- 2024.06.02
- Autumn
Experience glorious autumn foliage, light festivals that illuminate the streets of the old castle town, and traditional culture of remote islands
Autumn is the perfect time to come to Shimane, with its refreshing breezes and a full lineup of alluring events that you should aim to see at least once! With its rich natural environment there are many spots that are famed for their autumn leaves, not to mention illuminations that light up the old castle town, and traditional events unique to the Oki Islands, which are rare even for Japan.
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Matsue Suitouro (Matsue Water Lantern Festival)
This light event illuminates the area around Matsue Castle with water lanterns. From the castle itself (a national treasure) to the old and atmospheric castle town, the whole area is lit up with countless paper lanterns and other light installations. This is the only time of the year that the Horikawa Sightseeing Boat offers night tours and from the boat visitors can enjoy a magical world that can only be experienced at the Water Lantern Festival, including the flickering lights of the paper lanterns on the water’s surface and the “light boat” that operates while illuminating Matsue Castle and the sacred shrine forest.
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Autumn leaves at Kiyomizu-dera (Kiyomizu Temple)
This ancient temple in Yasugi City is said to date back to 587. With precincts covering more than 160,000 square meters, all enveloped in a rich natural world that changes with the four seasons, this temple is perhaps at its most stunning in autumn when the leaves of the trees are ablaze in reds and golds, offering a beautiful contrast with the green of the millennia-old cedar trees. A light-up event is also held during the autumn.
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“Ushizuki” (Bull sumo) of the Oki Islands
A chain of islands in the Sea of Japan, the Oki Islands also boast the longest history of bull fighting in Japan, dating back more than 800 years. Serious contests in which two bulls fight until one of them runs away are held three times a year (in August, September and October), and visitors can experience the thrill of watching enormous bulls, each weighing more than a ton, locking horns in a show of sheer power.
At Oki Momo Dome, close to Saigo Port, demonstrations of the traditional culture of bull sumo can be watched all year round as “bull sumo for tourists” in which there are no winners or losers.