A Pale View of Hills

While in Nagasaki, Etsuko remembers gazing out of her window at the view of pale hills in the distance to fill the emptiness of her afternoons. Another distraction comes in the form of her visits to Sachiko throughout the summer.

Etsuko suspects that even though Sachiko received an invitation from her relatives to return, she does not plan to live with them. Etsuko has gathered from their conversations that the uncle in question is a wealthy widower living with his daughter and a maid in a large, empty house in Tokyo.

The narrator mentions one more thing that stands out in her memory: A series of child murders in Nagasaki preoccupies the community. The latest victim is a girl found hanging from a tree.

One day Sachiko, Mariko, and Etsuko go on an outing to the hilly area overlooking the harbor. They ride the cable car, where they meet another Japanese woman with her son and her American friend. The two children do not get along because the boy feels he is superior to Mariko. When she climbs a tree and he attempts to follow, she steps on his fingers, causing the boy to fall down.

On the way home, Sachiko, Mariko, and Etsuko stop at a game booth.