Izumo-Taisha, or Izumo Grand Shrine, is located in Izumo City, Shimane prefecture and is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the god Okuninushi (大国主大神) who is famous as the deity of marriage and to Kotoamatsukami (別天神) who is literally a distinguishing heavenly god.
The center image above is Kaguraden, a hall for dancing.
The left image is Shimenawa, sacred rice straw ropes 13.5m in length and 4.4tons in weight at Kaguraden, which is noted for the biggest of all the Shimenawa at shrines in Japan. Shimenawa is used to indicate the sacred areas where gods descend.
The right image is Chozuya which is an area where worshippers wash their hands and rinse mouths. They've changed old settings to the one you'll see here after COVID-19.
The left and the center images: A hall for worship and prayer.
The right image: you'll see Honden which is a main hall that houses shintai, or objects believed to contain the spirit of gods.
The left image: you'll see a lot of Omikuji, paper fortune that people drew and tied to the big tree and Ema, wooden tablets on which people wrote their wishes and hung on the place.
The center image: Soganoyashiro where Susanounomikoto is dedicated. According to Japanese mythology, Susanounomikoto who is a brother of Amaterasunokami descended to Izumo Province, where he met a couple who had 7 daughters swallowed by Yamata no Orochi which is a giant snake with eight heads and eight tails, a monster. Then he destroyed it.
The right image: Higashijukusha where deities from all over Japan stay in while the conference is being held to discuss peoples' happiness and development.
This is how to visit：
This is a map:
Matsue Castle is located in Matsue City, the north of Shimane Prefecture. It was constructed from 1607 to 1611 and has been registered as national treasure of Japan since July 9, 2015. It is one of only 12 original castles in Japan.
What elegant swooping roofs they are!
Look at the main keep, or main tower that retains original wooden form.
You can see a panoramic view of the city from the top.
How steep and worn these steps are!
I saw holiday makers enjoying a boat cruise around the castle moat.
Those boys have just finished a guide tour.
We stayed at Hoseikan which has run for 300 years at Tamatsukuri hot spring resorts in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture on May 31 and June 1.
There's nothing better than a hot spring bath, good food after moving around noted places.
What cute disinfection sprays they are !They are wearing kimono! You'll find them on the floors. I hope their work would end soonest.
The video above is one of the hot spring bathes of Hoseikan.
These six images below: World famous Beautiful gardens of Adachi Museum of Art, Yasugi City, Shimane Prefecture.
The left and center images are Karesansui, or dry landscape, garden which expresses ponds or streams with sand and stones.
The right image is "Kikaku Waterfall", 15-meter-high man-made waterfall, which was created in 1978, in the image of Yokoyama Taikan's Waterfall in Nachi.
The left image: "The White Gravel and Pine Tree" 白砂青松庭.
The right image: When we were leaving around 4 o'clock, gardeners began to take care of the garden.
In the museum, we enjoyed seeing Japanese paintings of YOKOYAMA Taikan, KAWAI Gyokudo, UEMURA Shoen, and so on.
Further information: