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.
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| 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.
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.
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