{"id":11519,"date":"2026-04-22T03:40:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T10:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/?p=11519"},"modified":"2026-04-22T03:44:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T10:44:34","slug":"japan-2026-day-7-matsue-with-a-side-trip-to-izumo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/?p=11519","title":{"rendered":"Japan 2026: Day 7 (Matsue, with a side trip to Izumo)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well duh, I figured out why those guys were sleeping in the bath area. There\u2019s a sauna and instead of doing the cold plunge they just return to human temperature by sitting in the chairs. I just went to the bath early and it\u2019s so much nicer when there\u2019s only three people in there.<\/p>\n

I got up this morning happy that the only ambulance that went by was after 5am. There\u2019s a hospital across the way (actually across a canal and a road) but it\u2019s the view outside of my hotel room. I got up way fewer times last night. I figure I might finally be getting over my jet lag and also not overeating at a ryokan helps.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t want to deal with a crowd at the big bath so I used the shower that\u2019s in my room. There\u2019s a Seinfeld episode where Kramer replaces his showerhead with an elephant-washing nozzle. That\u2019s kind of what it felt like. It was kind of nice at the same time.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t sign up for the breakfast plan so it was off to find a \u201cmorning set.\u201d My sister found a couple of places but they all opened at 9am. I took it easy in my room for a while. The place she told me to try was good and looked like a nice date spot. I saw a kid and his grandma (I think) reading a review in a book of coffee shops. There\u2019s a very nice view of the canal.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

They could possibly roast their own beans as well.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I did the thing I\u2019m always told not to do, which is ask for advice. They told me if I was hungry to get the gratin set. You can\u2019t see it but it was pretty big. The salad had an odd curry dressing (it seems like they really like their curry here but the gratin was great. I figured I might not be getting much lunch so it was a good choice.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Then it was off to visit Izumo and the Izumo Grand Shrine. I timed things so well that I had to wait 45 minutes for the next train. That\u2019s OK, I\u2019m on vacation. I found two onsen foot baths that I didn\u2019t want to take pictures of because both were in use! I didn\u2019 t have a towel with me so I didn\u2019t participate. It really is nice soaking your feet in the warm water.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the first train. This train I think goes all the way past the west end of Izumo to the sea so you have to transfer to get to Izumo Grand Shrine.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The transfer train didn\u2019t look as nice.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been to Izumo Taisha before and I think it was much less crowded this time.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Being a Grand Shrine, there\u2019s a lot of walking.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This is the closest thing I have to a religion so I paid my respects. This is supposed to ensure marriage or something and I think it works as well as any other religion in that way.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

There are many enshrined dieties here and the side shrine is bigger than most I\u201dve seen. There was a wedding taking place. I know it\u2019s rude to take pictures of them but they were just in my picture of the shrine.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

I left out the side and went to the seaside where there\u2019s another shrine. I just took a quick picture and headed back to the train.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Not framed well but a huge tour group was arriving and I took a quick pick and got out of there.<\/p>\n

Did I mention it\u2019s a bit of a hike to the oceanside? There\u2019s a bunch of toursity stores from the train to the shrine and usually that means a lot of street food! I couldn\u2019t find anything that wasn\u2019t mobbed by schoolkids so I just got some warabi mochi. It was a little too sweet for me AND I ate several before I remembered to take a picture.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I made it back to the train and thought I\u2019d just missed the nonstop back to Matsue. I should learn how to tell time because I was actually 50 minutes early. I decided to head back out and try to find something a little more savory. I had to wait with a bunch of schoolgirls but I got a wagyu rice burger that was pretty good. I\u2019m not sure how they got the outside so hot that I could hardly hold it while not being that hot when I ate it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The train finally came and I was asleep for most of the ride.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It was later in the afternoon but I wanted to sit down and have a snack. I ended up back at my hotel before heading to the train station to buy the next day\u2019s ticket. It was close to 4pm before I got some tea and a snack. I kept it light because I knew I was going to have an early dinner.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The problem with Matsue is that everything I found was an izakaya. I feel bad about going to a drinking place and only eating. I sorta feel bad about going to brewpubs back home just to eat too, but I\u2019m sure I\u2019m not the only one doing that. In any case, I found a soba restaurant next to the station and got the \u201cIzumo\u201d set.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Under the middle plate was the soba.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

They eat soba in a different way here. You pour the tsuyu onto the soba and then pour the leftover onto the second plate of soba. It made for a lighter taste. It was fine. Nothing beats the soba Yumi took me to in the middle of nowhere in Okayama.<\/p>\n

On the way back to the hotel I saw something else interesting happening in the canal. Crew shells! It\u2019s really hard to ask about the crew shells because I don\u2019t know any of the Japanese words relating to crew. I found out Shimane University isn\u2019t too far away so I figure they have a boathouse nearby. It was like pulling teeth findiing out that little bit of info.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I got back early and got in the bath by 6:30pm-ish. It\u2019s so much nicer when it\u2019s not crowded. Plus I\u2019m a boring old man and I\u2019m not out late carousing any more. I used to stay out late looking for local craft beers. In fact, I found a taproom. Oh well. Time to relax. My legs are tired from all the walking and I\u2019m only a week in!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well duh, I figured out why those guys were sleeping in the bath area. There\u2019s a sauna and instead of doing the cold plunge they just return to human temperature by sitting in the chairs. I just went to the bath early and it\u2019s so much nicer when there\u2019s only three people in there. I got up this morning happy that the only ambulance that went by was after 5am. There\u2019s a hospital across the way (actually across a canal and a road) but it\u2019s the view outside of my hotel room. I got up way fewer times last night. I figure I might finally be getting over my jet … Continue reading Japan 2026: Day 7 (Matsue, with a side trip to Izumo)<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-japan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11519"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11522,"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11519\/revisions\/11522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}