Our planned hike along the silver trail from Iwami Ginzan to the port of Yunotsu was scotched yesterday but we still wanted to see the western end of the trail as it entered Yunotsu as we knew that there were some very impressive clay kilns at this point.
We got up early today so we could walk up out of the village and soon came to two very impressive lines of "climbing" kilns marching up the hillside. One line held 15 kilns and the other 10. Originally there 11 lines of kilns. They worked by stoking up a raging fire in the bottom oven, and a system of venting allowed the hot air to circulate higher and higher, up through the kilns, baking the clayware as it went. One of the two lines of kilns is currently being upgraded and is still used twice a year. They were still used productively until the 1960s, having been established in the early 1700s!
A quick chat with Bella to catch up on news, including current negotiations to potentially sell their house, was really nice, before we made a hasty march to the train station and jumped on the train to Izumo. We hoped to visit one of Japan's oldest shrines and the Tezen Museum, but unfortunately the latter was closed as yesterday was a public holiday and it carried over its usual day of closure. We also managed a chat with Ali and Sophie while on our way to the shrine.
Izumo Taisha shrine was already in existence by the early 700s. It turned out to be a huge complex, where the main hall is the tallest in Japan. One of the most impressive features was the simply massive skeins of rice-straw rope that hung above the entrances to the two main buildings. These ropes define the sacred areas.
 |
| Izumo Taisha Shrine |
 |
| Huge shimenawa rope |
 |
| 17,000 paper cranes |
 |
| Wishes written on paper and timber plaques by visitors |
With the museum closed, it meant today was a reasonably unpressured one. With just one hour spent at the shrine, we were soon back on the bus and then train to return to Izumo train station. We retrieved our bags from the locker we had just managed to squeeze them into, with John pressing the door closed while I fed in the money.
A short wait and we were on the train again to Matsue, where we arrived at the nice early time of 3pm. Our hotel is just across the road from the train station. This is our first standard hotel room. The bed seems strange being so far off the floor. It's also quite small (probably just a double bed) when we are now used to sprawling over a very wide and long futon each. A quick stroll to the info station to find out details needed for our plans tomorrow, to check out a bento box outlet to buy one in a few days' time, and also to find a local eatery for tonight.
We managed to put our feet up for half an hour to catch up on this blog and a few other things. Rest time has been perhaps a little too short this trip, but all the travelling has gone very smoothly. We're seeing so much that we haven't missed it.
Dinner was awesome. I had wanted to eat at izakaya places, where dinner is a beer and a range of bar snacks and smaller dishes which together combine to make a meal. As soon as we entered we knew this one was the right place. Noisy, a bit smokey, a dozen businessmen in groups or pairs either at tables or along the L-shaped bar that surrounds the small kitchen. Ma sorting the orders with a helper, Pa doing the cooking along with a helper.
 |
| Satobou Izakaya |
The menus were impossible - all kanji characters which Google was OK with, but not great. We ended up ordering partly off the menu and partly by pointing to photos from Google reviews! We got chatting to a business pair next to us. Great fun with a little English and a lot of Google translate. As always, these two, and indeed all the staff, were a lot of fun and as helpful as can be. The people of Japan are astonishingly nice and helpful. The one and only miss was the seafood restaurant in Yunotsu that told us they would be closed for yesterday but clearly weren't when we walked past last evening. Telling foreigners that places were full or closed used to be a thing, but seems to happen very rarely now. I think the reason was that they didn't feel they could meet foreigners' expectations, so it would be embarrassing for all. and therefore best avoided.
At the izakaya we had a nice range of food, no noodles or rice for once, and every dish was delicious and fresh. A great choice and we came away full, after a most enjoyable time. We'll probably go back and try one of the dishes our neighbours let us taste.
 |
| Our new best mates |
 |
| Some izakaya food |
