#matsuejo

[jetsettermac]

matsue & izumo | november 2-4, 2019

matsue castle, lake shinji, izumo taisha

>> read about it here <<

[jetsettermac]

matsue & izumo, shimane

november 2-4, 2019

>> more photos here <<

i went on my first completely solo trip this weekend! it was a nice, relaxing visit to matsue and izumo in shimane prefecture.

i ended up staying in a capsule hotel in matsue which actually was pretty cool! everything was really up to date and modern and it didn’t feel weird at all to be sleeping in a caspsule. maybe because i’ve already had the experience of staying in hostels while traveling through europe! 

in any case, on the first day there i visited matsue castle and lake shinji for the sunset. matsue castle is actually really cool! it’s a small castle and i elected not to go inside it, but the visual it presented as a black castle was really nice! i spent a lot of time there just enjoying the grounds and taking pictures. after i checked into the capsule hotel i went to lake shinji. i ended up just sitting along the shore and watching the sun set. it was really cloudy though so it wasn’t as spectacular as i thought it’d be. i ended up meeting a german couple there who talked to me about the lack of support for foreigners in a lot of cities in japan haha.

my second day i went to izumo, which is about an hour train ride away. it was really easy to get there, but people kept giving me looks, possibly wondering if the foreigner really knows where they’re going lol. maybe it was because i was alone. in any case, i spent a solid chunk of the day at the shrine. the walk up to the shrine was really nice -- the street was wide and there were lots of really nice-looking shops on both sides of the street. sometimes shrine have really crowded and dumpy-looking shopping streets lol. the shrine itself was really cool; instead of going up to see it, you go downhill. there’s a long pathway that’s split up around a line of trees. apparently the tree path is the path of the gods. once inside the shrine i learned that august is known as the month without deities in all of japan except for izumo, because that month all of the shinto gods gather at izumo shrine. so in izumo, august is the month of the deities. there’s even a place for the gods to stay, which was off limits to visitors. 

izumo is one of the oldest shrines in japan i think, and there’s a tradition there where you clap four times instead of two while praying. i learned later that’s because izumo is associated with finding love, so you clap twice for yourself and twice for your mystery soulmate!

i spent the rest of the day resting in matsue. i visited the aeon, ate some good food, and relaxed from all the walking around. it was a really nice vacation, and i ended up enjoying the solo aspect a lot because i could do whatever i wanted, when i wanted. A+!

[soyamax]

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松江城 初ワールウィンド成功 #soyamax #soyamax2019 #kendama #matsuejo #japan (at 松江城) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0Ug2RMIRwP/?igshid=t5ke7ijiz8c4

[japangelito]

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Video: I came back to Sunny San Diego, California from Japan. 🇺🇸➡️✈️➡️✈️🇯🇵 While I was in Japan, I could not post all pictures here, so I am posting my pictures the next couple of days. 😅After the Japanese garden, we went to see the national treasure: "Matsue Castle" in Matsue, Shimane, Japan. 🇯🇵Very beautiful!!! 🌸🏯⛩ This bus tour from Osaka is almost ending... 😢 ビデオ: 日本からサンディエゴに帰って来ました。🇺🇸➡️✈️➡️🇯🇵 日本にいる間あまりにも忙しくってゆっくり写真をポストする時間がなかったので、これから数日の間に載せて行こうと思います。東京から戻って来たら、鳥取へ母との一泊温泉バス旅行でした。翌日の温泉の後は、初めての島根県松江市へ！！！🚌💨 国宝 松江城だよ！！！🏯姫路城とかを見てるから小さなお城という印象だけど、国宝だけあって古くて立派なお城です。🏯桜も咲き始めてましたが満開はこのあとでしたね、またもや残念です。🌸😢母と一緒に天守閣まで登りましたが階段は狭いし急だし、昔の人はほんとすごいと思う。でもその当時はそれが当たり前だからー。😆😆😆 日本に一時帰国すると姫路城まで足を延ばすんだけど今回は時期が遅れて桜が咲きっぷりがイマイチだし、彦根城近くまでぼったくりバスツアーで行ったけど天守閣さえというが外堀までも連れて行ってくれなかった。😫👎 だからこの松江城だけだなー。🏯🌸 スッキリしない天候だったけどほどよく暑かったよ。☁️☁️☁️僕と外国人だけ半袖でした。😆😆😆この母が見つけた読売旅行のバスツアー、もう終わっちゃうー。😢この後、大阪に向けて帰るだけー。🚌💨 ぴょんぴょんバスで行くはわい・皆生温泉「山陰なるほど周遊プラン」一泊二日の旅でした。旅行企画・実施: 株式会社メルヘン 旅行取り扱い: 株式会社読売旅行 #matsue #shimane #shimaneken #matsuecastle #castle #japanesecastle #matsuejo #kokuho #sakura #cherryblossom #cherryblossoms #shimanetrip #trip #travel #japan #島根県 #島根 #松江 #島根県松江市 #松江城 #お城 #国宝 #旅行 #旅 #桜 #お花見 #旅行好きな人と繋がりたい #ファインダー越しの私の世界 #写真好きな人と繋がりたい (Matsue Castle)

[sallyawayfromhome]

Matsue Castle, what a beautiful building. The fish adorning the roof seem quite natural on what is also known as the Black Castle, or Plover Castle (thanks wikipedia). It is in its original state, thankfully, and open to visitors to walk and climb though, also housing museum objects relating to the site. Oh, the stone work and the old, loved wood inside the castle is breathtaking. .

[samhamoui]

Matsue Castle

[wanokokoro-japan]

Matsue Castle (松江城) in spring.

[ourbedtimedreams]

Matsuejou Castle by peaceful-jp-scenery on Flickr.