Our friend Hatchie Katsie belonged to the commercial town of Hakodadi, situated in the Straits of Saugar, on the south end of the Japanese island of Yesso, and before it we found ourselves one bright morning brought up.  The harbour was full of junks of all sizes, coming and going, proving that a brisk trade must be carried on there.  The town seemed of considerable extent, stretching along the sea-shore for a mile or more, while many of the streets ran up the sides of a lofty promontory, at the base of which it stands.  The mountains rise directly behind to an elevation of a thousand feet, their bare summits often being covered with snow.  The slopes are clothed with underwood, while on the plain below wide-spreading cypresses, maples, plum and peach trees grow in rich profusion.  Altogether the scene is a very picturesque and beautiful one.  From numerous stone quarries the Japanese have supplied themselves with an abundance of building materials.  The appearance of the town, with its well-constructed sea walls, bridges, and dikes, showed us that the Japanese must be a very industrious people, and that they have made considerable advance in civilisation.