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 11/12 April 1959
Tokyo & Mt. Fuji, Japan
H.J.N.…
Clear sky, temperature 62°F.
This getting up at 6.00am to be ready for sightseeing tours is a little rough, but after getting started you forget all
about sleep.
[Left:]
The Great Daibutsu Buddha, one of the World's largest bronze figures, stands in an open park in Kamakura
Image: Cook's Shore Tour Brochure
H.J.N.…
Off again on Tour 93. This time by automobile and a good driver. The first stop is in Kamakura to see the great
Daibutsu, a tremendous cast bronze statue of Buddha, forty-two feet high, 700 years old, in the customary sitting
position.
The joints are plainly visible. Originally gold-leafed, the colour is now verdi-antique, the gold having worn off over the centuries of being exposed to the weather after the temple which covered it was destroyed by a tidal wave.
Mt. Fuji, A Rare Sight
H.J.N.…
The next stop is the Fujiya Hotel in Miyanoshita for luncheon; then to Lake Ashi in the Fugi-Hakone-Izu National Park,
where we see Mt. Fuji in all its glory - snow-capped to a low level because of a recent storm.
The air is as clear as crystal, and the bright sun is shining on the shimmering white snow. The sight is a rare one.
Only one out of ten visitors get a good view of Fuji, because of bad weather. Some of the Caronia passengers were here two days ago and could see only 100 feet out of their car window.
[Right:]
Mount Fuji in cherry-blossom time
Image: Japan Tourist Assn. pamphlet
A Japanese Feast
H.J.N.…
We return to the Caronia at 5.00pm after a full day of sightseeing, to freshen up and be ready for another Japanese
experience.
Our friends, Mr. and Mrs. Klaverkamp (he is a United Press representative in Japan; she is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E.W. Brockman of Minneapolis) came aboard at 6.15pm, and after cocktails in the Observation Lounge, we hire a cab and go to Nagoya, a Japanese-restaurant in Tokyo to enjoy a Japanese meal.
This is a small place not frequented by Europeans or Americans. The rooms are all private. You must make a reservation. There is no such thing as coming without making proper arrangements. If you stood in line, you would lose face. Before entering you take off your shoes and don paddles.
Then you proceed upstairs to a room with a low, round table and four cushions on the floor, and four armrests to lean against when you sit on the floor. You cross your legs and try to make yourself comfortable. About the time you think you have solved the problem, a few joints start aching, and you try another position, without much relief.
A Stop for Luncheon
Another Shore Tour on the same day visited the area but had luncheon at the Nikki Kanaya Hotel. This small menu, with its insert bound to the cover by a translucent pink ribbon, demonstrates the lengths that the local people went to, to make Caronia passengers feel welcome.
The serving girl also sits or kneels. She serves the first course, after giving you a cloth soaked in warm water to wash your face and hands. It is clear soup. Next she lights the gas burner under a grate in the centre of the table and starts the cooking.
H.J.N.…
In the meantime she serves a cold dish which is bits of raw chicken with herbs. Then comes some real food from the iron
skillet. It is chicken in larger pieces, onions and other vegetables.
The next course is noodles and rice and some raw vegetables and soy sauce in a separate dish. The fifth course is more chicken and minced beef - this time boiled with vegetables in the same iron bowl. The sixth course is soup made from the water in which the previous course was prepared.
Then comes brown tea; then a paste-like jelly for desert, with green tea. By this time you are practically paralysed in the legs and weak in the back in spite of changing positions many times. The entire process takes about one and a half hours, but could be prolonged indefinitely. It's an experience you can appreciate at least once in a lifetime!
Then back to the Caronia at midnight for some needed rest.
Another trip to Tokyo on Sunday, April 12, and return for lunch and the farewell ceremonies in the Main Lounge. Geisha girls dance; the Mayor of Yokohama gives a speech which is interpreted, and our Captain replies. The crowds on the pier cheer and wave, two bands are playing, the tugs pull bow and stern, and the Caronia is off again for the next port, Honolulu.
This completes our travelogue, as we will be disembarking at San Francisco, 25 April, then flying home to Minneapolis.