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210

(X)

March 20/97

Mr. Joseph W. Elabor, (Personal)
C/O Great Northern H'q Co., 
St. Paul, Minn.

My dear Sir: 

Although I have not the pleasure of your personal acquaintance, I have known of you so well in a business way through our Mr. Phelps and socially through our mutual friends Tripp and others I feel that you will not consider me presumptuous in attempting a slight itinerary for your tour in Japan as suggested by "Charles" Tripp.
My visit in Japan began about two years ago at the present time and ended in the fall of the same year, and although I visited all the treaty ports I did not find in these places enjoyment such as I received in various Japanese cities free from European contamination. The Japanese people when free from outside influences are totally different from the average class you will see in Kioto, Yakohama, Kobe, and Nagaska. Pierre [[Loti's?]] description of these dwarfed people running around with pot hats is unfortunately too true wherever the examples set by Europeans have been continuous. On the other hand, at Kioto and other interesting places these fear [[?]] do not appear, and of course conditions are consequently much more agreeable. 
I understand it is your intention to combine business with pleasure. Of course your business will be chiefly in the treaty ports. Let me suggest that you look for pleasure elsewhere. 
You will find Kioto the most interesting city in Japan. It was the Japanese capital for eleven hundred years and retains much of the romance, intelligence, art, and physical beauty of earlier centuries. If you desire to study Japanese painting and other fine arts, you will find excellent collections in the great temples at

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