After leaving Ishimi Tatamigaura behind, I pointed the car toward Izumo.

I drove my Aqua along the afternoon roads. The coastal route felt wonderful. Island scenery flowed past my window—this was Shimane Prefecture. I was already looking forward to tonight’s destination: a hot spring inn in Izumo.

Heading to the Hot Spring Inn “Kai Izumo”

We arrived at the inn in the early evening.

Hoshino Resort’s “Kai Izumo.” After parking the Aqua, I made my way to the front desk. As I walked, my first thought was simple: this is a remarkable place. The temperature hovered just above 20 degrees Celsius—pleasant and comfortable.

After checking in, I was led to our room.

A space made entirely of wood, in the true Japanese style. The room was truly wonderful. Wooden floors and tatami mats created a calm, traditional atmosphere. You could even see the landscape from the shower room. From the room itself, I could watch the sunset. And the staff had mentioned I could view the sunrise from the lounge downstairs tomorrow morning. This inn allowed you to savor the sky’s transformation both evening and morning. What luxury.

Our room number was 315. I took a little time exploring the interior. The second and third floors housed the guest rooms. Walking up and down the stairs, I found myself back in the lobby. Everywhere I walked, the Japanese aesthetic was impeccable. I found myself thinking: I’m glad I’m Japanese. It was that kind of space.

And there was one more piece of good news posted around the inn.

From 7 to 9:30 p.m., they would be performing Iwami Kagura—a spirited form of traditional dance native to the region. This was something I absolutely couldn’t miss.

Soaking Away the Road’s Fatigue

After setting down our bags, I headed straight for the hot spring.

This was day two of our journey. Since morning, I’d walked along Ishimi Tatamigaura and spent hours behind the wheel. My body carried a pleasant weariness. At times like this, a hot spring is simply incomparable.

I sank slowly into the water.

This spring was a sodium chloride-rich hot spring—mineral-laden water that warms you thoroughly. The liquid seeped gently into my skin, its heat penetrating slowly to my core. The tension drained from my shoulders, the fatigue melted from my feet. Like being wrapped in a salty veil, the warmth lingered long after I stepped out. Hot springs are truly marvelous things—gifts that Japanese people have cherished for centuries. To receive such blessing with gratitude is its own gift.

Like fermented foods, hot springs are also blessings nurtured by land and time. You cannot simply obtain them overnight. They are built upon ages of accumulation. And precisely for that reason, they are precious.

In Yukata, Walking to the Lighthouse

After bathing, I put on a yukata and decided to take a short walk around the inn.

The early evening wind blew stronger than I’d expected. Yet to my warm, post-bath skin, it felt wonderfully refreshing. I walked slowly, the hem of my yukata fluttering behind me.

As I continued, a white lighthouse came into view by the sea.

Cape Hinomisaki Lighthouse. A beacon of white stone standing along Izumo’s shore. Perched atop the cliff, it rose straight and true, stretching toward the sky as if looking out over the sea below. Something about its presence drew me in. I’d found my walking destination.

Around the lighthouse, nature flourished. Pine trees, shaped by years of salt wind and ocean spray, bent at angles slanting away from the sea—toward the mountains. The force of the wind was written into their very form, year after year, creating a living sculpture crafted by nature itself. I heard bird calls from all directions.

The white lighthouse, the blue sea, the tilted pine—the composition was simply beautiful. There’s something about a lighthouse by the water that photographs so perfectly. I took many, many pictures.

The Sunset from the Lighthouse

And then came the sunset itself.

Standing beside the lighthouse, gazing toward the sea.

It was extraordinary.

The sky shifted moment by moment through red, orange, and deepening purple. The sea’s surface caught the light, shimmering and alive. The white lighthouse rose sharply against the sun’s silhouette, standing out clearly. Summer clouds drifted through the sunset’s glow, themselves transformed.

“Japan really is something special,” I said aloud, surprising myself.

Landscapes like this exist here as everyday nature. Words simply cannot capture it. So I kept clicking the shutter, frantically, so I could revisit this moment again and again later.

My wife was resting in the room. I stood alone by the lighthouse, burning this sunset into memory. Sometimes it’s good to face nature alone like this. I remained there until the sun had completely disappeared.

The Iwami Kagura and the Evening Meal

Returning to the room, I reunited with my wife as evening fell.

Dinner was at 7:30 p.m. The evening meal is always one of the journey’s greatest pleasures at a hot spring inn. Shimane is a land blessed with ocean treasures and mountain bounty. Local ingredients, local cuisine, local sake. Japanese sake, too, is the crystalline expression of fermentation—rice and koji transformed. A glass of it, tasted here in Izumo’s own land, became something extraordinary.

And then the Iwami Kagura.

The drums and flutes’ reverberations traveled deep into my body. Brilliant costumes, brave and spirited movements. The world of mythology unfolded before my eyes. Izumo is the birthplace of myth. Watching kagura here was no mere tourist spectacle—it was the land’s own memory made manifest.

To taste a region’s food, to encounter its culture—is there any greater luxury than this?

Evening’s Second Day, Quietly Deepening

A hot spring soak, an evening view, the Iwami Kagura, local sake.

In the morning, I’d walked Hamada’s seaside; in the evening, I’d relaxed in an Izumo inn. One day contained such abundance of richness. Travel is truly something to be grateful for.

Outside the window, all was dark. Tomorrow, I want to explore Izumo more slowly, more fully.

The evening of day two deepened quietly. My body was warm and comfortable, my heart full.

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Hot springs, local sake, kagura. The gifts a land nurtures over long spans of time—we receive them with gratitude.

※ This article is based on personal experience and publicly available information. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease. If you have health concerns, please consult a doctor or registered dietitian. See our Disclaimer.