About Matsue
Matsue, at the heart of the San'in region, is surrounded by natural beauty and nurtures a unique heritage rooted in the origins of Japanese Civilization. Sheltered from the often stormy Japan Sea to the north by the Kitayama range and bordered on the south by the Chugoku Mountains, Matsue shares a long fertile basin with Lake Shinji to the west and Nakaumi Lagoon to the east. Growing up about the shores of Lake Shinji and the mouth of the Ohashi River, the city was named "Matsue", (mah-tsoo-eh), meaning "Pine-Sheltered Inlet, "after a similar region in China's Zhejiang Province.
Izumo-taisha
Izumo-taisha 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 kuninushi , famous as the Shinto deity of marriage.
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 presently. 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.
Source (Wikipedia)
Matsue Castle
Matsue Castle 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.
Adachi Museum of Art
Adachi Museum of Art is famous not only for its collection of contemporary Japanese paintings but also for its gardens. Adachi Zenko, the museum's founder, traveled all across Japan, collecting pine trees and rocks for the landscape gardens and putting his heart and soul into their creation. The six gardens, with about 165,000 square meters in total, show you various sceneries by season. You can enjoy the beautiful harmony of nature through art.
