(From http://www.cgsd.com/rlatham/japan.html
Victorian lady Isabella Bird traveled to Japan in 1878, communicating her observations in the form of letters to her sister. The accounts were soon published in book form as Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, which has become a classic of travel literature. Her travels featured visits to Nikko and Hokkaido. We learn much about the Japan of old, and more than a little about the sensibilities of the Victorian era.
http://www.cgsd.com/rlatham/UnbeatenTracks/UnbeatenTracksinJapan.htm