Shimane-ken: Izumo-shi, Iwami Ginzan & Matsue

With the start of "Tetsudo no Kinenbi (Celebration of Train)" free pass tickets offered by JR, I decided to execute the Shimane-ken plan which had been on my travel list for several years already. On Friday night, I took the Yakumo train from Okayama to the final stop at Izumo-shi, where I stayed the night. Izumo-shi is home to Izumo-taisha, the oldest shrine in Japan. Izumo-taisha is only second to Ise Grand Shrine in importance. In my personal opinion, the gap in grandness between Ise and Izumo is very large as Izumo was much smaller than expected. After exploring Izumo-Taisha in the morning, I took off to Ohda-shi in the afternoon, then changed to a bus headed for Iwami Ginzan.

Iwami Ginzan was a world famous silver mine with extremely high yields of silver... several hundreds of years ago. Despite any spectacular recent history, it somehow made the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. That in turn, led to Japanese tourists to flock the lands. Of course, once Iwami Ginzan was on the same list as the pyramids of Egypt, people would often leave dissappointed since out of the extensive routes underground, only like 500 meters was open to the public. My impression of the entire place was that it was like a long underground cave.

That Saturday night I had wanted to view Shinji Lake for sunset, and was informed by the train operator that the best place to take night photos was at Nogi, a train stop away from Matsue. From the lakeside, Yomega Shrine , located on an island in the middle of Shinji Lake was illuminated. The next morning, I walked to Matsue Castle and its surroundings, which included old residence of the English author, Lafcadio Hearn (Japanese name = Koizumi Yakumo). From my foreign eye's, I thought it was amusing because (1) Lafcadio only lived in that house for 1 year and (2) 99.9% of foreigners like me probably have not heard of him before. Anyway, Matsue Castle was quite interesting, being another one of the few original castles left in Japan.

Outer Torii Gate to Izumo Taisha


Entrance to Izumo Taisha


Forested Pathway


Worshipping the Golden Ball?


Main Shrine Building is blocked by building at the front


World's Largest Shinto Shrine Rope?


Small Shrine at the Side


Coins Thrown and Embedded into the Straw Rope (includes 100yen coins!)


Kids Throwing Coins into the Air


Wishes


Japanese Wedding, open for all to see


Why is the Deer Running?


Because A Dog is Chasing It...


And it recovers from slipping to Run Away.


Japanese Wedding Picture


...with the Cameraman


Shinto Priest and Miko in Worship


Fortunes Tied Up


Model of Old Shrine?


This station has 3 hourly trains arriving at the same time


IWAMI GINZAN


Ohda-shi Train Station


Beware of Vipers!


Entrance to the Silver Mine


Fortified Mine Shafts


Mining Area


Underground Plants


Narrow Mine Shaft


Walking through the Iwami Forest


Pink Flower


Mine Entrance 461


Lake Shinji


MATSUE


Yomega Shrine Island


Matsue at Night


Ship Dock?


Statues Outside Shimane Art Museum


River Front


River Side Pachinko


Ugly Water Supply for Emergency Fire-Fighting


Shriveled Flowers


Soba-ya Garden


Bust of Lafcadio Hearn (Yakumo Koizumi)


Lafcadio Hearn's Old Residence (only 1 year occupation)


Castle-side Street


Smiling Fox at an Inari Shrine


Broken Dogs or Foxes?


Mean Foxes


Hundreds of Porcelein Foxes


Fox Worship


Matsue Castle


Fat Boy Statue


Model of Castle Tower, made during Kamei Era (1624-1640) by Ubei Takeuchi


View Outside Castle Top


Inside the Castle


Kabuto Lineup


Trees


Statue of a Short Guy


Flea Market