Matsue

Matsue is a small city in Shimane Prefecture, on the Sea of Japan side of western Honshu, and it is one of the quietest and most rewarding places in the country for a visitor who enjoys history. It lies between two bodies of water, Lake Shinji and Lake Nakaumi, joined by the Ohashi River, and the light that bounces from the water gives the city a soft and slightly melancholy beauty. Most travellers head for Kyoto or Hiroshima, which means that Matsue and the region around it, known as San'in, remain calm even in the high season.

Matsue Castle is the main sight. It was completed in the early seventeenth century and is one of the few castles in Japan whose main keep survived from the age of the samurai, so what you see is the original wooden structure and not a concrete reconstruction. The keep is black and powerful, sometimes called the Plover Castle for the shape of its gables, and it stands on a hill with stone walls and a moat. Inside, steep wooden stairs lead to the top floor, which gives a panorama of the lake, the town and the mountains, and the contents include armour, weapons and displays on the lords who ruled the area.

The moat around the castle is a pleasure in itself. Small boats carry visitors along the Horikawa, the old moat, passing the walls, the samurai lanes and a series of low bridges, under which the boatman has to lower the canopy so that passengers can duck. The ride lasts about fifty minutes and gives a view of the town that you cannot get from the street. Near the castle, the Shiomi Nawate district preserves the lanes and the houses of the samurai, among them a large residence that is open to visitors and shows how families of middle rank lived.

Lafcadio Hearn, the writer who made Japan known to many readers in the West, lived in Matsue in 1890 and 1891 and taught at a local school. His former home and the small museum beside it are among the most visited sites in the city, and a visit gives a sense of the place that he found so fascinating. Hearn, who took the name Koizumi Yakumo after he became a Japanese citizen, wrote about the ghosts, the customs and the daily life of the town, and the sites that he described are still easy to find.

Lake Shinji is the city's other great attraction, and the best way to enjoy it is at sunset. The view from the eastern shore, with the water turning orange and the small island of Yomegashima appearing as a dark silhouette, is considered one of the most beautiful sunsets in Japan. The lake is also known for shijimi clams, which are used in miso soup and other local dishes, and which local people say are good for recovery after a late evening. A walk along the shore or a cycle ride around the lakeside are pleasant ways to spend an afternoon.

Two gardens add to the city's reputation. Yuushien, a garden on a small island in the Nakaumi, is known for its peonies, which bloom in spring and winter, and for its ponds and pavilions. Further east, in Yasugi, the Adachi Museum of Art is famous for a Japanese garden that has been rated among the best in the country for many years, with views that are arranged like paintings. The Matsue Vogel Park, a bird park with greenhouses of flowers, is a popular stop for families.

The region has a deep link with Japanese mythology. Izumo Taisha, about an hour from Matsue, is one of the oldest and most important Shinto shrines in the country, with an enormous rope hanging at its hall. In the old calendar, the gods of Japan are said to gather here in the month that others call the month without gods, and Izumo is the exception. The food of the region includes Izumo soba, buckwheat noodles served in stacked boxes, grilled eel, local sea bream and the sweets that go with the tea ceremony, which is part of the culture of the old domain.

Getting here takes a little effort, which is part of the charm. Izumo Airport has flights from Tokyo and Osaka, and trains run from Okayama in about three hours on the Yakumo limited express. Matsue is compact, with a bus and a loop line that connect the main sights, and a few of them are within walking distance. Spring brings cherry blossoms to the castle moat, summer is warm and humid, autumn gives colour to the gardens, and winter is cold with snow possible on the Sea of Japan side.

One day is enough for the castle, the samurai district, the Hearn sites and the lake at sunset, and a second day allows Izumo Taisha and the Adachi Museum. A licensed guide makes the stories easier to follow and can combine the sights in the order that suits the light and the opening times. The Matsue experience on Excurze is a customised private tour with a licensed guide, and our concierge can link it with Okayama, Hiroshima and the Oki Islands, arranging the trains and the hotels for a trip through a quieter side of Japan.