Shimane

Izumo Grand Shrine (Izumo Taisha)

This legendary and major Shinto shrine's tutelary deity is Okuninushi no Mikoto, who calls all the gods of Japan together annually in the 11th month (of the lunar year). The Main Hall is the largest wooden shrine building in Japan, and the expansive precincts express the solemnity and sublimity of Shinto. Recent archaeological and scholastic research has revealed that the ancient shrine was raised on huge pillars and was a major architectural achievement in the Japan of antiquity.

Hinomi Cape (Hinomisaki)

Located at the western end of the Shimane Peninsula, this cape is noted for its rugged, scenic beauty; it is the site of the tallest lighthouse in East Asia. From the observation room in the lighthouse one can see the grand scale of the scenery.

Inasa no Hama Beach (Inasa no Hama)

The terrestrial deity Okuninushi no Mikoto met the celestial general Takemikazuchi no Mikoto here and bestowed on him the Izumo country (of which Okuninushi no Mikoto was the tutelary deity), according to the legend known as Kuni Yuzuri (Bestowing the Country).

Iwami Tatamigaura (Iwami Tatamigaura)

This rock formation in Shimane Prefecture displays fissures in a regular grid pattern, reminiscent of the pattern of tatami mat floors. The rock contains a wealth of fossils of molluscs and whale bones, the evidence of a shallow sea of 160 million year in the past. Wave action has also formed stone nodules and caves and revealed small faults; this formation is a true natural museum.