Shimane, Part 2

Sunday, July 13
As I mentioned in the last post, I passed the night playing video games and was in a mood as stinky as my body was. The sun rose, however, to reveal that the service area was not as nasty as it had been in the dark. Still, I grumpily brushed my teeth in the bathroom along a row of teeth-scrubbing grandmas (who had spent the night there as well) before taking in the beautiful view of the valley below with Chris.

Having failed to find a bath on the previous night, we next set out for an early-riser onsen. Along the way, I fell asleep, my body finally able to relax in the cool of the car air-conditioning. When I woke, our car was traveling along a narrow, wooded road; I felt in much better spirits knowing I would have a bath. Our destination onsen served primarily as a ryokan (inn), and as we arrived, guests were eating breakfast in the dining room. The mama of the house, however, happily welcomed us and sent us toward the baths. I indulged in a quiet, empty mineral bath with a view of steep green cliffs outside the glass. Chris and I left ready for the day!

It was good that we cleansed ourselves, for we'd be visiting one of the most important Shinto shrines in Japan--Izumo Taisha.

Unwanted (i.g. bad luck) omikuji (fortune papers) tied to a tree.

Rabbit!
The abundance of rabbit icons in Shimane is attributed to the Japanese folk tale "Inaba no Shiroi Usagi" (The White Rabbit of Inaba), concerning a rabbit who tricked a group of sharks in order that he might cross to Inaba (on the mainland) from the island of Oki. When the sharks learned that they had been fooled, they stripped the rabbit of his fur. The god Okuninushi no Mikoto took pity on the beast and advised him on how to heal his wounds. The rabbit then predicted that his savior would become ruler of the region.

Written wishes for marriage partners cover the wooden tablets on the wall adjacent to the horse. I saw only prayers for wonderful men; apparently no men felt compelled to ask the gods for a wife.

Beautiful, set in a virtually untouched forest.

Here, visitors tossed coins, attempting to get them stuck in the braided rope above. Izumo Taisha is known as a special place for marriage among the Japanese people, and I read on the that pilgrims clap their hands four times when offering a prayer, as opposed to the usual two--twice for oneself and twice for one's desired partner. The shrine is not only for singles; couples can purchase charms to strengthen the ties between them. Chris and I, being broke, will have to rely on our own hard work to see us through.

Next stop was this place.

The museum, containing exhibits on shrine history, was above all air-conditioned. Oh yes, and the exhibits were nice too. We received a 50% discount because we are foreign and special. We wandered through the displays with an audio guide--a PSP containing explanations in English!

When we left the museum, we were hungry. We stopped at this famous restaurant for lunches of Izumo soba, a popular local dish.

Izumo soba is served in stacked bowls. We ordered the three-tier version.

Each of the bowls was topped with condiments such as nori or chopped green onions. The tsuyu (sauce) was served in a porcelain jar, to be poured on top. The white goo on the right is ground potato paste--creamy and frothy.

Old Taisha Station, which is no longer in use. Chris is a big railway nut.

We pretended to be run through the ticket gates. Obviously we're not good models.

When I actually do run through a ticket gate (without paying), I have a look of shame, not a dumb smile on my face.

And later we visited the modern version of the station--Izumo City Station.

Done with our sightseeing, we stopped by the giant local YouMe Town. I became ANGRY with the stores, however, for not accepting credit cards. We were low on cash at that point, so instead of eating nice teishoku meals, we went with small bowls of udon. I look forward to returning to America when I can charge a $1 stick of gum at the drugstore. Oh well. Cheap weekend 出来た！