Shimane is already off Japan’s main tourist circuit. But even within Shimane, most visitors see only Izumo Taisha and Matsue Castle before leaving. The prefecture’s real character — the atmospheric mountain town a steam train ride away, the ancient mineral springs where the water literally bubbles from the ground, the Pacific island chain most tourists don’t know exists, the coastal villages serving sashimi with no English menu and no TripAdvisor listing — requires a bit more intention to reach.
Tsuwano: Little Kyoto of the Mountains
Tsuwano is in the southwestern corner of Shimane, tucked into a narrow mountain valley at 162 meters elevation. The town has been called “the Little Kyoto of San’in” since at least the postwar tourism boom, and the comparison is accurate in the specific sense that it preserved its samurai-era streetscape while surrounding towns modernized. Carp fill the roadside water channels that run along the main street — the fish are so numerous and large that they function as civic landmarks.
Getting there — the scenic way: The SL Yamaguchi steam locomotive runs between Shin-Yamaguchi (Shinkansen connection) and Tsuwano on weekends and holidays from March through November. The 63-kilometer journey takes approximately two hours and the carriages are wood-paneled vintage rolling stock. Tickets ¥2,000–2,500 supplemental on top of the regular JR fare. Book through JR SmartEx or at major JR stations — this train sells out completely on autumn weekends.
By direct bus from Matsue: The Iwami Bus operates a roughly 2-hour express service (¥2,800) between Matsue and Tsuwano, running along the Chugoku Mountains interior. Less romantic than the steam train but practical for day-trippers from Matsue.
What to see in Tsuwano:
Taikodani Inari Shrine: Approximately 1,000 vermilion torii gates line the hillside path to the main shrine hall — one of the five great Inari shrines in Japan. The tunnel of torii, photographable from multiple angles on the switchback path, sees relatively few foreign visitors despite being visually equivalent to the famous Fushimi Inari in Kyoto. Allow 40 minutes for the ascent and descent.
Tsuwano Castle ruins: The castle on the adjacent hill was dismantled in the Meiji period, but the stone walls and the panoramic view from the summit are worth the chairlift (¥410 round trip) and short hike. From the top: the town’s grid of water channels, the rice paddies, the surrounding forest ridgelines.
Catholic church: An 1893 stone building in Gothic style, built as a memorial to Japanese Christians martyred in the anti-Christian purges of the early Meiji period. The contrast of European religious architecture within a traditional Japanese mountain town is jarring in an interesting way. The interior has tatami-mat seating and Western stained glass — a hybrid built for Japanese worshippers.
Mori Ogai birthplace and memorial: Mori Ogai (1862–1922), one of Meiji Japan’s most important novelists and a military surgeon general, was born in Tsuwano. His preserved birth house and adjacent small museum are free to enter (museum ¥200 for changing exhibits).
Lunch: Tsuwano has several traditional restaurants serving koi (freshwater carp) dishes — koi no arai (sliced raw carp in cold water) and koi no karaage (deep-fried carp) are the local specialties. The flavors are mild, somewhat earthy, an acquired taste — but eating local carp in the town famous for its carp-filled channels is its own narrative.
Yunotsu Onsen: Where the Water Actually Moves
Most onsen towns in Japan pump their spring water through pipes, heat it in boilers, and deliver it to bath facilities in a controlled industrial process. Yunotsu (Nima area, Oda City) is unusual because the spring water here visibly emerges from the earth. The Motoyu spring, beside the small shrine in the center of town, produces a continuous upwelling of slightly cloudy, iron-rich mineral water. You can hear it. You can see it bubbling.
The town itself — a single narrow street of wooden two-story buildings, several bathhouses, a few restaurants and small guesthouses — is one of the most authentically preserved onsen machi (bath towns) in Japan. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage buffer zone as part of the Iwami Ginzan listing.
The two public bathhouses — Motoyu and Yakushiyu — charge ¥420–440 per bath. The water composition (carbonate spring, slightly radioactive radon content typical of old mountain springs) is genuinely different from the alkali baths of Tamatsukuri — more mineral-tasting, slightly astringent on the skin.
Getting there: JR San’in line to Yunotsu Station, then 10-minute taxi (¥800–900) or 20-minute walk into the valley. From Matsue: 1h15m by JR to Oda-shi, then transfer to local San’in line 15 minutes. Total journey approximately 1h45m with connection. The station platform itself offers no taxis — confirm a taxi pickup with the bathhouse or your accommodation in advance.
Accommodation: Several small guesthouses (minshuku) operate in Yunotsu at ¥7,000–12,000 per person with two meals. Booking directly by phone (Japanese required, or have your hotel concierge assist) is usually necessary — many don’t maintain online booking.
Oki Islands: The Geopark Most Tourists Skip
The Oki Islands — a volcanic archipelago of four inhabited islands in the Sea of Japan — are a UNESCO Global Geopark and among the least-visited major natural attractions in western Japan. The ferry ride from Sakaiminato port (in neighboring Tottori prefecture, 40 minutes from Matsue by JR) takes 3 hours and costs ¥3,000–5,000 depending on seat class.
Most visitors to the San’in region don’t know the islands exist, or if they do, assume they’re inaccessible. The ferry schedule (typically 2–3 departures per day) requires planning, and minimum stay of one night is necessary to justify the crossing. These barriers keep the islands in their current state: largely undeveloped, genuinely local, with beaches and coastline that have no crowds.
Dogo Island (Nishinoshima’s neighbor, the largest island) has a small town — Saigo — with medieval street layout, a post office, several guesthouses, and a prefectural history museum covering the islands' role as a place of imperial exile (Emperor Go-Daigo was exiled here in 1332). The atmosphere is that of a Japanese town from approximately 1980: functional, warm, with residents who find foreign visitors unusual and interesting.
Kuniga Coast (Nishinoshima Island): Sea-cliff formations on Nishinoshima’s northwest coast — stacked basalt columns rising from the ocean, with sea caves and arches. Boat tours of the coast (¥2,200–3,000) run from Ura port. The cliff scenery is, by any objective comparison, more dramatic than the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa, which receives far more tourist attention.
Ama female divers: The traditional women divers (ama) of the Oki Islands still operate, harvesting abalone, turban shell, and sea urchin by free-diving without breathing equipment. Some guesthouses on Dogo Island arrange observation or participation experiences during diving season (May–September).
Bullfighting (Tōgyū): The islands maintain a tradition of bull sumo — large bulls pushed against each other, no harm to the animals, decided by a push-out similar to sumo. Events occur several times per year; the main tournament is in late October. Schedule available from Oki Tourism Association.
Inasa Beach: Where Gods Arrive
This is not a famous beach. It has no facilities, no rental equipment, no café. It is a rocky-sand cove at the base of the cliffs north of Izumo-shi where, according to Shinto cosmology, Japan’s 8 million deities travel each October for the divine assembly (Kamiari).
During Kannazuki (the “month of no gods,” October in the standard lunar calendar), the gods are said to be absent from all shrines across Japan except Izumo — they are all here. Inasa Beach is their landing point.
For most of the year the beach is empty. A small shrine, Inasa no Kami, stands at the waterline. The beach faces northwest toward the open Sea of Japan. On overcast days in autumn it has a quality that the Japanese call mono no aware — the melancholy of impermanence. As a spot of genuine spiritual significance with zero commercial development, it is rarer than it should be.
Access: 10-minute taxi from Izumo-shi Station (¥1,200–1,500). No public transit. The beach connects to the Izumo Taisha visit naturally as a 30-minute detour.
Shimane Peninsula: Eastern Cape Roads and Kaka Bay
The Shimane Peninsula extends eastward from Matsue into the Sea of Japan, its northern coast a series of clifftop roads, fishing harbors, and small shrines with almost no tourist infrastructure.
Kaka Bay (Kaka no Kukedo) is a sea cave accessible only by small boat, which can be rented from the nearby fishing hamlet of Kaka. The cave — 45 meters deep, lit by reflected ocean light — is described in Lafcadio Hearn’s Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan as one of the most beautiful natural spots he encountered in Japan. Boat rental ¥500–800; the fishermen who run it don’t advertise online. Ask at Matsue Tourism Office for the current contact.
Mihonoseki (the eastern tip of the peninsula) is a former port town with a merchant-era streetscape, a lighthouse on the cape, and a branch shrine of Miho Shrine (dedicated to Kotoshironushi, god of fishing and commerce). The town has a few small restaurants serving fresh fish — the kind without English menus, with plastic food displays outside, run by families.
Getting around these less-connected places:
A rental car is the single most useful tool for exploring peripheral Shimane. JR and bus services are reliable for Matsue–Izumo and the main San’in coast corridor, but anything off the main line requires either a taxi (available from Matsue and Izumo city centers, ¥600–1,500 for short trips) or a car.
Matsue has several car rental agencies near the station (Toyota Rent-a-Car, Times Car Rental, Nippon Rent-a-Car). Book in advance for Golden Week and autumn foliage season. An international driving permit is required for visitors holding non-Japanese licenses.
For Tsuwano specifically, the combination of scenic steam train arrival and local exploration on foot or rental bicycle (available at the station, ¥500/day) makes a car unnecessary.
The Oki Islands require the ferry regardless of mode — car ferry service is available (¥13,000–18,000 per car) but many visitors leave their car at Sakaiminato port and use bicycles or taxis on the islands.
The common thread in Shimane’s hidden corners: they require a bit more effort than the standard circuit, and they offer, in return, the experience of a prefecture where the ancient, the local, and the untouched are still genuinely available.
