由志園

Yuushien Garden is a beautiful Japanese walking garden with restaurants on the small island of Daikonshima in the Nakaumi lagoon near Matsue. Famous for its peonies, the garden has plants flowering in all four seasons. May is the time to see peonies en mass.

A classic Japanese circuit garden with pine trees, carp-filled ponds, island and bridges; there are beautiful camellias in spring, hydrangeas and iris in summer, red maples in autumn and, of course, snow-covered scenes in winter.



Yuushien Garden has 3 restaurants (Tel: 0852 76 2255 open -11am-4pm) "Zen", "Momiji" and "Shobu" which offer a variety of tasty set courses made from local ingredients: maguro donburi, beef donburi, soba noodles, eel, tempura, seafood. Ginseng, a Daikonshima specialty is used in many dishes.



There is also a shop selling local Japanese food delicacies including peony jam, rice crackers (senbei) and Japanese confectionary.

Yuushien Garden
1260-2 Yatsuka-cho
Matsue City
Shimane
Admission to the garden: 600 yen
Hours: 8.30am-5.30pm



Daikonshima is connected to the mainland by bridges. Buses from Matsue Station take about 25 minutes. The nearest station is JR Sakaiminato and then a bus.

The images for this article were kindly summitted by a reader and if you have an attraction in Japan you would like to see presented on this site please contact us with the details and any photos you may have, we'd be happy to publish them.

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Matsue Shimane Japanese Gardens

花鳥園

Kachoen Matsue Vogelpark is a recommended attraction if you are visiting Matsue in Shimane Prefecture in south western Japan. The park is a superb presentation of flowers and birds in a lovely natural setting.

Birds on display that visitors can get up close and friendly with include ducks, emus, parrots, pelicans, penguins, swans and a seemingly endless variety of tropical birds. Birds of prey including eagles, hawks and owls are also shown to visitors by their expert handlers.



The large flower gardens include beautiful plantings of begonias, fuchsias and geraniums.

Matsue's Kachoen is part of a larger chain of bird and flower theme parks with sister sites in Kobe (Tel: 078 302 8899), Fujinomiya city in Shizuoka (Tel: 0544 302 8899) and Kakegawa Vogel Park also in Shizuoka (Tel: 0567 62 6363).

Kachoen Matsue Vogelpark is popular with couples and families especially on weekends and public holidays.



There are restaurants serving local food and a cafe on site.

The images for this article were kindly summitted by a reader and if you have an attraction in Japan you would like to see presented on this site please contact us with the details and any photos you may have, we'd be happy to publish them.

Access


Kachoen

52 Ogaki-cho
Matsue-shi
Shimane
690-0263
Hours: 9am-4.30pm
Admission: Adults 1050 yen; 6-12 year old children 525 yen

Take the train to Matsue Vogel Park Station from Matsue or Izumo on the Ichibata Railway Kitamatsue Line. Matsue Vogel Park Station is the first station on the line heading west from the terminus at Shinjiko Onsen Station in Matsue.


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Matsue Shimane Japanese Parks

出雲ー松江の電車

Izumo and Matsue in Shimane Prefecture in south west Japan are connected by two railway lines.



The JR San-in Line runs south of Lake Shinji and the Ichibata Railway Kitamatsue Line runs to the north of Japan's 7th largest lake. The JR San-in Line is the quicker of the two routes between the cities and is handy for Tamatsukuri Hot Springs and the small town of Shinji near Izumo Airport.



The Ichibata Railway Kitamatsue Line is good for Matsue Vogel Park, Matsue Water Village Museum & Garden and the terminus at Matsue Shinjiko Onsen Station is slightly nearer to Matsue Castle, the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum and Lafcadio Hearn's Old Residence.



The JR San-in Line actually runs between Kyoto and Shimonoseki via Fukuchiyama, Tottori, Yonago, Matsue, Izumo, Yunotsu, Hamada, Masuda and Hagi.



The Ichibata Electric Railway has two lines. The 40km line between Izumo and Matsue and an 8km spur from Kawato Station (on the Kitamatsue Line) to Izumo Taisha-mae Station, near Izumo Taisha. The Ichibata Railway Izumo Station is to your right as you exit the main JR Izumo Station.




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Matsue Shimane

武家屋敷, 松江, 島根県

The Buke Yashiki in Matsue is located on the Shiomi Nawate, the street bordering Matsue Castle moat to the north of the castle that also contains the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum and Lafcadio Hearn's Old Residence.



A buke yashiki is a residence of a samurai, and this area was where the samurai serving the Lord of Matsue, Daimyo Matsudaira, lived.



The residence was home to a samurai named Shiomi and his family and servants. The house remains exactly as it was when built in 1730. Shiomi was a middle-ranking samurai with an income of 1,000 koku, considerably less than a similarly ranked samurai from a richer region, so his property was somewhat more austere.



Visitors can not actually enter the house, but because of the nature of traditional Japanese homes with their multitude of siding screen doors, one can peer into most parts of the dwelling and view the objects of daily use and also weapons.

Matsue Buke Yashiki
Tel: 0852 22 2243
Open every day
Apr-Sept 8:30am - 6:30pm
Oct-Mar 8:30am - 5:00pm
Entrance: 300 yen (50% discount for foreigners)



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Matsue Castle Matsue Shimane samurai

城山稲荷神社, 松江, 島根県

If you are visiting Matsue in Shimane Prefecture, almost certainly a visit to Matsue Castle will be first on the list of sights to see.

Probably after that you will head for the Shiomi-Nawate, the street along the castle moat with a cluster of other tourist sites such as the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum and Lafcadio Hearn's Old Residence.



The best way is to walk 10 mins through the Jozan Park. At any time of the year it's a pleasant walk, but in April when the cherry blossoms are blooming it's astounding as there are several hundred cherry trees in the park.



After leaving the castle keep and descending the hill on the north side, the path joins a small road. Passing the large torii (gate) on your left that leads up to the Gokoku Shrine, you soon see a group of vermillion torii on your right.



Pass through the torii and you see the steps leading up to Jozan Inari Shrine. Don't be put off by the long flight of stairs, as the climb will reward you with a gallery of hundreds of fox statues.

Sometimes erroneously called the "fox god", foxes are in fact the messengers of Inari. There are hundreds of the tiny white ceramic foxes, and dozens of larger stone statues, green with age, camouflaged by the greenery.

This was Lafcadio Hearn's favorite shrine, and Hearn's house is just a stone's throw away across the moat.



One your way out you may want to stop off at the priest's house and buy an ofuda. Ofudas for most shrines are simple, narrow strips of paper with writing on, but the ofuda here is large and illustrated with a unique design. An unusual souvenir or gift.

Jozan Inari is the home of the Shikinnenn Shinkousai Festival, one of three greatest boat festivals in Japan, involving more than 100 decorated boats. The festival only occurs every 12 years and the next one is from 16th May to 24th May this year (2009).

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Matsue Castle Matsue Shimane Jozan Inari

松江郷土館（興雲閣),島根県

The Matsue Kyodokan (local history museum) is located in the grounds of Matsue Castle.



The museum features displays of local history including old black & white photos of Matsue, local crafts and documents etc. The collection is hardly earth-shattering, but worth the entance price (which was free when I last visited).



The building itself is far more interesting, and is a wonderful example of Meiji Period architecture that incorporated Japanese design elements combined with western architecture.



It was built in 1903 for the princely sum of 13,489 yen by architect Risaburo Izumi, who also designed a bathouse in Yunotsu that now houses the Shinyu Gallery.



Local people referred to it as the "Russian Palace".



It was built for Emperor Meiji, who in the early years of his reign conducted six grand tours of Japan. Many towns built places for him to stay on the off-chance that he would visit. He never did come to Matsue.

Matsue Local History Museum
1-59 Tono-machi
Matsue-shi
Shimane
Open daily 08:30 to 17:00
Tel: 0852 22 3958

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Matsue Castle Matsue Shimane Kyodokan

松江島根県



Situated on the shore of Lake Shinji, Japan's 8th largest lake, and with the large Matsue Castle moat (horikawa) connecting to the Ohashi, Kensaki, Kyohashi, Yonago, and Kitada Rivers, Matsue, the Prefectural capital of Shimane, is known as the "City of Water."



While comparisons to Venice are a little far-fetched, the waterways of the city are very pleasant and contribute to the ambiance of the city.



One of the best ways to view Matsue is by boat, and there are 3 points around the town where one can board the Horikawa Boat Tour; in front of the main entrance to Matsue Castle, at Ohashi Bridge south-east of the castle, and Horikawa Fureai Square, north-west of the castle. The round trip takes 40 minutes, though one can get off at any point and reboard later.



The trip circles the castle and passes other tourist sites such as the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum, Matsue Buke Yashiki and Lafcadio Hearn's Old Residence. The long, narrow boats are covered against inclement weather, and in the cold months there are kotatsu to keep you warm.

The boats pass under 16 bridges, though be warned some of them are very low and so the roof of the boat is lowered, forcing the passengers to lie down!



The boats depart every 15 minutes, though in the off-season you may get a boat all to yourself.

The cost is 1,200 yen for adults, 600 yen for kids, though as with most tourist sites in Matsue there is a 50% discount for foreign visitors.

January – June, 9-5
July – August, 9-6
September – October, 9-5
November – February, 9-4.
Tel: (0852) 27 0417

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Horikawa Matsue Shimane Boat

小泉八雲記念館

Just up the street from the Lafcadio Hearn Old Residence in Matsue is the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum.



The building displays a selection of Hearn's original manuscripts, including a letter he wrote on the day he died in Tokyo - to a Japanese friend at the front during the Russo-Japanese War. Also on view is Hearn's specially-designed desk, his quills and inkpot and a number of his treasured Japanese pipes.

The displays have both Japanese and English explanations and the museum provides an excellent insight into the writer's life, especially if combined with a look at Hearn's former house a few doors away.



The Japanese-style building was built in 1984 and replaced a smaller, western-style museum first erected in 1935.

Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum
322 Okudani-cho
Matsue
690-0872
Tel: 0852 21 2147
Hours: 8.30am-6.30pm April 1-September 30; 8.30am-5pm October 1-March 31
Admission: 300 yen; 150 yen for foreigners

Take a bus from Matsue Station to Koizumi Yakumo Kinenkan-mae bus stop.

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Matsue Lafcadio Hearn Shimane

小泉八雲旧居

Across the moat from Matsue Castle and next door to the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum, is Lafcadio Hearn's Old Residence - a delightful, small samurai house and gardens, where the writer lived from May-November 1891.



It was here that Hearn began work on two of his most famous books: Kwaidan, a collection of ghost stories, and his classic Glimpses of Unfamilar Japan.

The tatami mat rooms are left open to the gardens when the weather is fine. Hearn's writing desk is preserved near the smaller of the two gardens, with a pond, at the back of the house.



"There are large rocks in it, heavily mossed; and divers fantastic basins of stone for holding water; and stone lamps green with years. There are miniature hills, with old trees upon them; and there are long slopes of green, shadowed by flowering shrubs, like river banks; and there are green knolls like islets." Glimpses of Unfamilar Japan, Vol II

The atmosphere is genuinely one of the late nineteenth century when Hearn lived in the house. The peaceful place lends itself to contemplation, as you sit on the floor and gaze at the beautiful gardens.



Lafcadio Hearn's Old Residence
9am-5pm (March-November); 10am-4.40pm (December-February)
Admission: 350 yen

Take a bus from Matsue Station to Koizumi Yakumo Kinenkan-mae bus stop.

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Matsue Lafcadio Hearn Shimane