Japan 6.7: Iwami Ginzan, Omoricho, its Monkeys and Caves of 500 Arhats. The Inari Shrine and Tsuwano Castle.

   The next small town down the coast was Omoricho, known for its Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine.  We parked our car and walked just up the road to view.  We bought the combination ticket to see the Rakan-ji Temple and its related Caves of the 500 Arhats.  Behind the temple was a small cutout of the cliff face, with some neat buddhas.  Across the street was a series of small bridges connected to caves containing reportedly five hundred arhats.  An arhat is a Buddhist saint of one of the highest ranks.

  We backtracked to Iwami Ginzan Highway, the main road of the street, and walked north, admiring the architecture.

An awesome old fashioned vending machine, just like they used to have in the Edo period.

  Miles looked up and caught sight of a monkey on a nearby rooftop, and shortly afterward we saw a monkey hightailing it across the street.  We spotted quite a few of them in the surrounding hilltops.

Note the butterfly in front of the nearest monkey.

  The picture with the babies was the last one I was able to take, because at that moment, Miles dropped a bottle cap on the ground and they all grabbed the babies and fled.  We walked back down the street and spent time watching the swallows swoop in an out, as they had nests built into the underside of the wooden houses.

  We walked southwest along the road, in the direction of the Iwami Ginzan mine, but then we decided to double back and take the car.  We parked in the lot that said that vehicles were prohibited beyond that point.  We followed the path to the Shimizudani Refinery Ruins.  This hike was not at all well maintained, with flora overgrowth nearly hiding the path.  Miles turned back two thirds of the way through the hike due to the amount of insects.  I continued onward and all that I was able to find was a gated mine entrance.  There was a sign for a chute, but when I reached the bottom of the steps, I saw a small snake uncoil and there was a wasp nest near my feet, so I decided to turn back.

A cat on the street toward the mine.

The chute was at the bottom of these stairs, I assume at the end of the hill.

  I met up with Miles at the beginning of the trail and we continued up the road for another kilometer until we reached the entrance to the mine.  It was a long tunnel that we had mostly to ourselves.

  We checked into our hotel for the evening afterwards.  The following day we drove to our third small town in three days, Tsuwano.  This one was my favorite.  We drove straight to the Taikodani Inari Shrine.  It had an interesting machine in the front.

  We enjoyed the views and walked through the line of red torii gates.  It seemed to go all the way down into town, so we turned around and went back up.

  Ten seconds away was the rickety chair lift to the ruins of Tsuwano Castle.  It was a short walk to the rocks that indicated the former castle site.  There was a VR sign in the overgrown grass, advertising to expand the experience.  I preferred the nature.

  We checked into our hotel and Miles opted to stay in.  I walked to the opposite side of the train station and into the woods, to the creepy area surrounding the Otome Toge Maria Chapel.  There was a statue of someone in a cage and a massive book and cross, among this sterile and abandoned area.

Japan 6.6: Matsue at night and our exploration of Izumo

  That night I went out in search of ramen.  The first restaurant I stopped at was closed, though Maps showed it as open.  I crossed the bridge and walked down a dark hallway toward the next nearest ramen restaurant, called Ajitomi.  According to reviews, it was known for its gargantuan version of gyoza dumplings.  The ramen was fantastic, but the gyoza tasted more like garlic rolls than gyoza.  The single man who ran the establishment was not particularly friendly.  

   The final day in Matsue was a lazy day for me.  Miles stayed in the room to game, and I took a leisurely walk into town.  I walked back across the bridge towards a hippie decorated coffee shop.  The coffee was excellent and I had an interesting lemon and ginger cake to go along with it.  I walked southwest along the river to the Shimane Art Museum.

  I decided to do something a bit odd, and stayed in a voice channel on my phone while I walked the museum.  I muted myself as I entered and listened to the banter in the background while viewing the art rooms.  There were lots to see, from photos to chinaware to old block prints and some European art.  Photography was not allowed.  As usual, the museum gift shop had interesting items, some of which I picked up.

Neat item from the gift shop.

  That night I decided to pack my camera for after dinner cityscapes and went out for ramen again.  This time I found a place closer to my hotel.  It was poorly rated, but I found the food to be excellent, and the woman waitress was the bubbliest and most smiley that I have encountered in all of Japan.  When I returned outside, it was not dark yet, so I decided to take a walk back to the castle.  I knew it was reported to close early, but I was hoping they would still allow people just outside the castle.  Unfortunately, they were closing the huge doors just as I arrived.  I went around the side for pictures.

  I returned to the central street sandwiched between the Kyobashi River and Ohashi River, which I noticed was particularly beautiful the night before.  This is what I saw:

  We finished one last outstanding breakfast, which featured curry rice, yogurt and honey, and a most spectacular French toast.  We drove west along Lake Shinji, into Izumo, and then north to the Hinomisaki Shrine.  The buildings were a striking orange/red color.

  Up a short set of steps was a smaller shrine with animal statues.

There were unique pieces of art adorning each building.  Each of them had an individual scene, with no repeats.

  Just down the road was the Izumo Hinomisaki Lighthouse, which is supposed to have nice views from the top.  unfortunately, it was blocked off for reconstruction.  Miles got an ice cream cone as a consolation prize.

  On the Inasa Beacha, on the western coast of Izumo was the interesting Bentenjima.  It was slightly disappointed to see some pollution near the bottom.  I removed some pieces.

  A dish unique to the region is wariko soba, so we went to a local restaurant to give it a try.  Well, I did.  Miles had a tempura soba dish instead.  You are served cold noodles in three bowls, stacked upon each other.  There are sides of garnish and a pot with a light type of sauce that tasted similar to soy.  Once you are finished with the top dish, you spill the remaining liquid into the next dish down, and repeat.  It was pretty decent, but not spectacular.

  We checked into our room and then walked to the center of town, to follow the main pathway to the Izumo Taisha.  Along the way there were side gardens and a whole bunch of interesting statues.

  Once we reached the temple area, we walked past the first building, to try to get our eyes on the beautiful buildings inside a massive fenced area.  It was closed off on all sides, and I was able to take the best pictures towards the back.

  We exited out the western side, to encounter the Izumo Taisha Kaguraden, which featured a tremendously large straw rope.  To get the picture directly underneath, laying on my back on the ground was not enough to capture it whole.  I had to make multiple attempts at placing the camera on the ground and aiming upward.