Shimane Prefecture

Understand

Shimane prefecture, together with Tottori prefecture is known as the San-in (山陰) region, meaning "the shady side of the mountains". There is a mountain range separating these two prefectures from Hiroshima and Okayama, called Sanyo (山陽, the bright side) region, which means that the weather in San-in is drastically wetter than further to the south.

Tourist Information Site The prefecture has an official multilingual Tourism Guide site.

Getting there

By plane The airports in Shimane are 1 Izumo Airport (IZO IATA), 2 Iwami Airport (IWJ IATA), and 3 Oki Airport (OKI IATA). When travelling to Matsue then nearby 4 Miho-Yonago Airport (YGJ IATA) is also an option.

By train Shimane is on the Japan Rail San'in Main Line, which runs along western Honshu's sea coast between Kyoto and Shimonoseki. Japan Rail's Sunrise Izumo night train runs between Tokyo, Matsue and Izumo. Prices vary depending on the accommodation booked, which range from simple berths to private cabins. The Super Yakumo express train connects Matsue and Izumo to Okayama. The Super Oki JR train line originating in Shin-Yamaguchi stops at a number of cities and town in Shimane prefecture.

By bus Long Distance Express Buses.

By boat

Getting around

The best way to get around Shimane is to drive. Most towns and cities, especially those on the coast, can also reached by train. Buses go pretty much everywhere, but some places may only have a few buses a day.

See

Izumo Shrine, Izumo. The second-holiest Shinto shrine in Japan. (updated Jun 2020) Matsue Castle, Matsue. A beautiful black castle; one of Japan's few remaining original castles. (updated Jun 2020)

Do

There are many ski resorts in the prefecture. Most will blow snow when it hasn't fallen, giving a reliable season from late November until late March. Mizuho Highland[1] is the biggest (10 slopes, 5km longest run) and probably best (the only half-pipe in the region) resort. The Yabusame (horse-back archery) festivals of Shimane are quite famous, especially that of Tsuwano, which holds the oldest Yabusame range in all of Japan (some 1000+ years old). They usually are held in early April. If one is particularly lucky, the festival will coincide with the cherry blossoms blooming, for the consummate Japanese cultural experience. During the year there are numerous festivals. Many towns and cities have a fireworks show in August.

Eat

To get a taste of Matsue and the area around Lake Shinji, you should try to sample the famous Seven Delicacies of Lake Shinji: Shijimi clams, icefish, eel, sea bass, among others. For the most authentic soba in Izumo, make sure to try Warigo Soba served in triple-stacked lacquerware. Hamada serves a specialty fishcake made with red pepper powder called Akaten ("red tenpura", in this case meaning fried fishcake).

Sleep

For cheap accommodations, the prefecture has a number of youth hostels.

Go next

Tottori Prefecture Yamaguchi Prefecture Hiroshima Prefecture Okayama Prefecture