Shimane: Izumo Taisha, One of Shinto's Oldest Shrines, and Matsue's Old Castle Town

Izumo Taisha is one of the oldest and most revered Shinto shrines in Japan, dedicated to Okuninushi, the god associated with relationships and marriage — couples and match-seekers visit specifically for this. Look for the enormous shimenawa (braided straw rope) at the Kagura-den hall, among the largest in Japan. According to tradition, all of Japan's Shinto gods gather here every autumn, a month locally called Kamiarizuki ("month with gods") rather than Kannazuki ("month without gods") as it's known elsewhere — check current-year dates if that's part of your interest.

Matsue is a genuine castle town with one of Japan's twelve surviving original castle keeps, plus a preserved samurai residence district connected to the writer Lafcadio Hearn (Koizumi Yakumo). Sunset over adjoining Lake Shinji is a well-known local view. The Adachi Museum of Art, further out, is famous less for its collection than for its meticulously maintained gardens, designed to be viewed like living paintings through the building's windows — it's repeatedly ranked among Japan's best gardens.

Shimane has no Shinkansen; access is by limited express train from Okayama or a direct flight to Izumo Airport. It's genuinely off the standard tourist route, which cuts both ways — fewer crowds and English signs, but a real sense of visiting somewhere that isn't performing for visitors.