street, the shopping
centre. It was all decorated with artificial cherry blossoms, so perfectly made that they looked genuine.
Shops are very small, each specialising in its particular merchandise. Goods are very attractive, and so is the price.
On Tuesday, 07 April, we had the pleasure of a visit aboard the Caronia by Marty Mayer, an Ensign in the U.S. Navy. His ship was in port, but leaving immediately, so our visit was cut short.
He is looking fine, put on some weight - now 185 pounds, and enjoying his Navy service, of which he has another fourteen months. He is the son of our dear friends, Frank and Emily Mayer of Minneapolis.
H.J.N.…
We hired an English-speaking driver and cab, had him drive us up Rokko Mountain, approximately 3,000 feet high. The
road was a masterpiece of highway engineering, but we did not especially enjoy the endless number of hairpin turns
and the rate at which our driver took them. Passing on blind turns seems to be his speciality! Frieda was ready to
give up.
The view from the peak would have been good except for the haze that covered the city and bay. At the peak there is a glass enclosed platform with roof, about 100 feet in diameter. This revolves slowly, giving the people a 360° panoramic view without changing their position. Quite an idea.
Instead of taking us down the highway we came up on, our driver took us to Mt. Moya, another peak. Then we headed down to Kobe, but via a circuitous route which took twice as long as going up. When we finally reached our ship, we were exhausted. From the size of the taxi bill and wear and tear, we knew that we had been “taken for a ride!”
H.J.N.…
On Wednesday, 08 April, it was raining at 6am. We boarded the bus at 8am for the depot, where we boarded a special
electric train for Kyoto. These trains are excellent. They operate on a tight schedule, are manned by experienced
employees who know their business.
Image: Brochure thumbnail
The cities, villages, farms, factories and residential districts passed en route were very interesting. The trip gave a good cross-section of Japanese life.
After arriving at Kyoto and a short stop at the Kyoto Hotel, our tour took us to the Heian Shinto Shrine, with its beautiful gardens; to the Nijo Castle, residence of the Shogun military dictators, 1603-1867, and back to the Hotel for lunch.
H.J.N.…
After lunch we were taken to a large theatre where we witnessed the famous Cherry Dance by Geisha girls. This was a
very colourful spectacle, with weird music played by twelve girl drummers on one side and fourteen girls playing
string instruments like a banjo, on the other.
The large stage had fully automatic mechanical change of scenery, The play consisted of six acts. The faces of all of the girls are painted, looking like masks. There is no facial expression of any kind, except in speaking or singing.
The quality of the acting is judged by the costuming, the motion of the actor, and especially the graceful control of arms, hands, fingers and feet.
The “Miyako Odori” or Cherry Dance
Image: Japan National Tourist Assn.
After getting caught in a heavy downpour of rain and visiting a silk factory with another beautiful garden, the tour took us back to Kobe by train. The sun broke through an opening in the clouds while we were passing through the countryside.
The vegetation looked greener and the garden plots more attractive. The cherry blossoms however, were no more.
H.J.N.…
Kyoto is a city of 1.2 million, the same as Yokohama, located inland forty miles north of Kobe. It was for many
centuries the governmental and cultural centre of Japan, and it still is the city where emperors are crowned, even
though Tokyo is the capital.
While in Kyoto I had the good fortune of attending a Rotary Club meeting and sitting next to the president of the club. The speaker was a Buddhist priest on the occasion of the 2,500th anniversary of the birth of Buddha.
He spoke very fluently in Japanese, but it was all Greek to me. It did, however, give me an opportunity to study the expressions on the faces of many Japanese business and professional men. This was a new and very interesting experience.
H.J.N.…
Kyoto was not bombed during the war, but many of the old wooden buildings were torn down along the main streets to
prevent great loss of life if the city should be bombed. As a result, many of the old narrow streets are now wide
avenues for vehicular traffic.
That is increasing all the time, consisting of streetcars, buses, trucks, including many of the three-wheel type made in Japan, motorcycles by the thousands, usually travelling at breakneck speed (and many necks get broken), bicycles, and countless numbers of pedestrians.
This also holds true in Kobe, and even more so in Tokyo. It is remarkable how Kobe, which was 80% destroyed, has been rebuilt. Every structure is new, bigger and better than the old. There are few evidences of the great casualty this city suffered.
At 4pm, 09 April, the Caronia sailed for Yokohama, a distance of 348 miles. More rain was falling and high winds whipped up quite a sea.