Matsue 松江
Evocative castle town
The largest city of the San-in, the northern side of Western Honshū’s central mountains, Matsue is an attractive city, known for its impressive castle that dates from 1611. This is one of only a dozen original castles in Japan that have not been reconstructed.
Few foreigners reach this part of the country, though one was writer Lafcadio Hearn, who wrote ‘Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan’ and lived in Matsue in 1890. His former residence is open to the public, as is a museum dedicated to him next door.
Matsue has plenty of accommodation options and is a good base for making a day trip to any of Izumo Grand Shrine, Mt Daisen and the Tottori Sand Dunes.