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Yae Falls: When things heat up, get yourself to a waterfall!
The comfortable weather of spring seems to have passed by in the blink of an eye, with the humidity and high temperatures of summer on the horizon. Things are due to cool down a bit here in Matsue over...
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Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine
The arduous renovations that are carried out on Izumo Taisha once every 60 years have finally been completed. The main building had been under construction for about three years, but now that all the...
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Places of Interest Near Matsue:Toda Hachimangu
There are a number of temples and Shrines in the Yasugi area, a short trip from Matsue. The pictures here are from Toda Hachimangu, located in Hirose-cho. The highlight of this shrine for me was the...
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Eating out: Hibi no Kate (Macrobiotic-vegan Cafe Restaurant)
In Japan, where vegetarianism and other ways of eating such as in the western world still remain a little in the dark, it’s not uncommon for vegetarians (let alone vegans or people with other dietary...
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Visiting Rainbow Waterfall!
Niji-ga-daki(虹が滝), or rainbow waterfall as it would be rendered in English, is another escape from the summer heat not far from Matsue city (approx. 25km). It is located near Ichibata Yakushi, within...
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Forest therapy in Iinan
Iinan is a small town located in Shimane Prefecture near the Hiroshima border, approx 1hr30min drive from Matsue City, or 1hr40min drive from Hiroshima. Hii and Kando Rivers begin near the town of...
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Grape picking in Izumo
The first grape culture in Japan dates back to the 12th century, when a wild grapevine bearing good fruit bunches was found in Yamanashi. The vine was apparently not native to the land, suggesting...
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Sunset at Hinomisaki
I’ve written about Hinomisaki here before, and because it’s quite a stretch from Matsue, I don’t get to visit this lovely spot as often as I’d like to … The beautiful view and historical lighthouse...
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Izumo Taisha revisited
Izumo Taisha (also known as Izumo grand shrine), is ranked at the moment as the most popular domestic travel destination for Japanese persons. This is undoubtedly because of the recent Sengu (renewal)...
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Western seashore, natural beauty & ancient mythology
Not only is the rugged shoreline to the Sea of Japan breathtaking, it is also home to Japan’s ancient mythology. Not far from Tottori city, about a two to three hour drive from Matsue, there is a small...
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A must try, that never gets old!
For people visiting the Izumo and Matsue region for the first time, I always recommend trying soba, the local specialty. While you can get soba (buckwheat noodles) throughout Japan, in other regions it...
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Shrine to the Hare of Inaba (Hakuto Shrine白兎神社)
Japan is a source of interest for many different people, for many different reasons. Maybe you’re interested in the fantastical world of anime, the high-paced world of technology, the eloquent world of...
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Season of harvest & hearty appetites (実りの秋、食欲の秋)
Now that we’re officially into autumn, expressions such as ‘minori no aki, shokuyokuno aki’ (実りの秋、食欲の秋) meaning ‘autumn of harvest, autumn of hearty appetites’ are often thrown around. And for good...
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From Nuclear to Wind Energy
Work on Japan’s largest offshore wind plant near Fukushima has been in the news of late. While this is a move in the right direction, wind power is not a recent arrival to Japan. In fact, Japan’s...
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Using fire to purify and make way for rejuvenation
Smoke billows from the field, yet this is no wildfire. As part of common farming practice in Japan, rather than using fertilizers or artificial means to replenish fields after harvest, fire is often...
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Catholic church in the centre of a small rural town
Tsuwano is a small town, with an estimated population of less than 10,000, located on the very western edge of Shimane prefecture. Taking approximately 4 hours by train from Matsue, and being closer to...
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A sad story of persecution and apparitions of the Virgin Mary, Tsuwano
This is a continuation of the preceding post about the catholic church in Tsuwano, a small village in western Shimane. There is a chapel on the outskirts of Tsuwano, called the Otome Tōge Maria Chapel...
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Winter crab season
One of the seasonal delicacies harvested from the Sea of Japan, is the Matsuba crab. Crabs that are caught in the Sea of Japan are called Zuwai crabs, and the male Zuwai crabs are called Matsuba crabs....
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The Adachi Museum of Art chosen for the 11th year running
For any visitor to the Adachi Museum of Art’s Japanese landscape garden, it is no secret that this garden is one of impeccable upkeep and fine beauty. The garden shows […]
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Yamanaka Shikanosuke
There are many legends and heroic tales of well known samurai in Japan. Among them, Yamanaka Yukimori (山中 幸盛 September 20, 1545 – August 20, 1578), also known as Yamanaka Shikanosuke (山中 鹿の介)was a...
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