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Iwami

  • Ohda
  • Gotsu
  • Misato
  • Kawamoto
  • Ohnan
  • Hamada
  • Masuda
  • Tsuwano
  • Yoshiga

An English guide to the
beautiful Iwami region of JapanIwami is in the western part of Shimane, a rural prefecture on the Sea of Japan,
geographically remote from the larger cities, and cut off from the nearest major city
of Hiroshima by the Chugoku mountain range. This is old, rural Japan.

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Recommended contents

Experience

From noodle making, traditional weaving, throwing pottery, rice planting, or risking your life on a wild boar hunt.

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Art workshops At Sekisho Art Museum they hold regular art workshops. You can learn how to paint, sketch, and make things. Of course, i...(read more)
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Kiri no Yu -Hot spring- Iwami Onsen hot spring – Kiri no Yu – Shimane prefecture Ochi county Onan town Yakami 8532 – 2 0855 - 95 - 3505 (J...(read more)
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Yunotsu Onsen summer festival (Yunotsu Hotsprings summer festival) At night, Yunotsu looks like something straight out of Studio Ghibli's 'Spirited Away.' Traditional in...(read more)
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Iwami Kagura Costumes Atelier Iwami Kagura’s costumes atelier ~ Kagura shop “Kuwanoki” First, I’d like to explain about Iwa...(read more)
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Making pottery You can experience making pottery in Gotsu. There are two kinds of ways to make pottery. One is by hand and the ...(read more)
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Birthplace of Ogai Mori Iwami region is home to one of Japan's 'little Kyotos', smaller scale versions of the delightful city. Tsuwa...(read more)
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Kiunsou At night, Yunotsu looks like something straight out of Studio Ghibli's 'Spirited Away.' Traditional inns and...(read more)
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SAHIMEL The Shimane Nature Museum of Mt. Sanbe “SAHIMEL” How many people know which is the highest mountain in Sh...(read more)
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Shimane Nature Museum of Mt. Sanbe, SAHIMEL This is thenatural history museum at Mt. Sanbe in Ohda city. Mt. Sanbe is an active volcano. In this museum, yo...(read more)
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Hot spring in Kanagi city There are many hot springs in Shimane prefecture. Here I will introduce two hot spring resorts. Kintanosato (きんたの里) T...(read more)
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Hot springs in Tsuwano Tsuwano Onsen Nagominosato Nagominosato is in the road side station which is located on Hagi-Tsuwano Station Line (萩津和野...(read more)
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Kakita Katsuro Mask Workshop Iwami Kagura is traditional dance in Iwami region and performers wear Kagura masks for the performance rather than make-...(read more)

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SakuraeDetails

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Restaurant & Cafe

Everything from freshly caught seafood to organic buffets, freshly ground coffee, and wild boar meat.

Cafe Kureha
Cafe Kureha No trip to Japan is complete without sampling the local cuisine. Plenty of little restaurants in the Iwami region ...(read more)
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Restaurant Irodori  Kouboku no Mori (香木の森) has some great restaurants. If you enjoy a nice view while you are eating, I recommend Restauran...(read more)
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Hamada restaurants We are reviewing some of our favourite restaurants in the area and, in particular, those participating in Hamada's 1...(read more)
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SANBE BURGER made from Shimane’s special fresh ingredients In Ohda City, located in the central part of Shimane Prefecture, there is a beautiful mountain called Mt. Sambe. Mt. Sam...(read more)
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Akebono Shokudo Akebono Shokudo is a typical little restaurant in Gotsu. It’s the kind of place where the local people eat. You ca...(read more)
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AZ ~Café & Select Shop~ AZ is popular café in Masuda city. It’s called café, but they offer lunch menu, international dishes, a lot of kind of d...(read more)
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Iwami Ginzan Library This beautiful building is Iwami Ginzan Library, our university's satellite campus in Iwami Ginzan. This library ...(read more)
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Hotel Matsuo Hotel Matsuo offers traditional Japanese dishes, using Hamada's localingredients. You can enjoy Japanese tr...(read more)
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Fukinotou Restaurant FUKINOTOU ~ in Kinta no sato ~ Place: Shitijou イ980-1, Kanagi-tyo, Hamada, Shimane. ( 島根県浜田市金城町七条イ9...(read more)
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Cafes in Hamada Cafe Michele Hamadahas lots of good places to eat such as cafésor restaurants. “Café Mi...(read more)
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Furusato No trip to Japan is complete without sampling the local cuisine. Plenty of little restaurants in the Iwami region ...(read more)
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Eating in Iwami Ginzan Restaurants and restrooms There are some good restaurants and few restrooms in this area. Café Nobosemon This ...(read more)

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HamadaDetails

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Scenery

Hike the Chugoku mountain trail, see ancient temples, enjoy green tea in a traditional garden, or photograph terraced rice paddies.

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Kotogahama  When you visit Japan for vacatipn, a trip to the countryside allows you to see a dofferent side of country. Iwami is far...(read more)
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Otome Chapel Otome Chapel (乙女峠) (photo copyright by Ojisanjake) Iwami region is home to one of Japan's 'little Kyo...(read more)
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Kannanmiji temple (Iwami 33 Temple Pilgrimage) Kannamiji Temple is the 11th on the Iwami 33 Temple Pilgrimage.It's in the Kawamoto area of Gotsu city and was...(read more)
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Shogenji Temple (Iwami 33 Temple Pilgrimage) If you enjoy visiting temples, Iwami has a 33 temple pilgrimage route that you can follow. Shogenji Temple is one ...(read more)
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Ganryuji Temple (Iwami 33 Temple Pilgrimage) History of Ganryuji Temple About 1,200 years ago, during the Daido period (806~810), Kobo Daishi Kukai founded the near...(read more)
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Senganji temple (Iwami 33 Temple Pilgrimage) Senganji temple is located at the top of a small mountain in theKawamoto area of Gotsu. This temple was establis...(read more)
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Mononobe Shrine IwamiIchinomiya Mononobe Shrine has been revered since ancient times for itsdeity of both academics and mart...(read more)
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Seisuiji Temple SeisuijiTemple is a Shingon Buddhist temple, and is a notable place in the history of Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine, wh...(read more)
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European Herb Garden In Koboku no mori, there is an herb garden. Depending on the season, you can enjoy different kinds of herbs. &nbs...(read more)
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Senjouen In Hamada, just by the sea, there is a really cool hotel called Senjouen (千畳苑). The best thing about this place is that ...(read more)
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Enpukuji Temple (Iwami 33 Temple Pilgrimage) If you want to see a visual representation of the last judgement, you should visit Enpuku-ji temple in Ohda, Iwami regio...(read more)
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Hori teien Tsuwano is a must-see on any vacation in the Iwami region in Japan. This 'little Kyoto' of Shimane is bursting w...(read more)

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MasudaDetails

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World Heritage

Iwami boasts both a World Heritage site in the Iwami Silver Mine and an intangible asset, Sekishu hand-made paper.

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Ryugenji Mabu  When you visit Japan for a vacation, a trip to the countryside allows you to see a different side of the country. Iwam...(read more)
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Imodaikan Museum (Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine Museum) The Imodaikan Museum (Iwami Ginzan Silvermine Museum) exhibits historical records, mine records and mineral specimens. T...(read more)
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Iwami Silver Mine Museum The museum was built as a local government office in the Meiji era (1902). It's a large traditional house and exhibi...(read more)
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Iwami 33 Temple Pigrimage Have you ever heard a pilgrimage to the Iwami Kannon 33 Temples Pilgrimage? All the temples are located in Iwami region ...(read more)
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Omori Omori is a traditional noodle restaurant in Iwami Silver Mine. There's a retro feel to the building, with its old-fa...(read more)
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Sekishu-Washi ~Making traditional paper activity~ &...(read more)
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Enpukuji Temple (Iwami 33 Temple Pilgrimage) If you want to see a visual representation of the last judgement, you should visit Enpuku-ji temple in Ohda, Iwami regio...(read more)
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33 temple pilgrimage Check out the video of our day trip to 7 of the 33 temples on the Iwami Silver Mine Kanon 33 temple pilgrimage. Many t...(read more)
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Takanoji Temple ( Iwami 33 Temple Pilgrimage) If you enjoy walking, we recommend Takano temple, about 20 minutes by taxi from Yunotsu station in Iwami region. The mai...(read more)
Iwami Ginzan museum
Iwami Ginzan museum Iwami Ginzan is a historic silver mine in the mountains of Shimane, Japan. The preservation and revitalization of Iwami ...(read more)
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Enjoji Temple (Iwami 33 Temple Pilgrimage) Enjoji Temple (written圓城寺 in Japanese) is also known as Reichinzan (霊椿山) or mountain of the sacred camellia. There is a ...(read more)
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Kazenokuni ( paper making experience) In Gotsu city, in the town of Sakurae, there is a nature park and leisure facilities called Kazenokuni. The Kazenokuni c...(read more)

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OhdaDetails