Day 15: Omiro-Cho to Matsue

Day 15: Omori-cho to Matsue

QOTD:  This is the best weather day of the trip, by far!

Weather: mid to high 60s

Pics:  Breakfast, on the walk to the silver mine, the taxi to the train station, lunch, the train rides (and what the locals do on the trains), Matsue Castle, outside the Shimane Museum, Lawson 24 hour market

A bit of a slow news day, sports fans. Breakfast at Abeke House is excellent, including excellent bread from a bakery in Matsue (we don’t have time later in the day to fit in a visit). After breakfast, we meet Miyumi (my-you-me), our volunteer, first time in English guide for the walk to the silver mine west of Omori-cho. Two and half hours split as follows: two hours up, half hour down. THB and E take a walk in one of the tunnels, DB and J decide to meet us at the exit of the one-way path through the mountain (it’s not very long, well lit, and not clammy). We make a donation of $50 to Miyumi’s organization, she was excellent and we find out that she’s visiting Easter Island later this year.

Lunch is picked up at the train station to-go markets; THB and DB share packets of sushi rolls, with drinks $10. THB and DB also pick up cinnamon rice crackers, $5, for all to share as dessert while E&J manage to find small sweets in the shape of the eel dancer from last night (a real find!). To get to the train near Omiro-cho requires a $46 taxi ride!

The first train leaves at 12:50, we transfer from the local to a larger train at 1:25, leave at 1:33 and are in Matsue at 1:58, everything runs very smoothly. Check in at the Tokyu Hotel, and head to Matsue Castle, an impressive structure in the middle of town where you get a 360 view from the top level, $2.50pp admission fee. After the self-tour, we take a slow boat tour lasting near an hour on the moat surrounding the castle. THB does not recommend this ride, it is tedious and 95% in Japanese and the 5% in English is inane.

A short cab ride to the Shimane Museum, noted more for its architecture than collection, so we pass through to the outside where there are wedding pictures being taken and lots of people awaiting the sunset.

From there a walk of maybe half a mile to a yakitori spot for dinner. Many skewers, 5 beers, sake, wine, and it comes to $15pp, a bargain. Another stop at an all-night market where ice cream and chocolate desserts are bought and THB decides to add filler pics of the variety of different cold coffees you can buy (and microwave? THB has no idea)