“View of Osakabe Hotel, Yoshida,” c. 1910. The Yoshida trail up Mt. Fuji at Fujiyoshida is still today a popular route for ascending Japan’s most mystical mountain, partially seen in the image.

“The uncertainty of making close connections with the tram at Gotemba, the beauty of the scenery beyond Kami-Yoshida, and the fact that the trail might prove difficult after nightfall, make it undesirable to expect or attempt to accomplish the outward trip [from Yokohama to Shoji] in one day.

“Furthermore the tram ride is tiresome, and ladies particularly will be glad enough for the night’s rest in the clean little Osakabe Hotel (¥2 a day) at Kami-Yoshida; cars stop at the door where chairs, a table, semi-foreign food and minor comforts are provided by the obliging hostess.

“English spoken and host – a maimed veteran of the siege of Port Arthur.”

– Terry’s Japanese Empire, T. Phillip Terry, 1914