Gods Gather at Izumo Taisha

Day 1: Izumo Taisha – Matsue Castle

07:30 AM: Kokura Station or Kitakyushu airport or your hotel around Kokura pickup. Pick-up starts 15 minutes before departure. On the way, drive on the Chugoku Expressway with a break once an hour.
12:30 PM: Restaurant on the Matsue Expressway (Hiroshima Prefecture) Lunchtime.
14:30 PM: Izumo Taisha. You will be impressed with this prestigious shrine where Japanese gods gather!
17:30 PM: Restaurant near Sakaiminato. Sakaiminato has the highest catch of “Matsuba crab” in Japan. Moreover, it is more affordable than “Echizen crab”. Please note that the crab can be eaten from early November to March. Restaurant arrangements and payments must be made by yourself.
19:00 PM: Your hotel in Kaike Onsen. Your hotel arrangements and payments must be made by yourself. The next day we will leave at 9 am. The driver will pick you up at your hotel.
09:30 AM: Sakaiminato Marine Products Direct Sales Center. Experience the so-called fish market.
10:40 AM: Matsue Castle. Matsue Castle (松江城, Matsue-jō) is a feudal castle in Matsue in Shimane prefecture, Japan. Nicknamed the “black castle” or “plover castle”, it is one of the few remaining medieval castles in Japan – at least of the few remaining in their original wooden form, and not a modern reconstruction in concrete.
The construction of Matsue Castle began in 1607 and finished in 1611, under the local lord Horio Yoshiharu. In 1638, the fief and castle passed to the Matsudaira clan, a junior branch of the ruling Tokugawa clan.
Most Japanese castles have been damaged or destroyed by war, earthquakes, or other causes. Since a large part of their construction was wooden, the fire was a major hazard. Matsue castle was built after the last great war of feudal Japan, so it never saw a battle. Yet only some of the walls and the keep exist today.
Matsue Castle, standing on the shores of Shinji Lake, is one of Japan’s Three Great Lake Castles. It is also known as a riverside district.‌
12:00 PM: Restaurant in the Shinjiko service area of the San-in Expressway Lunchtime. Please try the “Shijimi” of shellfish. On the way, drive on the Chugoku Expressway with a break once an hour.
19:00 PM: Kokura Station or Kitakyushu airport or your hotel around Kokura dropoff. Our service area is from Fukuoka to east Hiroshima. (Please inquire beforehand)