Shimane-Osaka Round-trip Course

Shimane Prefecture is an oasis for onsen (hot spring) lovers and beginners alike. It is dotted with charming towns offering authentic onsen experiences that are off the beaten path of foreign tourists to Japan. The hot spring waters here stand out from the rest in Japan for their uniquely beautifying properties that have earned Shimane its nickname of “the prefecture of beautiful skin.” During your stay, do as the Japanese do and don a colorful yukata robe as you go onsen-hopping. Round out your trip with shopping for cosmetics and crafts, refreshment in cute cafes, photo-taking amidst picturesque scenery, and cultural excursions.

A paradise of birds and flowers along a beautiful lakeside of Lake Shinji, Matsue Vogel Park offers great fun whether rain or shine with its walking course around the park completely covered by a roof. They have one of the largest flower greenhouses in Japan. Inside the greenhouse, focusing on begonia and fuchsia, about 10,000 flowers are in full bloom all year round. In the bird section, visitors can encounter 400 birds of 90 species such as rare owls, adorable cute penguins and other bright and colourful tropical birds.

Shimane Winery is a popular winery where visitors can casually enjoy a winery tour, and it is also close to Izumo Taisha. The brick-colored roof is a symbol of the winery, and the white-walled, southern European-style buildings are particularly eye-catching. Inside the winery you can look around the wine production facility itself, free of charge, and you can also try free tastings of Shimane Wine at Bacchus, a tasting and spot sales house. The grape juice is recommended for those visitors who are not interested in sampling the wine. This delightful system lets you compare the wines before buying them. Bacchus also sells local specialties from the prefecture that go well with wine. At Chateau Misen, the winery’s barbecue house, visitors get to indulge themselves with a barbecue that centers on Shimane Wagyu Beef, accompanied by Shimane Wine. At Chardonnay, a bistro and cafe, and at Une Berge, you can relax on an outdoor cafe terrace while enjoying a coffee or a Kyoho grape-flavored soft serve ice cream.

Dedicated to the Shinto god of “en” (the ties that binds us together) Okuninushi-no-Okami, Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine is one of the oldest and most venerated shrines in Japan. The main hall is constructed in the “taisha-zukuri” style, Japan’s oldest form of shrine architecture, and has been designated as a National Treasure. Each year during the 10th month of the Lunar calendar the gods from throughout Japan congregate at Izumo Taisha for their annual meeting. Only in Izumo is this month known as “The Month With Gods.” The “shimenawa” (sacred straw rope) that hang at Kagura-den Hall in one of the largest in Japan, weighing an impressive 5 tons.

Conveying the harmonized beauty of Japanese paintings and Japanese Gardens is the aim and wish of Adachi Museum of Art, which is best known for having one of the greatest collections of modern to contemporary Japanese arts. Such works of art include numerous masterpieces by the great Japanese painter Yokoyama Taikan, ceramics and 165,000 square-metre Japanese gardens. This museum is listed as a three-star site in the Michelin Green Guide Japan while Adachi’s spectacular and immaculately maintained Japanese Garden have been ranked at No.1 in a row since 2003 by Sukiya Living Magazine : The Journal of Japanese Gardening. You can appreciate the splendid beauty of their gardens which show a different appearance as time / days / months / seasons change.

The Sand Museum at the Tottori Sand Dunes is the only indoor sand sculpture exhibition museum in the world. Every year, sand sculputors from around the world are invited to sculpt sand masterpieces following a theme that changes every year. All artwork is temporary, making your visit a once-in-a-lifetime experience with sand.