Exploring Shimane and Tottori Prefectures

We spent a wonderful 5 days exploring Shimane and Tottori Prefectures over the Labor Day weekend. We had an early morning flight to Izumo and so we decided the best option was to spend the night in the Hotel Villa Fontaine which is attached to the Haneda Airport. It turned out to be a very convenient way to make the flight that left at 7am.

On our way to the airport, we bumped into one of Kimball's co-workers. When he heard where we were headed he told us his wife was from Shimane. He highly recommend we stop at Izumo Taisha, a very old and famous shrine (Top 100, for sure!). So, on his advice we made that our first stop of the day.

It was a lovely place and by visiting we became educated on the story of the rabbit hopping from Oki Island to the mainland on the backs of many hundreds of sharks. Right at the end, the sharks got mad because they thought the rabbit had tricked them. So, they bit off the rabbits fur and left him to suffer in the saltwater and sun. Three brothers came by and only added to the rabbit's misery, but the youngest brother helped the rabbit. In turn the rabbit, who had very special powers, blessed the youngest brother and he had a very happy life. (That's my rough interpretation of the story). But we found statues and references to this story throughout our travels in both prefectures. It seems to be a very impactful story in this area. Note the many rabbit statues at the shrine.

Our next stop was to visit Yuushien Garden, a beautiful Japanese style garden on Yuushien Island. It was very hot and humid, but the garden was so pretty I hardly noticed during the time we walked around it. (note the misting they had going on to help keep visitors cooled off)

After the garden, we headed toward the Shichiruiko Ferry terminal to catch the Rainbow Jetfoil ferry to Okinoshima (Oki Island), but we chose our route so that we could drive across the Eshima Ohashi Bridge. It looks crazier than it actual is to drive up. The bridge connects Shimane Prefecture to Tottori Prefecture. We parked at a conbini so we could take a picture of the bridge before we crossed it.

The trip to Oki Island on the fast ferry (Rainbow Jetfoil) takes a little over an hour. On the regular ferry the trip takes about 2.5 hours. I really wanted to try out the Jetfoil. It was awesome to fly across the water, but once we got underway it was so smooth I fell alseep!

We got to Oki right before sunset and the island was just beautiful! We were exhausted from the early morning flight and the activities during the hot day, so we just grabbed some dinner and relaxed at our hotel for the evening.

The next morning we got up early and drove to the other side of the island so we could hike along the Shirashima Coast. The views were great, but the heat was a killer!! Even with an early start we got very sweaty on our hike. Notice the lighthouse out on the rock. The view of the lighthouse through the torii gate is supposed to be famous - it's very Japanese to have certain "views" that everyone must get a shot of.

We had read that Dangyo Falls was one of the Top 100 waterfalls in Japan, so we made that our next stop. The huge cedars at the beginning of the path to the waterfall were impressive, but the waterfall was not impressive at all. It must be very low flow at this time of year. We hiked up and went behind the falls and it just looks like its raining (see video). I'm sure when the flow his higher this is a great because it falls from so high up.

We stopped by the Yui Maenosu Intertidal Shore Platform, a rock formation that makes the ocean very shallow over a long flat space at this spot on the coast. We were pretty much the only ones out there and we didn't stay too long. (middle of the day sun was intense)

Oki Island is a big fishing spot and they had some very old boat houses that we stopped to see. We read a sign that said this part of Japan is the only place where they build boat houses. It has to do with the change in water levels due to the tide. The change in this area is very small, but in most other areas around Japan the change is much greater, making the boat houses unusable in those areas.

But even more interesting than the boat houses were the actual fishing boats that go out each night to fish. There were big lights hanging along the top of most of the boats. We read that certain fish don't like the light so they swim under the boat to get away from it. The fishermen are ready with nets to scoop them up when they swim under.

Oki Island is famous for having "Bull Sumo" tournaments. When we were there no tournaments were happening. But we did find the Bull Sumo ring and this statue nearby.

Along the coast there is a rock formation that sticks up like a candle. If you go out in a sightseeing boat at the right time, as the sun sets, it gives the appearance of the candle having a flame on top (once again, getting the specific shot).

The only way to see the phenomenon is from the water. It wasn't really that far out in the ocean, but the night we went was windy and once we left the calm of the port, it became quite rocky - like a toy in the bathtub! Honestly I was pretty nervous, but the boat captain was great and with some effort, he maneuvered us into perfect position for the best shot possible. It was a bit difficult to steady the camera, but we got some pretty good pics. There was definitely a better side to be on for the picture and so after a few minutes everyone switched sides so that all could have a chance for the shot! :) We took way too many pics of that silly rock!

The next morning we took the fast ferry back to the mainland and then drove along the coast for about 2 hours to reach the Tottori Sand Dunes. We stopped along the way to take a few pics at an overlook (such a BLUE ocean) and to eat some amazing seafood!

When we arrived we checked out the sand dunes. We saw a sign offering camel rides. Kimball has done it before and I was not interested. I've heard its very hard to get up on one and not a smooth ride! We actually did not see anyone riding a camel on the dunes. Too hot, I think.

We opted to spend the afternoon at The Sand Museum. This was the very best thing we saw on our whole trip.

There is a famous Japanese sand sculptor who decided that Tottori had the best sand in the world for sculpting. So he built a large exhibit hall (The Sand Museum) where sand could be sculpted indoors (most sand sculptures around the world are done outdoors). Each year he forms a team of about 16 master sand sculptors from around the world and they create a dozen or so sculptures based on a theme - like a country or region of the world.

They have pictures in the museum of sculptures from past years, but at the end of each year, they KNOCK THE SCULPTURES DOWN and start again to sculpt for the new theme, from the same sand!

This year the theme was JAPAN! We really lucked out because these sculptures were so beautiful! And, living here for the past 5 years, the places and stories and people in the sculptures have become familiar to us. It was nothing short of amazing! I'll put up some pics but it's hard to really capture what they have done with ONLY sand and water!!

The first sculpture was outside, but all the others were inside the big exhibit hall. In the hall there is a second floor so you can look down on the sculptures. It gives a different perspective. Some pics are from the ground floor and some are from above.

After we finished at the museum we grabbed something quick for dinner so we could get back to the sand dunes for sunset. Pizza Hut/KFC was close by and we got "seafood" pizza. It had seafood, but also broccoli on the ends and tuna salad in the middle. I liked it, but Kimball, not so much.

The sand dunes at sunset were so spectacular, but still hot and humid! (we were drenched in sweat by the time we left)

I wasn't sure we could climb to the top, but it was not as hard as I was expecting. Once at the top we had a great view of the ocean and the fishing boats heading out for the nightly catch.

Lights from the boats began popping up and within 30 min of sunset there were more boats than we could count!

The next day was Sunday and tried to attend the ward in Tottori, but no one was at the building when we arrive at 10am. Must have been Stake Conference?! So, with our little bit of extra time we decided to check out a Toy Museum. It had several areas where children and parents could play with toys. In addition there was an exhibit hall with really old toys (150 years old!). We happened to be there when a couple of the old toy makers were showing how the really old toys worked.

One toy had a doll that could turn, load an arrow, and shoot the arrow at a target - all from turning gears. Another toy had a doll that could paint a kanji on a little piece of paper - same thing - by turning gears.

They also had toys on display from more recent years. I found Barbie dolls from when I was a girl. They had one of the first video games ever invented and lots of action figurers (Ben's era ). It was a fun little stop!

We made our way back to Matsue so we could have time for dinner and then a sunset cruise around Lake Shinji. I was really excited to do the cruise, but on our way over to the cruise dock, it started to rain. We walked from the hotel but at least we took umbrellas, although they only helped some. It poured rain. But the time we reached the cruise office building we were soaked.

The captain said the cruise was still going out, but we decided not to get on because of the heavy rain. The rest of the people and the captain all headed out and boarded the boat, but we stayed inside to wait for the rain to stop. Just as the boat pulled away from the dock, the rain stopped and the sun came out. Ah!!! So bummed! We missed it!

Plan B turned out to be a good alternative. We walked back, got in the car and drove to the lake where we found a beach called "Sunset View Beach". I was upset at first, but it was such a nice evening that I let go of my disappointment and just enjoyed the view. We saw the boat out there cruising around. But, they left to get back to the dock before the sunset was at its best. So, I guess it turned out ok.

On our last day we had planned to rent bikes and ride around the lake and to see Matsue Castle. But with the heat, we opted to drive haha!

Matsue Castle is one of the 5 castles in Japan that are designated as National Treasures because they have original construction. We had been to the other 4, so this completed our visits to the National Treasures!

Matsumoto
Inuyama
Hikone
Himeji
Matsue

It was interesting because Matsue Castle was on the list, and then it was dropped. But years later the local residents discovered proof that it should be on the list, and so it was reinstated. There were signs all around the castle giving details of WHY it qualifies to be on the list. Obviously they take great pride in the designation.

On the castle grounds there was also a lovely Meiji period building that was used as the Guest House for visiting dignitaries. We were able to walk through it and it reminded us of Akasaka Palace State Guest House in Tokyo. It was built about the same time.