By Skyscrapers, neon billboards, and busy junctions are absent, Instead, this region in the southwest of Japan‘s largest island. Honshu has a singular assortment of vistas that are exclusive to this region.
Its 5,500 square miles are home to organic farms, centuries-old creative traditions, ancient islands. With unique ecologies, and, according to legend, the favorite gathering place of the gods in the entire universe.
Most visitors from abroad never see it. San’in is not connect to the renown high-speed train network in Japan, which puts it completely off the radar for many tourists.
But it’s worth the trek Japan.
Shimane and Tottori, two of Japan’s least populous prefectures. Are located between the Sea of Japan and the northern Chukogu mountains and make up the San’in region.
Out of Japan’s 125 million inhabitants, only roughly one million call it home. The San’in region is portray as the location of the gods’ yearly convocation in “The Kojiki,” a significant Shinto literature from the ninth century.
The locale is the setting for one-third of the text’s storylines. With Shimane even being identify as the origin of sake. (Nara and Hyogo, though, might wish to speak out; all three regions have important narratives to share about their contributions to the history of the beverage.)
the divine homeland
The most well-known locations in the San’in region incorporate elements of Japanese mythology. The Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine, which was build in the seventh century. Is the most well-known of them all. One of Japan’s oldest Shinto shrines, according to the Kojiki, is thought to have been a first stop at the gods’ annual gathering.
The shrine, which is link to happy partnerships, draws many people who are hoping to find true love or a spouse. Its 44-foot, 4.5-ton shimenawa, or twisted straw rope, is its most recognizable feature. The largest rope in Japan is manually rewoven by neighborhood volunteers every few years.
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