Shimane Guide: Hamada Edition

For a real local Shimane experience, head to the city of Hamada, just 30 minutes by car from Oda or Ohana. Again, Hamada can be reached by the San-In line, but the train is slow, infrequent, and can’t be trusted. If you do manage to get there by train, there is plenty to do within walking distance, but most won’t impress those already familiar with residential Japanese life.

For a little taste of something different, I recommend the cultural experience of TRIAL.

TRIAL is a budget grocery store for low-income families. Much like Walmart in the U.S. Or rather, a Walmart in the rural U.S. in the 1990s. TRIAL is the kind of place you go to see people in adult onesies. The kind of place where people forget to wear pants. The kind of place where people may be smoking while in line at the register, or gambling at the attached pachinko parlor.

Seeing is believing. TRIAL.

For a more elegant experience, try Café Michele just down the road form TRIAL. This café is run by a Japanese woman who used to live in France, and it offers the best Japanese-esque French cuisine in town. The lovely ambiance of the café is also perfect for a date. Just sayin.

Latte art at Café Michele

Croque Monsieur at Café Michele

Amazing Parfait at Cafe Michele

If you really want to be impressed with local food, head over to Suminoya 炭乃家 a yakiniku restaurant. Grill some of the finest Shimane beef atop a charcoal pit, for the most savory and delicious experience in the prefecture. I’ve taken many savvy Japanese friends from Tokyo to this restaurant, and they were all impressed.

Shimane Guide

Matsue Castle, in Matsue, Shimane

Welcome to My Shimane Guide!

This little-known, little-explored prefecture is a sight for all types: the  savvy traveler, jaded with the beaten path in Japan, the twenty-first century romantic, seeking isolation and adventure, the cultural nomad, on a quest for novelty and quiet excitement.

My first experience in Shimane was when I traveled to the  Izumo Taisha via the overnight train from Tokyo. Since that time, I felt a special connection to this prefecture, and I am honored to have had the opportunity to spend a year living in Kawamoto, Shimane, a town of 3,000 people. During that year, I was able to travel around the prefecture nearly every weekend. I also met many local Japanese people who took me to places I would not have been able to find on my own. I decided that I want to share the wealth of knowledge I acquired, so that any English-speaker thinking of traveling to Shimane on their own will have access to the same resources, or, at the very least, be able to learn about a part of Japan that eludes even the Japanese.

Shimane 101

Shimane is the least densely populated prefecture in Japan. The local industry is largely agricultural. With more and more young people moving out of Shimane to find work in the cities, 1 out of every 8 houses in the prefecture is abandoned.

Shimane occupies a long stretch of coastline on the Sea of Japan. Most of Japanese’s major cities  (Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Hiroshima) are located on the Pacific Ocean side. For those who do not know, there is a big different in climate from the Pacific Ocean side (call Sanyo) to the Sea of Japan side (called San-in). San-in weather is extreme. Winter is distinguished by long months of snow and little sunshine.

Since 2014  Shimane has slowly been picking up traction because  Princess Noriko of the imperial family married the son of the head priest in Izumo Taisha, and now people from all over Japan are making the pilgrimage there. When I first traveled to the Taisha in 2010, Izumo was a ghost town. When I returned in 2014, it was a bustling tourist destination. My photographs of the town and train station are now sadly outdated, and will live forever as a time capsule on this blog. It is likely, too, that this guide will soon be outdated and serve as nothing more as a artifact of a particular place at a particular time. 

I'm breaking this guide up into sections, starting from east to west. Click on the links below to check out each place:

Matsue City Guide

Inner Izumo  City Guide

Outer Izumo City Guide

Oda City Guide

Ohnan Town Guide

Hamada City Guide

Masuda City Guide

I would also like to promote other English-language bloggers in Shimane, and I will be providing links to their blogs, in various posts.

For general Shimane Information I recommend these website:

More Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan: a photoblog from one a long-tiem resident of Shimane

Iwami Travel: travel information in English

Made in Matsue: an in-dept website about all things in Shimane's Capital city

Other articles about Shimane's strangeness:

Read about our snarky mascot here and here. 

Women apparently have the best skin in Japan.

Another account of the night train to Izumo.  

Shimane Cafe Guide

One of my biggest concerns with moving to rural Japan was the utter lack of cafes. Coming from café-rich Portland, Oregon, I was spoilt with options. If I didn’t want Starbucks (and I never did), I could grab a cup from any of the famous shops of locals roasters like Stumptown, Sterling, Coava, and Courier, all within walking distance to my house. And if I wanted to bring my laptop and sit at any of these cafes for hours writing, no problem.

Cafes are totally different in Japan. Remarkably few of them roast their own beans. Many don’t serve espresso, so black coffee (with cream and sugar) is about the only thing you can hope for. In most cafes in Japan you are seated by the staff, waited on by a waiter, and expected to order food then leave. The scarcity of quiet places offering refuge to digital nomads was such that I began a nation-wide café quest.

In the least densely-populated prefecture in Japan, it should come as no surprise that cafes are even more rare. My expectations were low, but surprisingly, within one year I managed to find several laid-back places that actually served pretty damn good lattes.

Torimichi,　通り道 Ibara, Onan, Ochi District, Shimane 696-0101

Closest to my house is Torimichi, a family run cafe and bar. A typical Shimane-style place with rice paddy parking and easy-to-miss signage. The cafes serves delicious Italian food, which mostly consists of pizza and pasta. The owner, Kasaoka San, is a man in his late 30s who ahs traveled and lived all over the world. I recommend sitting at the bar so as to make conversation with him.

Order a vanilla or hazelnutte latte, one size, which is huge. For the adventurous, try the Crème Brule Latte, with burnt sugar on top.

Torimichi Cafe

Café Doma, ドマカフェギャラリー〒694-0222 Shimane, Oda, Sanbecho Shigaku,

I found Café Doma after the English teacher in Misato posted a picture of it on Facebook. That was my second month in the country and I wasted no time checking it out. Locating on the foothills of a rice paddy, Doma is part Café part gallery, and operated inside a large crumbling Japanese house. The first floor is entirely devoted to the café, and upstairs one will find a  rotating collection of locally produced art, crafts, and vintage clothing. One could easily spend an entire day relaxing on one of the velvet couches reading a managing in natural light.

Their food menu is limited ad varies based on the season. Their bagel sandwiches are always available, but order the curry plate if it’s on the menu. I also get the café mélange, which pairs nicely with the food. 

Cafe Doma

Imagine Café, イマジン.珈琲店 503-1 Isemiyacho, Matsue, Shimane

I found Imagine Café while wandering around outside my hotel room in Matsue during a training meeting. Matsue is the biggest city in Shimane and has a lot fo offer the coffee-lover, but unlike many other cafes, Imagine is open until 11:00pm or midnight most nights. This makes it a late-night favorite among locals. Imagine also roasts its own beans, and has a local hipster vibe. The ground floor is small and offers limited seating at the counter, where you will be served by Imagine’s friendly young owner. Upstairs the tatami room si reserved for large parties.

Try the standard Café au lait, iced or hot. Both versions are simple yet amazing. 

Imagine Cafe

KuriKuru Café,  栗栗珈琲, 8-6 Akebono Nishimachi Masuda, Shimane 698-0025

The owner, Mr. Kuri, is one of the only roasters in Shimane prefecture. When I spoke to him, he knew everything about my adopted home-town of Portland, and it’s famous coffee. Mr. Kuri wants to bring the coffee culture of places like Portland into rural Shimane. KuriKuri offered a fantastic selection of drinks, inspired by each season, but always delicious and original.

Try one of their unique offerings, such as a Red Bean  Mocha, or Honey Ginger Latte. Seasonal desserts and cakes are also a delicious compliment to the coffee. 

Kurikuri Cafe

Café Michele, カフェ・ミシェル 1411-5 Aioicho, Hamada, Shimane 697-0034

Friends in Hamada pointed me to this local establishment. The owner, Michele, once lived and worked in France, and returned to Shimane to open a café. This is set up much like a restaurant, with intimate seating along the edges of a large dining area. It is technically a French restaurant, but Michele wouldn’t mind if you just sat back and ordered a cup of coffee. I haven’t brought my laptop there, as the atmosphere is much more conducive to socializing, but I have had many an interesting conversation in Café Michele.

Order vanilla or hazelnut latte, guaranteed to be served to you with impressive latte art. If you are hungry, try a croquet monsieur, or a seasonal salad.

Cafe Michele