Cycling across islands while enjoying the beautiful sea and the flesh sea breeze
On your bike seat, get ready to encounter amaizing scenery you will never experience in a car seat.
Now that the Chugoku Yamanami Kaido (Onomichi-Matsue expressway) is open, you can drive from Onomichi in Hiroshima Prefecture to Matsue in Shimane Prefecture in about two and a half hours. That is an hour and a half shorter trip than before. And the expressway is free (well, towards the end, there is a short section you have to pay a toll for.) On this mini trip, I put a mini-velo in my car, heading to Matsue!
Although it is an expressway, there is no Service Area. This makes cyclists get off the expressway and stop by at Michi-no-Eki, or a rest stop. After getting on Matsue Jidosha-do Expressway in Onomichi and riding for less than an hour, I dropped in at Michi-no-Eki Sera. It is a modern building where you can buy locally grown vegetables and the city's specialty, Sera Wine, sold in paper containers.
There were other Michi-no-Eki along the way and each one seemed to adopt a different style from each other. The last one I dopped in was "Michi-no-Eki Tataraba Ichibanchi." A lot of shijimi clams were sold, there was an eat-in space for shijimi soup. I realize that I'm getting closer to Shinji Lake.
Now I'm in Matsue City! I head for Matsue-jo Castle, which has become a national treasure. There are only twelve castles in Japan which have preserved castle towers since the Edo period. Among them, chosen for national treasures are only five: Matsumoto-jo Castle in Nagano Prefecture, Inuyama-jo Castle in Aichi Prefecture, Hikone-jo Castle in Shiga Prefecture, Himeji-jo Castle in Hyogo Prefecture, and Matsue-jo Castle. There used to be many more castles all over Japan but many had been demolished since the Meiji period. There must have been reasons but it’s just a shame...
After entering the gate, I encountered a samurai-looking guy. He was one of the "Matsue Wakamusha Tai (Young Samurai Team)" in which a group of people take initiatives to promote Matsue-jo Castle and Matsue City. His name, by the way, was Shu-ri, or fixing, Izumo. I guess he is supposed to be a fictional character...
I'm now inside the castle tower. It was built in the early Edo period. The columns and floors are lustered in black with time. I thought that the owner of the castle must have lived in the tower but actually, they lived in a mansion built inside the walls of the castle. The tower itself served as the last refuge. I wonder, is that the reason the stairs are so steep?
From the top of the tower, you see an amazing panorama, as the city hardly has any high rises. We can also see Lake Shinji where Yomegashima island is located. The flat island, (the literal meaning is "Bride Island,") has a legend: It is said that a young bride was married off to a cruel family across the lake, and unable to bare it any longer, she decided to runaway and go back home. In her hurry, she took a short cut across the ice that had formed on the surface of the lake, but just as she was close enough to see the lights of her home village, the ice broke and she fell in and drowned in the icy waters. The gods that were watching took such pity on her that they made the island spring forth in her honor. (quoted from https://saninstory.wordpress.com/2013/10/23/yomegashima-lake-shinjis-lonely-island/)
As I got out from the castle tower, I again ran into a Samurai. He was supposed to be Kamejiro Honma, whom I'm not familiar with, the captain of "Matsue Wakamusha Samurai Team."
I decided to have famous Izumo Soba noodles for lunch at Kamiyo Soba, near Matsue Castle. In general, people in western Japan tend to prefer Udon noodles, or flour noodles, to Soba noodles, or buckwheat noodles. Why do people in Izumo favor Soba? One reason for this is that supposedly the Lord Naomasa Matsudaira from Matsumoto han in Shinano province brought Soba noodle chefs when he got transferred to Izumo province. Anyway, at the restaurant, I ordered "Tororo Warigo," grated yam over soba noodles, from the menu. Warigo actually refers to the three-tiered container in which dark gray soba noodles are served. The authentic way is, I was told, to pour sauce over the noodle, not dip the noodle in the sauce. The noodle had a rather firm texture and fine aroma, and tasted so good!
In Matsue, you can't miss the sightseeing boat cruise which circles the moats of Matsue Castle. The regular tour takes about 50 minutes. I'm ready to roll!
The boatman was our guide. We passed by many exciting spots: We went under the low bridge where the boatman had to actually lower the ceiling of the boat: We passed by nostalgic samurai residence area and the good viewing spot of Matsue Castle. The boatman even sang songs! It was like riding Jungle Cruise attraction in Disneyland. The 50 minutes went so fast. Since there is also a shorter 30 minute course, you can choose either tour depending on your schedule.
It's time to ride on the mini-velo I carried on the car from Imabari! The long street on the northern east side of Matsue Castle's moat has preserved many samurai residences. The atmosphere of castle town of the Edo period still prevails here. This street is called Shiominawate, and middle rank, ranging from 200 to 600 koku, samurai mansions used to line up here.
The famed international writer, Yakumo Koizumi, or Patrick Lafcadio Hearn, was fond of this area and lived with his wife Setsu Koizumi, the daughter of a local samurai family, in a samurai residence. His former residence is still preserved here and you can view it along with Koizumi Yakumo Memorial Museum and Buke Yashiki (Samurai Residence), next to it. With a KYOTSU NYUJO pass, you can enter Matsue Castle, and two others from Yakumo's former residence, the Memorial Museum or Samurai Residence.
*Samurai Residence will be temporarily closed for renovation until 2018.
International visitors can get a 50% discount by presenting valid passports.
http://visit-matsue.com/info/index.html
Mr. Y, the photographer on this trip, told me that the first thing that reminds him of Matsue is Lord Harusato Matsudaira, or the renowned tea master under the name of Fumai Matsudaira. I hardly knew about him, but he was the seventh lord of Matudaira clan in Matsue han and successfully restored his fief's finances. He was also a revered tea master and collected many tea ceremony artifacts. Thanks to him, Matsue still holds the culture of tea ceremony. Meimei-an, a tea house built by Lord Harusato, has a tea room where green tea is served for visitors. The sweets served along with the tea were Matsue's specialty, Wakakusa and Natane-no-Sato. I didn't realize green tea taste so good. It was really refreshing as well.
The trip to Matsue has come to an end here. The city was amazing, full of quaint Japanese atmosphere. There is much more to see, but I guess I'll have to wait till the next trip...
Since I live in Imabari, Shikoku, San-in area seemed so far away, making a one day trip there sounded almost impossible at first. But now that the Shimanami Kaido was built, and then the Matsue Highway was opened, Matsue got much closer. It takes only a one hour drive from Imabari to Onomichi, and two and a half hours from Onomichi to Matsue. A one day trip is certainly possible.
On this trip, I was supposed to go home on the same day but... I indulged myself in summer oysters and beer after a long ride, and ended up spending a night in Onomichi...
