A busy tourist day out

Well after meeting up our friends from Osaka and and a great evening at a Sashimi restaurant this morning was all about today and our tour to some Historic buildings.

We departed the Hotel short;y after 0930 and headed west for about 90 minutes and arrived at the City of Izumo and visited the Izumo –Taisha Shrine.
zumo-taisha (出雲大社, Izumo Grand Shrine), officially Izumo Ōyashiro, is one of the most ancient and important Shinto shrines in Japan. No record gives the date of establishment. Located in Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, it is home to two major festivals. It is dedicated to the god Ōkuninushi (大国主大神, Ōkuninushi-no-ōkami), famous as the Shinto deity of marriage and to Kotoamatsukami, distinguishing heavenly kami. The shrine is believed by many to be the oldest Shinto shrine in Japan, even predating the Ise Grand Shrine.

A style of architecture, taisha-zukuri, takes its name from the main hall of Izumo-taisha. That hall, and the attached buildings, were designated National Treasures of Japan in 1952. According to tradition, the hall was previously much taller than at present. The discovery in the year 2000 of the remains of enormous pillars has lent credence to this.
Several other buildings in the shrine compound are on the list of Important Cultural Properties of Japan.
After walking around for about 90 minutes taking photographs and also washing our hands before visiting the actual Temple we then went back in to the main town and on to a well known Soba Noodle restaurant for lunch which was most enjoyable. It was a typical Japanese's restaurant with Tatami mats and leave your shoes at the door. You can order a minimum of three small bowls of noodles and it comes with a couple of extra items like dried fish and seaweed which you mix in with Soya sauce and it was very nice to sit their quietly enjoying the atmosphere and company. Tomorrow is a public holiday and taking place here is the Izumo All Japan University Ekiden annual student 50 kilometre relay marathon and so there were television crew busy setting up their equipment and motorbikes with pillion riders with cameras also practising but unfortunately we will not be here tomorrow.
We left Izumo and headed East along the Northern part of the Lake back to Matsu Castle .
Matsue Castle (松江城 Matsue-jō) is a feudal castle in Matsue in Shimane prefecture, Japan. Nicknamed the "black castle" or "plover castle", it is one of the few remaining medieval castles in Japan – at least of the few remaining in their original wooden form, and not a modern reconstruction in concrete.
The construction of Matsue Castle began in 1607 and finished in 1611, under the local lord Horio Yoshiharu. In 1638, the fief and castle passed to the Matsudaira clan, a junior branch of the ruling Tokugawa clan.
Most Japanese castles have been damaged or destroyed by war, earthquakes, or other causes. Since a large part of their construction was wooden, fire was a major hazard. Matsue castle was built after the last great war of feudal Japan, so it never saw a battle. Yet only some of the walls and the keep exist today.
Matsue Castle, standing on the shores of Shinji Lake, is one of Japan's Three Great Lake Castles. It is also known as a riverside district.
We had done quite a bit of walking by the time we reached the Castle and Noels knees were giving up and so the rest of the tour group , well three of them went to the castle whilst Noel watched the world go by. We had to leave early anyways as there was an event planned for tonight and so the castle grounds would be closed at 17.00 Hours. After leaving the Castle we went a short way to a Japanese tea house where our hosts purchased some tea and then we were offered a small cup which was very tasty providing you like green tea .

Then after a little more shopping we headed back to the Hotel for about an hours rest. We met up later in the foyer for a glass of Costco Chardonnay and some crisps and nuts before locating somewhere where we could eat and after some time booked a place called ‘Big Boys Steak House’ which is part of a Steak and Hamburger chain but the steak was  very good and perhaps a little better than expected. For Noel Steak and Chops with a glass of Chardonnay was really good.