Embarked on the first sakura visit from early April 2023 since the covid travel ban has been uplifted for foreign tourists since Nov 2022.

Main theme of the trip involved visiting the Sanin area for the first time – Shimane and Tottori Prefectures followed by Okayama and Kyoto before returning to Fukuoka in 13 days.

Took a super-early domestic flight from Fukuoka to Izumo in 1 hour by a propeller. Picked up rental car and drove to Izumo Taisha in less than 30 min.  As the latter is famous for courtship amongst locals, the Izumo airport is nicknamed as “Musubi” airport.

 

Izumo Taisha (出雲大社)

Izumo Taisha is one of the oldest and most important shrines in Japan. The current shrine was built in 1744 and is designated as a national treasure. Its grand scale is compatible to the 3 Kumano Taisha and in Suwa-ko that we had visited before.

It was lucky that we bumped into peak sakura blossom there 🙂

 

 

Next we drove to the coastal area for the Izumo-himisaki lighthouse and Inasa-no-hama before heading to Shimane Museum of Art, along the lake rim of Shinji-ko, Matsue.

Inside the museum, there was an exhibition of calligraphy in traditional Chinese characters. Most were beautifully written and adorable. We stayed for an hour and drove to our first onsen ryokan nearby.

 

 

Tamazukuri onsen

Strolled along the onsen town where sakura was also in bloom after hotel checkin. Dinner was sumptuous and delicious using local produce – asari. Service was excellent 🙂

 

 

========>   Matsue Castle =======>