
Kamiari Festival
Once a year the gods of Japan are said to abandon their shrines for Izumo, where a season of quiet rites welcomes, hosts, and finally sends them home again.
Izumo · 18–25 Nov 2026

Once a year the gods of Japan are said to abandon their shrines for Izumo, where a season of quiet rites welcomes, hosts, and finally sends them home again.
Izumo · 18–25 Nov 2026
Mankusen Shrine in Izumo is said to be the last stop for the gods of Japan before they return home.
Izumo

Shrine near Matsue with three halls side by side, where the gods gather each November to remember Izanami, and home of the UNESCO-listed Sada Shinno dance.
Matsue
Once a year the gods of Japan are said to abandon their shrines for Izumo, where a season of quiet rites welcomes, hosts, and finally sends them home again.
18–25 Nov 2026Izumo · ShimaneJR West trains from Kansai to Okayama and the San'in coast, including the Sanyo Shinkansen to Okayama, for 7 days
¥18,0007 days, adult
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A hot spring town on the Tamayu River, praised in the Nara-period Izumo Fudoki for water that beautifies the skin, and once a centre of magatama making.
Matsue · ShimaneMuseum of sand near the singing-sand beach Kotogahama, home to Sunagoyomi, a 5.2-meter hourglass that runs for one year and is turned over each New Year's Eve.
Oda · ShimaneA prefectural art museum by Kikutake Kiyonori on the shore of Lake Shinji, with about 1,600 works by Hokusai and a rooftop terrace facing the lake.
Matsue · ShimaneOne of Japan's oldest Shinto shrines, dedicated to Okuninushi no Okami, deity of nation-building, agriculture and relationships, with a huge shimenawa rope.
Izumo · ShimaneArt museum in Yasugi, Shimane, known for its Yokoyama Taikan collection and for gardens ranked first in Japan for 23 consecutive years.
Yasugi · ShimaneIwami Ginzan, Japan's largest silver mine, ran from 1526 to 1923 and produced a third of the world's silver at its peak. UNESCO World Heritage since 2007.
Oda · ShimaneOriginal wooden fortress built 1607-1611, one of Japan's few surviving castles and one of the Three Great Lake Castles in its architectural category.
Matsue · ShimaneTwo shrines on one site at the western tip of the Shimane Peninsula, rebuilt in the 1630s and holding a National Treasure suit of armour.
Izumo · ShimaneShrine near Matsue with three halls side by side, where the gods gather each November to remember Izanami, and home of the UNESCO-listed Sada Shinno dance.
Matsue · ShimaneMankusen Shrine in Izumo is said to be the last stop for the gods of Japan before they return home.
Izumo · ShimaneShrine near Matsue known as Izumo's birthplace of fire, holding sacred fire-drills, a rice-cake ritual and Susanoo's comb festival for Princess Inada.
Matsue · ShimaneEach autumn in western Shimane, shrine stages host Iwami Kagura - sacred dances performed through the night, from ceremonial pieces to a battle with a serpent.
Shimane · Chugoku
Agoda9.4 ExceptionalIZUMO HOTEL THE CLIFF
Agoda9.0 ExceptionalDormy Inn Izumo Hot Springs
Agoda9.0 ExceptionalOnyado Nono Matsue Hot SpringBooking through our links earns us a commission, at no extra cost to you.

