Driving Shimane-ken ( 島根県 ) : Izumo Taisha ( 出雲大社 )

Hello Everyone.

This is the fifth installment to my Driving in Japan series!  A very pleasant and relaxing drive can be had hugging the Sea of Japan coastline straight west throught Hyogo, Tottori and Shimane Prefectures.  If you have a lot more time, the Yamaguchi coast is incredibly interesting but it stretches a very long way and there is so much to see, we’d better leave that for a future posting.ｔｈ

This is a brief introduction to Shimane Prefecture and highlights more than just a worthwhile stop along the way, but rather one of the most important shrines in the country:  Izumo Taisha.

Izumo Taisha, the oldest Shinto shrine in Japan, is located 33 km west of Matsue and a short drive north of the coastal town of Izumo.   This site is second in importance only to the great Ise-Jingu though the buildings are not super old, mostly 18th and 19th century.   The setting is beautiful and this is where the eight million Shinto kami spirit gods come to make their annual October pilgrimage!

Also nearby is the must-visit Cape Hino-misaki with its near century-old lighthouse you can climb around in for about 400 yen and steal panoramic views of the shrine and the sea.

Have a nice trip and pray for babies!

Martin W Zander, Smith’s Partner

マーティン・ワーナー・ザンダー 

Smith’s School of English Kotoen Nigawa Sakasegawa Nishinomiya

月謝制のスミス英会話　甲東園　校　仁川　校　逆瀬川　西宮市

http://www.smithweb.co.jp/school/kotoen.shtml

Smith’s School of English Fukushima Umeda Osaka

月謝制のスミス英会話　福島　校　梅田　校　大阪市

http://www.smithweb.co.jp/school/fukushima.shtml