Yasugi

Although it is an art museum, Adachi is most famous for its gorgeous 43,000 m² garden, deemed Japan's best garden by the American Journal of Japanese Gardening for 10 years straight. The gardens are ranked according to how well they utilize sukiya living and there is a bias towards gardens that are less-frequented and less-famous but still well-kept. However, visitors can only view it through windows inside the museum. The museum itself has a collection of 130 works by Yokoyama Taikan, a nihonga (traditional Japanese painting) artist, as well as many works by modern Japanese artists. The Ceramic Art Hall showcases works by great Japanese potters, including Kawai Kanjiro (a native of Yasugi) and Kitaoji Rosanjin. Despite the steep entrance fee, it is well worth the visit if you have an interest in 20th century artwork and modern Japanese gardens.

Will reopen 26th May 2024. Yasugibushi is one of the most popular folk songs and dances in Japan, featuring the humorous loach-scooping dance dojousukui. (The loach is a kind of fish.) Regular performances on weekends and holidays only; 11:20-12:00 and 13:20-14:00. On weekdays, group of 20 or more can reserve a performance.

Hirose Kasuri is a traditional method of weaving cloth, and this technique has been designated as an intangible cultural asset by Shimane Prefecture. Cotton thread is dyed in wool with indigo to show patterns on the cloth. You can see weavings on the loom and buy handmade Kasuri and indigo-dye articles here. This living textile heritage has been a part of the local scene for 170 years. For ¥800, you can dye your own handkerchief, but you should book ahead.

Wako means Japanese steelmaking. This museum stands next to the Port of Yasugi, which prospered at the end of the Edo era as a steel port. Many fine samurai swords, for example, were made of steel from Yasugi. Using HDTV and robots, Wako Museum describes the tatara method of steel-making employed here along with much else about steel-making in Japan.

This museum has a very rare collection of Japanese old style pottery Bizen-yaki (including kobizen which are made before the Momoyama Period). Closed Last Tuesdays of February, May, August, and 25 Dec to 10 Jan.

Surrounded by wooded hillsides, this temple boasts an especially beautiful main hall and three-level pagoda. Founded in 587, in the 9th century Kiyomizu Temple prospered as the foremost center of the Tendai sect, a Buddhist sect that favored mountain recluses. You can enjoy traditional vegetarian cuisine at two inns and a restaurant within the temple grounds (bookings recommended).

These are the ruins of the castle of the Amako clan, who ruled this area during Japan's period of warring states (1467-1568). The castle was famed as an impregnable redoubt, spreading over the entire summit of Mt. Gassan, 184 m above sea level. At the ruins only stone walls and old stone pavement remain as traces of the past. The castle in Matsue was built to replace this castle.

Its name means "the heron's hot spring"; according to local legend, it was discovered 1300 years ago, when a white heron alighted on a rock just as hot water welled up, healing its leg.