Nowdays, I live and work near Portland, Oregon, USA. I work with a computer consulting company called EASE Software, Inc. It's a cozy little company with very nice people.
But I've also traveled around the world quite a bit -- over 6 years spent On The Road, with a rucksack through the Third World -- in addition to four years spent living in Japan.
Idzumo is one of the four most important Shinto shrines
of Japan, along with Ise, Meiji, and Atsuta. It has been called the Home of the
Gods, and is the home of the roguish storm god, Suso-no-Wo in Japanese
creation myths. It is the most ancient of all the shrines and is
soaked in history and legend. It is also the destination of millions
of Shinto pilgrims in a regular stream. Like these other main shrines,
Idzumo is in the historic Japanese (Shinmei) architectural
style, with no Chinese (curving roof) influences. (It is sometimes
written "Izumo", and the accent is on the first syllable.)
Like any famous holy destination in Japan, the shrine is surrounded by
tourist hotels, hawkers, and trinket shops; but once inside the large
shrine compound, the atmosphere is imposing and, if you know some of
the legends, magical. Idzumo is worth a trip in itself, but should be
combined with the historically interesting old city of
Matsue nearby.
Historical Background
Current historical thought maintains that the earliest Japanese
civilizations grew up in two areas, around Idzumo and in the southern
island of Kyushu. While there were probably early influences of South
Pacific or southern Asian ("proto-Malay") peoples in Kyushu,
both areas were strongly
influenced by an influx of Mongolian tribes migrating through the Korean
peninsula. These people from the northern part of mainland Asia brought
a metal culture (bronze and then iron) which was more advanced than
that of the local Japanese inhabitants.
It is generally hypothesized that it was the more militaristic people
of Kyushu who moved north into the more fertile central area of
Japan (east of present day Osaka, near the Pacific coast of
Honshu Island), subjugating and intermingling with the locals.
The equally civilized Idzumo culture on the northern Japan Sea
coast was allowed general autonomy within its own region, while the
Japanese imperial dynasty eventually developed in the central
'Yamato' area east of Osaka. But because Idzumo had a richer
religious culture, the creation myths and animistic traditions
of both areas were mixed up together in the early Shinto religion
of the first imperial courts.
Everywhere else in Japan, the (modern-day) month of November
-- or October in the previous Lunar Calendar --
is called Kannazuki, meaning "month without Gods".
This is because all the Shinto Gods are known to congregate at
Idzumo in November, where it is called Kamiari-zuki,
or "the month with Gods". Accordingly, the
Kamiari Matsuri festival is held in Idzumo in the middle
of November.
An introductory note on religion: Ninety percent of the Japanese
people are Shinto and ninety percent are Buddhist -- they participate
in both religious traditions, although many Japanese claim to
have little religious fervor at all. Almost everyone is married by a
Shinto priest, and buried in a Buddhist ceremony. The other ten
percent of Japanese are Christians, with a smattering of other Asian
religions practiced mostly by immigrants. Shinto places of worship
are called shrines, while temples are Buddhist.
(Refer to Shrines and Temples, in the
Appendix, below, for more information on Japanese religions.)
To see:
Naturally, you can troop through the grounds in a couple of hours or
less, as many Japanese tour groups do. But the pleasant atmosphere of
the ancient shrines, in their more ancient forest, makes it very
worthwhile to spend the night here. That way you can enjoy strolling
the grounds both in the evening and in the early morning when they are
at their best -- not to mention their least crowded. Naturally there
are various auxiliary shrine and temple buildings, gardens, and a
museum. While it is the oldest historically, of course the shrine is
made of wood and thatch, and the buildings themselves are regularly
refurbished and re-constructed.
Should you decide to stick around even longer, there is a quiet
coastal area comprising Hi-no-Misaki National Park and Marine Park,
which is just beyond the shrine compound. It is a good place to
walk or bike around for half a day or so.
Getting there:
First get up to the San-In line (Tottori, Kurayoshi, or Yonago near
the Japan Sea coast) from Kyoto or Kobe. Take the San-In
Main line west and get off at Idzumo station where a short spur line
leads to the shrine area. If you stop over in Matsue, there is
also a little "puddle-jumper" train from Matsue city to Idzumo
Shrine, about 40 kilometers. You can easily walk from either
terminus to the shrine, down the gauntlet of hotels and
gift shops.
More details: From Kyoto: There are about five express trains a day (called
"Super Hakuto") from Kyoto to Tottori and Kurayoshi, starting about
7am and 9:50am and taking three hours. The 9:50 train connects in
Tottori with another express which gets you to Idzumo about 3:40pm.
Otherwise, you're changing more trains at Kinosaki or Yonago, and
taking slower trains. If you want to get an early taxi, the overnight
Idzumo express from Tokyo stops in Kyoto before 4am and continues
direct to Idzumo. It can be much faster to take the bullet train to
Okayama instead, see under Osaka, below.
From Osaka, Kobe: There is an express train from Osaka to
Tottori about 9am, taking over four hours. It's easier to get down to
Okayama/Kurashiki (especially on the bullet train), and then take the
Hakubi line north to Yonago. There are seven express trains from
Okayama direct to Matsue and Idzumo in the morning, taking about three
hours. If you take the bullet train from Osaka or Kobe to Okayama,
the total time on this route is only about 4 hours and you can make
good connections. To save money, you can take the 7:20am regular
express from Osaka to Okayama taking over two hours (versus 1 hour on
the bullet train), adding over an hour to the trip; this train stops
in Kobe twenty minutes later. This is the only fast train on this
route, if you leave later, you'll be wandering around changing trains.
There are even a couple of overnight trains(!) from Tokyo Station
which terminate at Idzumo. "The Idzumo" leaves around 9pm, goes via
Kyoto and arrives at Idzumo at 10:45 the next morning. "The Idzumo
Sunrise" leaves Tokyo about 10:20pm, goes via Okayama, and arrives at
Idzumo about 10am. Sleepers available. Again, taking the bullet
train from Tokyo to Okayama and catching an express to Idzumo will be
much faster.
Staying:
We were at Idzumo during the week, in the off-season. We just
followed the signs toward the shrine and had no trouble finding a room
in one of the many tourist hotels that line the route. I don't seem
to have written down the name of the place. Even if you are staying
in Matsue, consider moving to Idzumo for the quiet evening after
dinner and early morning around the shrine grounds. The closer you
stay to the shrine, the better. Or arrive at Idzumo first, on the
afternoon of your first day. Then (having booked your place in Matsue
for the next night), you could spend the whole evening and morning
around the shrine, take a few hours in the afternoon to explore the
nearby coast, and get to Matsue in time for dinner.
Sekigane On-Sen (hot springs)
Tottori, Pref.
Sekigane(seki-GA-ne) is a tiny little hot-springs village
resting against the coastal mountains just south of the Japan Sea
coast, with a view to nearby
Mt. Daisen .
There are just a few inns
at the end of the road, no eating places, one tiny store, a temple,
and a shrine. There are virtually hundreds of little hot-spring towns
like this all over Japan (some probably better and many worse), but if
you don't know about them, you end up going to the big, famous
hot-spring resort towns with gigantic hotels, gaudy nightclubs,
and pachinko parlors. This place is q-u-i-e-t, it's in a very
pleasant mountain setting, and I have been there so I can tell
you something about it.
To see:
At the end of town is a pleasant walk up through bamboo groves to
Kamei Park, a hill forested with azalea bushes, ending at an
enclosed lookout point on the hilltop. Back in "town", toward
the end of the road, there is a little old indoor public bath
house which is free, like the hot water. Visit the little shrine
and you've seen the place. Just relax and enjoy the baths and the
fine food at your inn.
Getting there:
Take the San-In Main Line along the Japan Sea coast and get off at
Kurayoshi, between Matsue and Tottori city. From there you can get a
bus up to Sekigane; there is a bus every 30 to 40 minutes right up to
9:30pm, and it takes about 35 minutes. Ask at the station which bus
to take, and it drops you at the turnoff to Sekigane. You walk a few
hundred yards up the road to the little town. There is an express
train from Kyoto at 9:50am terminating at Kurayoshi about three and a
half hours later. There are two more in the afternoon.
Staying:
There are just a handful of ryokans, but they should have rooms
available except during holidays. They are all of good quality and of
course serve lots of good food. We stayed at the Torikai
('chicken pot!') Ryokan (tel. (085845) 2121), and I can recommend it. Besides
the usual men's and women's baths in the building, they have a
'rotemburo' -- an open-air bath -- on the hillside above the
inn. There is a short covered walkway up to it and a lean-to roof
covers the small stone pools. The claim to fame of this inn is that
you can see Mt. Daisen from this bath, and it does have a nice view.
Mixed bathing outside, of course.
[Photo:Sekigane outdoor bath]
Plus:
We were also interested in visiting Mt. Daisen, and the woman at the
ryokan called in and arranged for us to join a half-day bus tour from
Kurayoshi going up to the mountain. The tour bus met us the next
morning at the bus stop below Sekigane, took us all around the
mountain, stopping at the temple near the top, and left us off at a
station (Yonago or Hiezu) back on the San-In railway line.
Kinosaki On-Sen (hot springs)
Hyogo Pref.
Ki-no-saki is a famous old hot-spring resort near the Japan Sea coast.
It is also not far from Kumihama, Tango Hanto, and Izushi, which are
also mentioned here. I've never been there, but I gather it is quite
a developed resort, with plenty of big hotels and night life. Still,
it is a resort with an old history (from the 7th century) and I have
been told that it is not a bad place, and has some atmosphere besides
the discos and pachinko parlors. It's the kind of place businessmen
take clients to entertain them. It won't be cheap, but what you get
(food, baths, rooms) should be nice. There is a Kinosaki station on
the San-In line, just north of Toyo-oka.
Kumihama
Kyoto Fu
Kumi-hama is a beach area on the Japan Sea coast near the Tango
Peninsula. There is a nice large wide sand beach on the sea that can
get packed out in July and August. The rest of the time it's fairly
quiet, but it still has the atmosphere of a tourist resort. The beach
is at the entrance to the very large Kumihama Bay, which is really a
big lagoon with a narrow channel to the sea. Oysters are a big
industry in the lagoon. There are some hot-springs nearby, but it's
not really a hot-spring town. The lagoon is a nice setting and
nice big sand beaches like this
are surprisingly uncommon in Japan.
Not bad, not great.
To See and Do:
Around the town, it's just the beach and the lagoon. In high summer,
there's a little cruise boat on the lagoon (which you can use to get
to and from the station). Of course you can also hire wind-surfers,
surfboards (yes, some surf!) and various boats and canoes for the sea
or lagoon. The big arch bridge across the channel is one of the
touted attractions (yawn). About a mile east down coast road is the
Kumihama Silver House, a small resort hotel for retired people. It
has fancy communal baths (men's and women's), with nice views outside
toward the sea, which are open to the public for a fee -- yes we
tried them, and they were quite nice.
Getting there:
There is a Kumihama station on the San-In Main line, east of Toyo-oka.
It's about 3 hours from Kyoto or Osaka. There is one direct express
from Osaka to Kumihama leaving just before 8am and arriving after
11am. (This train stops in Fukuchiyama at 9:30 in case you want to
connect from Kyoto or elsewhere.) Otherwise, you will take the
Fukuchiyama line from either Osaka or Kyoto to Toyo-oka and change
trains there. Kumihama is only two local stops (15 minutes) from
Toyooka, but these trains only run about one per hour.
Kumihama station is at the bottom of the lagoon, and it's still a ways
to get to the beach area. We went by car, so I can't say if there's a
bus, but I would imagine there must be. In July and August, there's a
boat across the lagoon to the beach. The next station is Tango Kanno,
which is right near the side of the lagoon, and nearer the beach area,
but there may be no buses along that route; a taxi would not be very
far.
Staying:
The literature claims 1 hotel, 14 ryokans, and 102 minshukus. Many
will be closed in the off-season. Almost all the inns are along the
lagoon shore, a short walk across the "spit" to the sea beach. When
it's not full, anyone can stay at the Kumihama Silver House, and the
prices are reasonable for a nicer hotel. We stayed at the Matsukaze
Minshuku on the lagoon, (tel (07728) 0407), about as simple and cheap
as they come, but quite acceptable. Matsuda family; open all year.
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Idzumo Taisha Shrine
