Most Beautiful Japanese Garden in the World - Adachi Museum

Adachi Museum needs little introduction. Rated 3-stars by the Michelin Guide, perennially named the world's best Japanese garden by experts at the Journal of Japanese Gardening, and simply one of the premier attractions on the San'in Coast. Its worthiness for a day-trip was beyond question to us, but reaching this remote destination did take some planning.



First off we're on the San'in Coast, one of the regions of Japan least visited by foreigners. We settled into our homebase at the seafood capital of Matsue and visited Adachi Museum as a day-trip along with picturesque Kurayoshi. Another option would be to skip Kurayoshi and pick Sakaiminato for the combined day-trip, but that would be better suited for Anime fans.



So we visited Kurayoshi in the morning and arrived at the closest station of Yasugi by mid afternoon. From Yasugi Station the museum operates a free shuttle roughly every 30 minutes, taking 15-20 minutes to arrive at the museum. The shuttle bus was a 20-seater and full capacity was not inconceivable during peak season, which led to our Plan B, a community shuttle (known as the Yellow Bus; schedule available on the Japanese side of Adachi Museum's website) that ran less frequently.



The first thing we did upon arrival, even before buying a ticket, was to snatch up reservation cards for the coveted seats on the return bus! We took our spots on the second last bus at 16:45, though in retrospect I would have loved that extra 30 minutes offered by the final bus.



Remember to bring your passport as foreigners get 50% off the steep 2300 yen admission! Apparently so few non-Japanese discover this region that the government is subsidizing the tourism industry to bring in more visitors. The discount of 1150 yen is so ridiculous that the museum doesn't even advertise it on their website, though most foreigners making it this far already know.



Once inside the museum nothing could take our eyes offs its legendary garden beyond the glass windows, some of which could be opened for that perfect shot. The corridor would circled the entire first floor, offering a slightly different view of the garden every few steps. 60 minutes on this floor was not enough for me.



I'm usually NOT a fan of art museums -- most paintings put me to sleep, I'm sorry to say. But here I actually wished for more time inside an art museum, perhaps for the first time ever. There was something about the impeccable composition of Yokoyama Taikan and Sakakibara Shiho that really connected to me. Besides an entire room devoted to Yokoyama Taikan, another highlight for me was the exquisite collection of traditional houseware and furniture pieces. The only possible gripe was that no photos were allowed in the exhibition halls.



And of course, no venturing into the meticulously manicured gardens aside from this small courtyard on the backside of the museum. Otherwise the garden wouldn't have been so immaculate with my presence.



For an unhurried hour to fully appreciate the beauty of this living picture frame, the museum cafe offers front row seats for the premium of 1000 yen, with choices of Espressos or Matcha Lattes. Lunches of Wagyu Beef Curry could be had for a reasonable 1200 yen, though that would be served at a side restaurant without the prime panoramic view.



Expect crowds! We waded through the corridors alongside hundreds of Japanese tourists, mostly arriving on organized tours from Kansai and some from as faraway as Tohoku. At the end of our 90 minutes we took the shuttle bus back to Yasugi Station, where a quick 20 minutes on the Express Train brought us back to Matsue for a seasonal dinner of Matsuba-gani crabs.



In retrospect we should have spent more than just 90 minutes at one of my favorite museums anywhere, perhaps even a half day, to properly appreciate both the garden AND the exhibits. A morning visit and lunch at the museum, moving to Kurayoshi in the afternoon and a dinner of Ramen in Beef Bone Broth before returning to Matsue would have been optimal ... but then we would have missed our snow crab dinner!

Charming Kurayoshi ... 4 Weeks After 6.6 Earthquake

This was one of my favorite photos from our 16-day trip through West Japan, taken at possibly the most unknown destination on our list, merely four weeks after a devastating 6.6 magnitude earthquake.



Most non-Japanese readers may not have heard of Kurayoshi, an obscure but beautifully preserved feudal town in the wooded foothills of Western Honshu's mountain ranges, in a region so heavily shaded that it became known as San'in, or Mountain's Shadow. In other words, we're in the Black Forest of Japan.



Like Germany's Black Forest, Japan's San'in also hosts some of its country's most charming historic towns, several of which have been crowned UNESCO World Heritage Sites in recent years. In an age when Hagi and Iwami Ginzan are slowly gaining attention from international travelers, Kurayoshi has somehow managed to remain largely anonymous.



That mystery of the unknown was exactly why we picked Kurayoshi for a day-trip from our convenient homebase of Matsue, a worthwhile destination on its own. While we did consider the popular sand dunes of Tottori or the eccentric Anime/Manga town of Sakaiminato, little Kurayoshi was simply too quaint and exotic to pass up.



Thanks to the ridiculously cheap San'in Okayama Area Pass (4500 yen for 4 days!), Kurayoshi was merely an hour away from Matsue on JR's Express trains. As we hopped on the local bus from the modern train station, the scenery slowly shifted from 21st Century to the 1950s and beyond as we followed the locals into their centuries-old town centre.



Just weeks ago on a Friday afternoon, a 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck the entire San'in Coast devastating hundreds of buildings and displacing dozens of families. The city closest to the epicentre was -- you guessed it -- historic Kurayoshi. With news of damages as far away as the Matsue Castle 60km to the west, we arrived half-expecting collapsed roofs and uninhabited buildings. But Kurayoshi proved so much stronger.



One must admire the resilience of the townspeople at their most difficult hour, amid damaged houses, cancelled hotel bookings and subsequently significant drops to visitor numbers. But repairs soon started and had been carried out at an astonishing pace for such a major earthquake. The Great Hanshin Earthquake was 6.9 magnitude in comparison with toppled buildings, collapsed bridges and a death toll of 4000. Miraculously in Kurayoshi no one died, and life essentially resumed within days.



When we arrived on week four, some of the minor damages had already been repaired and the town was fully welcoming visitors once again. One of most severely damaged heritage buildings, the 110-year-old bathhouse of Taisha-yu, amazingly reopened its doors in just 6 days. And to anyone visiting the pictured Benten Sando and its aisles of little lanterns leading to the Dairenji temple, the earthquake hardly left any mark.



In fact the town's star attraction, the 250-year-old merchant residence of Yodoya, was so marvellously well-engineered that it survived with nearly no damage. Models of its ingenious construction has always been part of the permanent exhibits, alongside feudal era cash registers (great props for selfies!) and some spectacular Fusuma screen doors.



Just around the corner was my personal favorite, the 120-year-old Toyota Residence with its arching wooden bridge and stone pagoda, framed inside the most exquisite garden courtyard for its pint-size. For 500 yen the host would personally guide you around the mansion and adjust the screen doors to give you the best possible viewpoint for that memorable shot.



Crossing the wooden bridge would lead you into a living quarter of ornate Tatami rooms, featuring walls decorated with gold leaves and some of the finest and most intricate window lattices. Touring these immaculately preserved houses one would not have known that a magnitude 6 earthquake had just hit, less than a month ago.



One of the shops that suffered significant losses was the revered Gensui Sake Brewery, frequent award winners for its Daiginjo and the pride of Kurayoshi since late Edo Period. No sense crying over spilled Sake, and the brewery was essentially back in business the next day.



For inquisitive travelers looking to explore beyond Kurayoshi's classic medieval storehouses perched upon its narrow canals, a simple stroll through town would transport you unexpectedly back into the Showa Era, decades ago when this 1940s advertisement for Morinaga Caramel must have signified a favorite after-school meeting spot for local kids.



As we toured the historic quarter we picked up breakfast in the form of a Kani Manju, a Chinese-influenced steamed dumpling akin to Chashaobao but stuffed with snow crab meat from the local fishing port of Yonago. At 450 yen it didn't sound cheap, but the crab was definitely real and the warm from the steamer was much welcome on a cold November morning.



We also picked up a soya milk smoothie from the popular Kudamonoya, always made fresh with seasonal offerings such as strawberries in January or this cup of Saijo persimmons, one of the most representative fruits of West Japan, in November. After rummaging around town for a few hours, we took the bus back to the train station to sample one of the region's original culinary inventions.


Food Review: GOTTSUO RAMEN (Kurayoshi)
Address: Ageicho 1-Chome 370, Kurayoshi-shi, Tottori Prefecture
Hours: Lunch Tue-Sun 11:30-14:00; Dinner daily 18:00-02:00 or whenever the soup is sold out
Map: from Google Maps
Directions: Starting from the train station, walk straight down the main road for 350m. Gottsuo Ramen is on your left.


Aside from the highly recommended Menya Hibari in Matsue, this was the other Ramen joint in the San'in region that we've been raving about, both featuring their own unmistakeable local specialties. At Matsue's lakefront it was a savory broth of Flying Fish, and in the case of landlocked Kurayoshi, a rich, fatty broth extracted from the soup bones of local Wagyu cattle.



Simmering behind the counter was a large steel vat that held Gottsuo's prized Beef Bone soupbase, limited to just 100 bowls per day. A cheap 650 yen (CAD$7.6) would buy you a bowl of classic Beef Bone Ramen, 850 for a bowl with extra Chashu meat, and 950 yen (CAD$11.2) for top-of-the-line Aburi Chashu Ramen with pan-seared pork belly.



Pictured was my Aburi Chashu Ramen with an overindulgence of Nitamago, the soy-marinated, soft-boiled egg for an extra 100 yen. Accompanying five evil slices of seared pork belly were slivers of wood ear mushrooms and some classic marinated bamboo shoots, all floating on top of a slick oily soupbase. I wouldn't want my doctor to ever see this photo for the cholesterol intake, but this was more tempting than you can imagine.



How good was this? So good that I had completely forgotten to take a close up aside from this blurry pic from my wife's cellphone! While the soupbase was exactly as oily as it looked, the unconventional combination of Wagyu beef bones and roasted snapper heads gave the broth an intense Umami flavor with a long aftertaste from the beef fat. To all Ramen enthusiasts, this is a definite must-try if you're traveling to the San'in Coast. Gottsuo has branches in Kurayoshi, Yonago and Matsue as of 2017.

Bill for Two Persons

Aburi Chashu Gottsuo Ramen x 2	1900 yen
Nitamago x 2	200 yen
TOTAL	2100 yen (CAD$24.7)

Besides the outstanding Ramen, we also came across this delectable Wagashi dessert known as Nashika Mochi, a pillowy soft cake of glutinous rice flour with a filling of Tottori Prefecture's most successful export, the famous 20th Century Nashi Pears. This box of 12 Mochi was bought for about 700 yen at the train station's adjacent Omiyage shop.


Noticeably sweeter than our favorite Wagashi at the two previous stops (Matsue's Yuzugomoro and Bitchu-Takahashi's Yubeshi), this Nashika Mochi would be best complemented by a strong tea, in our case a simple bottle of Itoen's Koicha from the vending machine. This was our afternoon snack on the express train towards our next destination.



Our five hours in Kurayoshi was strangely comforting despite the various signs of damage that we witnessed. There was no doubt in my mind that the locals would recover just fine, perhaps even within a few more weeks, thanks to their own diligence and dedication to preserving their architectural heritage. While we did enjoy the authenticity of seeing no other foreigner in town, I really hope that more independent travelers would discover this hidden gem in one of the least visited regions of Japan. Besides, the townsfolk can really benefit from more tourism yen right now.

Matsue Restaurants - Part 2: Reservations-Only Seafood Izakaya

Three nights at the seafood capital of Matsue, and we managed to sample two of the city's oldest Izakaya, or Japanese gastropubs, including one of the most anticipated eateries of our entire 16-day trip. Not cheap, but definitely worthwhile. The first restaurant is essentially by reservation only, as it is well-known to be fully booked most nights of the year.

Food Review: KAWAKYO (Matsue)
Address: Suetsugu-Honmachi 65, Matsue-shi, Shimane Prefecture
Hours: 18:00-22:30, Monday to Saturday
Map: from Google Maps
Directions: From the train station, walk west for two blocks and turn north, crossing the Shin-Ohashi bridge. After the bridge, turn left at the traffic light (2nd block). Kawakyo is about 300m down the street, on the left hand side.


This was one of the toughest reservations to make for our 16-day West Japan trip. I had to call from Canada, in my broken Japanese, two weeks ahead of departure. And sure enough every available seat was booked on the night of our visit, exactly as I had been warned by Japanese websites.

With empty beer crates and buckets haphazardly stashed at its scruffy storefront, this inconspicuous Izakaya has been a Matsue institution for nearly 50 years, serving Japanese celebrities and local foodies alike. Aside from the paper lantern and stacks of menu sheets, a permanent fixture at the door is a sign that states "Reserved Guests Only" in Japanese.



"Yoyaku no Gaikokujin desu." We're the foreigners who made reservation, I proclaimed as we took the last two spots at this cramped L-shaped counter with only 10 seats to be realistic, or perhaps 12 if everyone gets cozy. Between a couple of friendly Obasan to our left, two half-drunk salarymen at the opposite end and a live baseball game on TV, it doesn't get much more authentic than this.



We barely sat down when the chef's Okusan presented this curious plate of starters: roasted Firefly Squids (Hotaru Ika) from the nearby coastline, Edamame beans with Katsuobushi shavings, and roasted Wakame seaweed from the secluded Oki Islands, 80km to the north in the middle of the ocean. Definitely much more exotic than your typical Izakaya fare in Tokyo or Osaka!



We took the hint from the locals and ordered the so-called B Course, which turned out to be an extraordinary feast of Matsue's regional seafood in the chef's own interpretation, starting with this plate of Unagi-no-Tataki. These freshwater eels were steamed, hand-minced and combined with green scallions and a generous helping of Tonburi caviar that lent its caper-like sharpness to an unconventional and delicious dish.



This was just 10 days into the annual Matsuba-gani Crab season, and our chef had generously allocated a half crab for every two diners in this lavish plate of appetizers. Snow crab season is always a major event anywhere along the Sea of Japan coast, and when paired beside these alluring crab legs and crab caviar (Kanimiso), the gigantic Baigai conch almost became an afterthought.



Goose barnacles, known locally as Kame-no-Te or turtle hands, is one of those extremely rare delicacies that we had never seen elsewhere in Japan. Nothing more than a little Sashimi soy sauce was needed to bring the mild sweetness out of its chewy, Hokkigai-like texture.



Adding to the eccentricity of the tiny Izakaya, once in a while the chef would come out from behind the counter, megaphone in hand, to welcome every guest and introduce the local ingredients behind his dishes. Unfortunately I took no photos as my fingers were all sticky from peeling the sweet, firm flesh out of our Matsuba-gani crab.



Arriving next was arguably the Matsue's best known dish, local Shijimi clams harvested from Lake Shinji, steamed in a thick broth and served as a traditional hangover cure. Said to be rich in taurine, these clams are treasured by the Japanese for fortification of liver functions and are often concentrated into health supplement pills. The taste? Slightly underwhelming for such a highly anticipated dish to be honest.



My favorite dish of the night was this exceptional Sashimi plate of local catches: Sazae conch, my first taste of the Aji-like Shiira (mahi-mahi), Hiramasa (kingfish) and generous cuts of Hagatsuo (bonito) topped with the spiciest Yuzukosho paste I've ever had. That's a combination of rare regional fishes that one simply won't find in Tokyo, at first-rate freshness coming straight from the fishing boats.



I especially enjoyed the Sazae's deep, concentrated Umami flavor and crunchy bite, though my wife found the texture to be a too tough for her preference. But there's no disagreement on how perfectly it went with a sip of the local brew, a homemade Umeshu (plum wine) in my wife's case and a glass of Junmai Ginjo sake (a rare Oki Homare from the offshore islands) in mine.



In addition to the abundance of Matsuba-gani crabs and other catches from the Sea of Japan, what makes Matsue special to seafood lovers is the so-called Seven Delicacies of Lake Shinji, harvested from the shallow waters of Japan's largest brackish lake. At this point we already had the Unagi and the Shijimi clams, and a third traditional delicacy would arrive inside this fascinating package.



Gently roast-steamed inside an wrapping of Washi paper was another of Matsue's signature dishes, the centuries-old recipe of Suzuki Hoshoyaki or Sea Bass Roasted in Hosho Paper. While the flaky mild flesh went well with the conventional dipping of Momiji-oroshi and green scallions, I couldn't help detecting that slight "muddy flavor" in the meat. While this was likely the most prestigious dish aside from the Matsuba-gani, it was ironically the only dish that I didn't thoroughly appreciate.



Much more memorable to my tastebuds was another of the Seven Delicacies, flavorsome Kawaebi shrimps deep-fried to a delectable crisp to be consumed whole. Served with the freshwater shrimps was a surprisingly spicy version of local Kamaboko fish cake known as Akaten, designed to pair perfectly with some smooth Jizake wine. We actually had more than our own share as the neighboring gracious Obasan shared with us some of her own. Arigatou gozaimashita!



Remember the Shijimi clams from earlier? The remaining juices from the clams were added to the soupbase in this filling rice porridge, served with homemade Tsukemono pickles as a conclusion to this authentic feast of local seafood ... in a city famous within Japan for its local seafood! After 46 years this family-run Izakaya had become a minor legend in Matsue, and with good reason.



After dinner we stayed behind and chatted with the friendly chef and his daughter -- her in broken English and myself in broken Japanese -- who were intrigued to learn how two Canadians managed to find their phone number on the Japanese side of the Internet. To our surprise she started pouring us two small glasses of sweet local Doburoku on the house. For the first time ever my wife actually enjoyed unfiltered Sake, in this case a local brew curiously named Okuizumo D-269, as it went down somewhat like a cloudy Margarita, only sweeter and richer in flavor.


As we walked out the chef's daughter gave us these two seasonal persimmons as a parting souvenir, and at the same time I tried to thank them for one of our best dinners anywhere in Japan. The initial confusion and difficulties of calling from overseas for reservation turned out absolutely worthwhile for the parade of unforgettable dishes, including the half Matsuba-gani crab, the superb Sashimi platter and the Unagi-no-Tataki, for 4230 yen per person. Aside from the butcher shop / Wagyu beef restaurant of Kitagaki, this is my other recommendation for dinner in beautiful Matsue. Gochisosama Sonoyama-san!.

Bill for Two Persons

"B" Course	4230 yen
"B" Course	4230 yen
Oki Homaru (Glass)	650 yen
Homemade Umeshu (Glass)	500 yen
Tax	768 yen
TOTAL	10378 yen (CAD$122)

Two nights later we visited another long-standing Izakaya in Matsue. Reservation was not required and the food wasn't quite as meticulously prepared, but it did serve the one seasonal ingredient we craved, at very reasonable prices.


Food Review: HAKATA (Matsue)
Address: Isemiya-cho 517, Matsue-shi, Shimane Prefecture
Hours: 11:30-14:00 and 17:00-23:00, Daily
Map: from Google Maps
Directions: From the train station, walk west along the main road for one block then turn right at the San'in Godo Bank. Turn left after two small blocks into a rowdy little alley with neon signs overhead (and ladies in little clothing standing on the sidelines). Don't be deterred -- Hakata is on the left after about 50m.


Positioned in the midst of night clubs and hostess bars at the heart of Matsue's infamous pleasure district, Hakata is yet another 40-year-old fixture in Matsue's surprisingly competitive dining scene. Customers must first navigate past the distracting ladies along the alley, the kitschy music at the front door and a whole wall of haphazardly plastered menus, before entering a restaurant that turns out amazingly normal and sterile.



Among numerous seafood Izakaya in the same block -- the respected Teresuko being one of them -- we chose Hakata for one simple reason: cheap Matsuba-gani crabs hauled in daily from the nearby fishing port of Sakaiminato during harvest season. Prices ranged from 2800 yen for smaller crabs to a cool 15800 yen for ginormous ones, with the choice of Sashimi, Boiled, Yaki-gani (barbequed) or Kani-nabe (hotpot).



We might never revisit the San'in Coast during Matsuba-gani crab season again, we reasoned, and decided to splurge on two(!) crabs, one for Sashimi and one for Kani-nabe, at the cheapest price of 2800 yen each. And to take our crab feast to the max, we even started with several crab-themed starters such as this Chawan-mushi topped with crab leg.



Cholesterol intake notwithstanding, one of my usual indulgences is the Kanimiso, a luscious mixture of crab caviar and meat that typically accompanies Sake in Japan and incorporated into soup dumplings (i.e. XLB dumplings) in Eastern China. While these mild-tasting snow crab roes would never quite compare to the sweet, gelatinous mouthfeel of the golden-and-white caviar in mitten crabs (see our visit to a crab farm at Yangcheng Lake), at a cheap 430 yen (CAD$5) this was satisfying enough.



After a cheap (280 yen) but underwhelming Cream Croquette with Crab Filling, our waitress appeared again with the first of our two Matsuba-gani crabs ...



... half unshelled in Sashimi form. This was less than two weeks since the start of the annual Matsuba-gani season which runs from early November until mid March. Purposely unremoved from one of the legs was a little tag that certified the crab's fishing port of origin -- this one did hail from Sakaiminato, 20km northeast of Matsue and well-known as the snow crabs capital of Japan.



My first taste of Matsuba-gani Sashimi wasn't quite as sweet as, and much slimier than, I had imagined. While the mild Umami flavor still went well with my glass of fruity Junmai Ginjo, I probably would have spent my 2800 yen on a barbecued crab in retrospect.



Aside from Matsuba-gani crabs we ordered two more daily catches from the fishing boats of Sakaiminato, starting with this Aji Tsukuri served with the standard condiment of grated ginger, for 680 yen (CAD$8).



And a whole Shiro-ika squid at the same price. Despite Hakata's claim of daily deliveries from the fishing port, the freshness of their Sashimi was certainly a notch below Kawakyo from two nights ago.



Just before the arrival of our second crab, the waitress showed up with the kitchen's choice of Tempura Mori. Apparently our chef was confident enough to skip the Tentsuyu sauce and provided nothing but dipping salt and Oroshi radish. This was indeed better than the earlier Crab Croquette, and set the stage for ...



Our Kani-nabe hotpot with our second Matsuba-gani crab: claws, legs, roes and all, served with the typical assortment of cabbages, tofu, harusame noodles, bunashimeji and enoki mushrooms.



And it was worth the wait for what turned out to be the best dish of the night, by far! While the Umami flavor of the broth was tempting enough on its own, it was the distinctive aroma of the Yuzu citrus in the Ponzu that really accentuated the sweetness in any fresh crab. To be honest this was probably the only dish worthwhile of recommendation that evening. Oh well, better late than never.

Bill for Two Persons

Matsuba-gani Crab (Kani-nabe)	2800 yen
Matsuba-gani Crab (Sashimi)	2800 yen
Crab Chawan-mushi x 2	760 yen
Crab Cream Croquette x 2	560 yen
Crab Caviar	430 yen
Whole Squid (Tsukuri)	680 yen
Whole Aji (Tsukuri)	680 yen
Tempura Mori	880 yen
Junmai Ginjo (1-Go)	650 yen
Umeshu (Glass)	500 yen
TOTAL	10740 yen (CAD$126)

There you have it, contrasting reviews of the two most expensive meals on our 16-day trip, at nearly 5500 yen per person including drinks. One was my favorite restaurant in Matsue and was worth every single yen; the other I wouldn't recommend outside of snow crab season. You know which one was which.