Matsue
Introduction
Matsue is the capital of Shimane Prefecture, in the Chūgoku region of Honshu, Japan. The city spreads across a large area of roughly 573 square kilometres, and its population is spread thinly across it.
Matsue is best known as the home of the Tokugawa-era Matsue Castle, one of the last surviving feudal castles in Japan. That castle is the anchor of a visit here.
Before you go
Matsue sits between the shores of Lake Shinji and an inner sea, a laid-back samurai city rich in canals and often called the "City of Water". Its centre is divided by the Ōhashi River: Matsue Station, most hotels, shops and restaurants cluster in the southern part, while the historical sites and attractions lie to the north. The centre is compact enough that most attractions are within walking distance. The city is known for one of Japan's few authentic wooden castles, for its sunsets, and for traditional wagashi confectionery, and the surrounding area is steeped in the myths of the Kojiki and the legends of the Izumo province. Weather here differs from the other side of the mountains: the San'in region gets much more precipitation, with considerable snowfall in winter. Summers are hot and humid with heavy rain during the rainy season from June to mid-July, so spring and autumn are the ideal times to visit. Before you arrive, it is worth knowing that English-language maps, pamphlets and advice are available at the Matsue International Tourist Information Center just north of Matsue Station and at the tourist information office at the Matsue History Museum near the castle, and that an organization of English-speaking volunteers, the Matsue Goodwill Guides, can show you around if you call or email several days in advance. The city's official multilingual guide site, Visit Matsue, is another useful planning resource.Getting there
Matsue sits on the JR San'in Main Line, which follows the Sea of Japan coast for much of its length. The usual rail approach is the Yakumo limited express, running roughly hourly to and from Kurashiki and Okayama, the latter a major shinkansen stop; the trip takes about two and a half hours, and the service continues on to Izumo in around half an hour. Other limited expresses serve the city a few times daily: the Super Matsukaze toward Tottori and Masuda, and the Super Oki toward Masuda and Yamaguchi, with Shin-Yamaguchi reachable a little further along. One of Japan's few remaining overnight sleeper trains, the Sunrise Izumo, also passes through Matsue daily from Tokyo. All of these JR services are covered by the Japan Rail Pass.
Two nearby airports serve the city. Izumo Airport has JAL flights from Tokyo Haneda, Osaka Itami, Fukuoka and the Oki Islands, with shuttle buses timed to meet every arriving flight and running to Matsue Station in about half an hour. Yonago Kitaro Airport has ANA flights from Tokyo Haneda and Asiana service from Incheon in Korea three times a week; shuttle buses meet every arriving domestic flight and take about three-quarters of an hour to Matsue Station, while JR trains leave Yonago Airport Station roughly hourly and require a transfer at Yonago Station. Highway buses link Matsue with Tokyo and Nagoya on night services, and with Osaka, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Okayama and Kobe; the ticket office is outside Matsue Station behind Lawson, and a discounted one-way fare for foreign tourists is available on the Matsue–Hiroshima route when tickets are bought on the day of departure or the day before at a designated office. By car from Kansai, follow the Chugoku Expressway west, switch to the Yonago Expressway at Ochiai Junction, then take the San'in Expressway to the Matsue Nishi exit; the free but slower Route 9 runs all the way from Kyoto. From Yamaguchi or the west, the expressway is not fully complete, so you either take the Hamada Expressway at Chiyoda Junction toward Hamada and continue on Route 9 along the coast, or leave the highway at Miyoshi and take Route 314 through the mountains to Unnan before joining the expressway to Matsue. Overnight ferries to Donghae in Korea, and onward to Vladivostok, depart twice a week from the ferry terminal at Sakaiminato, reached by train from Matsue Station with a transfer at Yonago.
Getting around
Matsue's compact centre makes walking the default way to get around, with most major attractions within walking distance of one another. Rain is a year-round possibility, so keep the free umbrella loan service at the Matsue International Tourist Information Office in front of the station in mind if the weather turns.
For longer hops, bicycles can be rented at several spots around Matsue Station and near Matsue Shinjiko Onsen Station, some offering 24-hour rentals and guest discounts. Matsue Bus covers the city, and the bright-red retro-styled Lake Line tourist buses loop around the major attractions every 30 minutes, with single rides, day passes and two-day passes available. JR trains depart from Matsue Station for most destinations, while the Ichibata Railway runs north of Lake Shinji toward Izumo and its shrines and temples, with a one-day unlimited ride ticket. Taxis wait on both sides of Matsue Station, and elsewhere you can ask a hotel or shop to call one. A car is not needed in the centre but can be handy for the countryside.
Where to stay
Most of Matsue's accommodation clusters in two areas: around Matsue Station, and around Matsue Shinjiko Onsen and the castle. If your plans are loose, you can also spend the night in an internet cafe.
- Near Matsue Station you'll find a dense run of business hotels. The Universal Hotel chain has several buildings in the area, including a main building and an ekimae branch, and the Matsue Urban Hotel is a no-nonsense option with LAN internet in the rooms. Hotel Alpha-1 sits south of the station with basic amenities and LAN internet, while the Toyoko Inn, about five minutes' walk from the north exit, offers lobby internet and coin laundry. The Tokyu Inn is the most upscale choice in this cluster.
- For something more personal, Terazuya Ryokan in Tenjin-machi is a pleasant family-run inn with shared bathrooms and internet access; the hosts can pick you up at the train station, Shirakata Tenmangu Shrine is across the street, and no credit cards are accepted.
- Toward the castle and the lake, the Matsue City Hotel is a quirky business hotel with a large clock tower on top and the owners' collection of antique clocks and furniture throughout; it suits solo travellers better than couples, as the rooms are small and the doubles have only one single bed. The Matsue New Urban Hotel, across Matsue Ohashi bridge, has lakeside rooms looking over Lake Shinji and English-speaking staff. Hotel Ichibata, on the Lake Shinji shoreline, is Matsue's most upscale hotel, also with lake views and English spoken.
- Further out, Matsue Urban Hotel Lake Inn has friendly staff, free parking, free bicycles for reaching the main sights, a free rice and miso soup breakfast, and coupons for another hotel's lake-view hot bath about ten minutes away by bicycle.
Food & drink
Matsue's food scene ranges from soba in a former samurai residence to Indian curry and Sri Lankan specialities. For a quintessential local meal, head to Yakumo-an in Kitabori-cho, a picturesque restaurant set in a former samurai residence with a central garden, teahouse and carp-filled pond, specialising in soba and udon noodles. Near Matsue Station, Akabeko is a small, cosy sushi bar popular with locals, using fresh local ingredients and offering vegetarian sushi. Ramen fans should seek out Menya Hibari in Kitahoricho, known for its Agodashi ramen, while Usagiya in Otesenbacho draws a lively crowd for gyoza and all-you-can-drink vodka lemon sours.
Cafes and international options are scattered across the city. Caffe Vita in Gakuen specialises in espresso, and Kuu in Sodeshicho is a cosy bakery with its own cafe serving light, mainly vegetarian lunches. For Italian, Al Sole is a small family-owned restaurant using high quality local ingredients, Capriciosa sits inside the Terrsa building by the station with views over the station area, and Restaurant & Cafe Laut, in the back of Matsue English Garden, serves the largest pizzas in Matsue alongside views over Lake Shinji. French options include Le Restaurant Hara, a cosy spot run by chef Hara and his wife, and L'Arc en Ciel in a side-street off Kyomise, where the chef presents local ingredients with French technique. Spice offers Indian food including a massive "Big Naan", and Indo-or is a Sri Lankan curry shop in Nishichamachi.
When it comes to drinking, Kyomise is the main nightlife hub. Naked Space, on the third floor above a hair salon in the Kyomise shopping street, is the largest nightclub in Matsue, with live acts and DJs most weekends. St. James's Gate is an Irish pub popular with locals and Matsue's expat community, one of the few places in the region with Guinness on tap, serving fish'n'chips. Music Bar Birthday, a short walk east of the station, is small but attracts big names from the Japanese music world, while 5150 Music Cafe Bar is a hard rock bar that often hosts international events. For something quieter, Tete de Bavard is a cosy night cafe with retro chairs and sofas, Mocha is a laid-back bar favoured by the local hipster crowd, and Cafe Puente is a chill vinyl bar with a friendly, English-speaking owner.
What to see and do
Matsue's sightseeing centres on its castle, one of the few original keeps surviving in Japan and dating to the early 1600s. Inside you can see armour, swords and helmets of the Matsudaira clan, and from the top there are views over the city and Lake Shinji. Next to the castle stands Kōunkaku, a colonial-style house with Japanese elements, and across the moat runs Shiomi Nawate, an old samurai residential street lined with museums and historical attractions. On the castle grounds, northwest of the keep, is Jōzan Inari Shrine, an Inari "fox" shrine surrounded by hundreds of fox statuettes and the start and end point of the Horanenya festival, held only once every twelve years. On Shiomi Nawate you can visit the Samurai Residence, home of a former samurai with his weapons and artifacts on display. The Matsue History Museum, across the moat, covers the past of the city and its surroundings and also houses the Matsue International Tourist Information Office, where English-speaking staff can help with booking a hotel. The writer Lafcadio Hearn, who lived in Matsue in the early 1890s, is commemorated at the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum, built beside his former residence and displaying his desk, quill and ink pot, manuscripts and pipe collection; his former residence, where he wrote much of his chief work, can also be visited. In central Matsue, the Shimane Art Museum shows artists of Shimane and other parts of Japan along with ukiyo-e woodblock prints, and has a lakeside sculpture park where rubbing the head of the foremost of a line of hopping rabbit statues is said to bring good luck. Gessho-ji contains the graves of the Matsudaira clan. Walk south from the art museum along the lakeside to the Yuuhi Spot viewing platform for sunsets over Lake Shinji, best in late summer and behind Yomegashima island. Farther out, Yaegaki Shrine is dedicated to the gods of Japan's first official marriage, where visitors float fortune papers on a mirror pond to divine how long a marriage partner will take to find; Kamosu Shrine, built in the 1580s, is the oldest surviving shrine in the taisha-zukuri style and enshrines Izanami and Izanagi; Fudoki-no-Oka has Kofun-period burial mounds and relics; Kumano Grand Shrine sits at the foot of Kumano Mountain across a red bridge; Matsue Vogel Park is a vast greenhouse and aviary with a quartet of penguins; Yuushien Garden on Daikonjima island is planted to show different flowers each season, with many kinds of peony; and at Yomotsuhirasaka, the Entrance to the Underworld of the Kojiki myths, a large boulder is said to seal the way.When to go
Matsue sits on the San'in side of the Chugoku mountains, where precipitation is heavy and the seasons swing between snowy winters and hot, wet summers. Spring and autumn are the best times to visit, avoiding both the summer heat and humidity and the winter snow.
- Spring: One of the ideal times to visit, with pleasant conditions generally suited to sightseeing.
- Summer: Hot, humid and wet, with heavy rainfall continuing from the rainy season into early summer — a sticky time to be outdoors.
- Rainy season: Runs from June to mid-July, bringing lots of rainfall; expect wet, humid conditions and pack accordingly.
- Autumn: The other ideal time to visit, with the summer heat and rainy season past and the winter snows not yet arrived — comfortable for travelling around.
- Winter: Cold and snowy, with considerable snowfall on the San'in side, more than the San'yo across the mountains.
Festivals & events
Matsue's calendar gives you a reason to plan around the seasons. In March the Matsue Irish Festival brings a celebration of Irish culture to the city, while July sees the Matsue Tenjin Festival, a local matsuri that fills the streets with traditional procession and merrymaking.
- Matsue Irish Festival — March
- Matsue Tenjin Festival — July
- Floating lanterns on Lake Shinji — August
If you visit in August, head to Lake Shinji in the evening for the floating lanterns, when lights are set adrift on the water.
Three days in Matsue
Day one: Start at Matsue Station, the arrival point for trains on the JR San-in Main Line and the terminus for limited expresses such as Yakumo from Okayama and Kurashiki, Super Matsukaze from Tottori, and Super Oki from Masuda. Pick up maps and English-language advice at the Matsue International Tourist Information Center, then orient yourself with a look at the Matsue History Museum before turning to the city's centrepiece, Matsue Castle, one of the few surviving Tokugawa-era keeps and the reason many visitors come to this part of Shimane Prefecture. The castle sits between Lake Shinji and the castle town's old streets, so you can spend the rest of the day on foot, following the water and the layout of the former moats and canals.
- Arrive at Matsue Station and collect information at the Matsue International Tourist Information Center.
- Visit the Matsue History Museum for context on the castle town.
- Tour Matsue Castle and walk the surrounding water-lined streets.
Day two: Give the day to Lake Shinji and the water that defines Matsue. The lake opens onto the Sea of Japan and shapes the city's weather, with warm and humid summers that peak around June and July, so plan outdoor time accordingly. A boat or a shoreline walk lets you take in the lake and the River that feeds it, and the flat terrain makes cycling a practical way to link the castle area with the lakefront. If you want a guided introduction, the Matsue Goodwill Guides offer volunteer-led walks, and Visit Matsue can point you toward current options.
- Spend the morning around Lake Shinji and its shoreline.
- Follow the River and the canal network through the old town.
- Consider a walk with the Matsue Goodwill Guides.
Day three: Look beyond the city toward Izumo, the region tied to the Kojiki and its myths, and use Matsue as your base for the wider area. Trains on the JR San-in Main Line connect you along the coast, and the same limited expresses that brought you in run onward, so you can shape the day around a single direction. Keep the pace slow: revisit the castle or the lake in the morning, then take an afternoon departure, or spend the time in the city's quieter quarters before heading back to Matsue Station.
- Use Matsue as a base for a day trip toward Izumo and its Kojiki connections.
- Rely on the JR San-in Main Line and limited expresses for onward travel.
- Leave time for a final walk around the castle and lake before departing.