Matsue松江

A castle town surrounded by Lake Shinji-ko, Nakaumi Lagoon and Shimane-hanto Peninsula. A black wooden fence house.

Matsue is the center of the administration and economy of Shimane situated in the eastern part on the Matsue Plain surrounded by the Lake Shinji-ko, Nakaumi Lagoon and Shimane-hanto Peninsula. The Ohashi-gawa River runs through the center of the city, and a network of canals and rivers makes Matsue a city of water. The water network was created for military reasons when the Matsue Castle was constructed in 1611. Today, pleasure boats cruise through the waterway.

The Matsue Castle has the only remaining castle tower in the San-in Region (the Japan Sea Coast). There is a view spot in the castle tower that commands a view of the Lake Shinji-ko and Mt. O-yama. The wooden Western style building, Geihinkan Guest House built in the early 20th century is now a provincial museum, and the site where the castle once stood has become a Shiroyama Park offering a relaxing and recreational area to the people of Matsue.

On the Shiomi-nawate Street along the northern moat of the Matsue Castle, a samurai's residence built in the early 18th century is preserved. Its white walls, black wooden fences and a row of old pine trees are the reminiscence of the olden times. There is also the former residence and memorial hall of a novelist Lafcadio Hearn (Japanese name, Koizumi Yakumo), who loved Matsue and the view from the Shinji-ko Ohashi Bridge and naturalized to Japan. Both are open to public.