First-Time Shimane: Izumo Taisha, the Sunset Cape of Hinomisaki & the Magatama Springs of Tamatsukuri — 2 Days

Izumo Taisha is one of the oldest and most important shrines in Japan, sacred to Okuninushi, the deity who, in the myths of the Kojiki, built the land and then ceded it to the heavenly gods in exchange for this great shrine. It is the country's foremost place to pray for the binding of good relationships of every kind — in love, family and work — and worshippers here clap four times rather than the usual two. The wooden Worship Hall is hung with an enormous shimenawa, a sacred rice-straw rope several metres thick and weighing more than a ton, among the largest in the nation; behind it the Main Hall rises in the ancient taisha-zukuri style. By tradition the eight million gods of Japan assemble at Izumo each autumn, making this the spiritual centre of the whole San'in region and the natural first stop in Shimane.

Grounds free and open daily, roughly 06:00-20:00; the treasure hall and museum charge separately. Worship with four claps. About 25 minutes by car or bus from JR Izumoshi Station. Allow about 90 minutes for the approach, hall and grounds.

A short walk west of the great shrine, Inasa-no-Hama is a broad arc of pale sand where myth and sea meet. It is the stage of the Kuniyuzuri, the 'transfer of the land' negotiated here between the earthly and heavenly gods, and the beach where, each autumn, the deities of Japan are believed to come ashore to begin their gathering at Izumo. Offshore stands Bentenjima, a small rock crowned by a torii and a shrine, framed at dusk by the sun sinking into the Sea of Japan. Pilgrims gather a handful of the beach's sand to exchange at the shrine for the blessed sand kept there. It is a quiet, elemental counterpoint to the grandeur of the shrine.

Free, always open. Best at sunset, when the offshore rock and torii are silhouetted. About 1.5 km from Izumo Taisha; many walk it. Allow about 40 minutes.

Izumo's signature dish is warigo soba — dark, strongly flavoured buckwheat noodles served cold in a stack of small round lacquer boxes, eaten by pouring the dipping broth and condiments directly over each tier and tipping the leftover sauce down to the next. Arakiya, founded in the Tenmei era of the eighteenth century, claims to be the oldest soba house in Izumo and sits a few minutes from the shrine, an unassuming wooden shop turning out nutty, springy noodles ground from whole buckwheat. It takes no reservations, the room is small, and it often sells out by early afternoon, so it suits an early lunch rather than a group. A bowl here is the local, traditional way to eat after praying at the shrine.

Warigo soba sets roughly ¥900-1,500 (approx., 2026); hours about 11:00-15:00, closed Wednesdays; no reservations, sells out early. A few minutes from Izumo Taisha. Allow about 50 minutes.

At the tip of the Hinomisaki cape, a few kilometres beyond Izumo Taisha, stands the vermilion-lacquered Hinomisaki Shrine, an unexpectedly vivid complex of red-and-white halls set against pine and blue sea. Its two sanctuaries are dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu and her brother the storm-god Susanoo, and the shrine is said to guard Japan by night just as the Grand Shrine of Ise guards it by day. The present buildings, rebuilt by the third Tokugawa shogun in the seventeenth century, are designated Important Cultural Properties, their bright cinnabar pillars and gold fittings a striking contrast to the muted woods of Izumo Taisha. It is a short, scenic stop on the way to the lighthouse.

Free, daylight hours. On the Hinomisaki cape about 20 minutes by car from Izumo Taisha. Allow about 40 minutes.

A short walk from the shrine, the Izumo Hinomisaki Lighthouse stands on the very edge of the cape, a slender stone tower built in 1903 and, at forty-four metres, the tallest stone lighthouse in Japan. Its outer wall is dressed stone and its inner wall brick, an elegant piece of Meiji-era engineering still in service. Visitors can climb the spiral stair to the gallery for a wide view over the cobalt Sea of Japan, the broken rocky coast and, on clear evenings, one of the finest sunsets on the San'in shore. The surrounding headland, part of the Daisen-Oki National Park, has walking paths along the cliffs and pine groves where sea-birds wheel.

Tower climb about ¥300 (approx., 2025); roughly 09:00-16:30, weather permitting, climb may close in high wind. A short walk from Hinomisaki Shrine. Allow about 50 minutes.

An hour's drive east along the coast brings you to Tamatsukuri Onsen, one of the oldest hot springs in Japan, praised in the eighth-century Izumo no Kuni Fudoki and long called a 'bath of the gods' said to leave the skin smooth. Hoseikan is a long-established ryokan on the willow-lined Tamayu River that runs through the spa town, with traditional tatami rooms, kaiseki dinners built around San'in seafood and Shimane wagyu, and indoor and garden hot-spring baths fed by the alkaline spring. Shimane has no international five-star hotel, and Tamatsukuri is the prefecture's most refined onsen base; an evening soak and a multi-course dinner here are the gentle close to a first day among the gods of Izumo.

An established onsen ryokan; rates vary by season and typically include kaiseki dinner and breakfast (approx., 2026). In Tamatsukuri Onsen, about 5 minutes from JR Tamatsukurionsen Station. The day's final stop and overnight.

Set just above the hot-spring town, Tamatsukuriyu Shrine has guarded Tamatsukuri's craft and waters since antiquity; the valley was Japan's centre for making magatama, the comma-shaped beads of agate and jade worn as sacred regalia since the age of myth, and the shrine enshrines the deity of bead-making alongside the gods of the spring. Its famous object is the negai-ishi, a smooth round 'wishing stone' said to grant a wish if you touch it with your own 'power stone' and pray; the shrine sells the little touchstones and pouches that make this one of the most popular charm rituals in Shimane. A small, atmospheric shrine wrapped in old trees, it is the natural first stop of a slow second day.

Free; touchstone sets a few hundred yen. A short walk up from the Tamatsukuri spa street. Allow about 45 minutes.

Deep in the hills of the Sada valley south of Izumo stands Susa Shrine, an ancient and atmospheric sanctuary dedicated to Susanoo, the impetuous storm-god of the myths and slayer of the eight-headed serpent. The Izumo Fudoki records that Susanoo settled his spirit here, naming the place after himself, and the shrine is widely regarded as one of the most powerful 'spirit spots' in the region, set among towering cedars with a giant sacred tree said to be more than a thousand years old behind the hall. It is far quieter than Izumo Taisha, reached by a winding country road, and has the hushed, primeval feeling of an old mountain shrine. The Main Hall has just completed its once-in-thirty-years rebuilding, so the structure is freshly renewed.

Free, worship roughly 09:00-16:00. About 35-40 minutes by car from Tamatsukuri into the Sada hills. Allow about 60 minutes including the giant cedar.

On the edge of Izumo city, the Cultural Heritage Museum preserves the gate, residence and storehouses of the Ezumi family, prosperous landowners of the Izumo plain, set in a stroll garden of ponds, pines and a thatched tea house. The complex gives a vivid sense of the wealth and refinement of rural Izumo's elite, and its tea house serves matcha overlooking the garden, while a restaurant on site offers Izumo soba in elegant surroundings — a calm, cultured stop and a good place for a late lunch. Seasonal exhibitions of local craft and art rotate through the galleries, and the garden is especially lovely in plum and autumn-leaf seasons.

Grounds and residence free; tea and special exhibits charged. Roughly 09:00-17:00, last entry 16:30, closed Mondays. On the edge of Izumo city. Allow about 60 minutes with lunch or tea.

A couple of kilometres east of Izumo Taisha, the Shimane Winery makes wine from local grapes — including the regional Delaware — in the shadow of the sacred hills, and welcomes visitors for a free self-guided look at the cellars and a tasting counter pouring a range of its reds, whites and sweet wines and grape juices. A shop sells the bottles, local sweets and Izumo souvenirs, and a barbecue hall serves Shimane wagyu grilled at the table, making it a relaxed, easy-going final stop before the drive back. It is unpretentious and family-friendly rather than a fine-wine pilgrimage, but the free tasting and the setting near the great shrine make it a pleasant, characterful close to a first visit to sacred Izumo.

Free tasting and cellar view; shop and barbecue hall (charged). Roughly 09:30-17:00. About 5 minutes by car from Izumo Taisha. Allow about 45 minutes.