{
  "id": 6855215,
  "title": "Isabella Bird's 'Unbeaten Tracks in Japan': Encountering a hot spring in 1878 (Pt. 10)",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/12/isabella-birds-unbeaten-tracks-in-japan-encountering-a-hot-spring-in",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-12T04:00:20.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Mainichi",
    "slug": "the-mainichi",
    "url": "https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260909/p2a/00m/0et/021000c"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On June 22, Isabella Bird made a daring journey on horseback for the first time in Japan, covering fifteen miles in eight hours of continuous travel. The experience allowed her to encounter the Japanese pack-horse, a creature she had only heard of before. These horses were gentle, about fourteen hands high, and were used exclusively in Oku-Nikko. They wore no reins and were led by a rope around their noses. Bird's horse, a majo, or pack horse, was ridden barefoot except on stony ground. The pack-saddle, composed of two thick straw pads and connected by strong oak arches, was carefully balanced on the animal's back. Despite the challenging terrain, Bird managed to complete the journey, which proved to be a useful introduction to the mode of travel that would become a regular part of her Northern Japan adventures. The journey culminated at Yumoto Onsen, where Bird stayed in an exquisite yadoya, a picture-perfect village nestled between Lake Chuzenji and the Oku-Nikko Mountains.",
  "summary": "During her 12-day stay in Nikko, Isabella Bird made an overnight trip to Yumoto Onsen in the mountains of Oku-Nikko. It was the first time for her to",
  "key_points": [
    "Isabella Bird embarked on a 15-mile horseback journey in Japan on June 22, 1878.",
    "She encountered Japanese pack-horses, gentle animals used exclusively in Oku-Nikko."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Isabella Bird's successful horseback journey on a Japanese pack-horse marked a turning point in her travels, introducing her to a mode of transportation that would become a staple of her adventures in Northern Japan.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}