Hinomisaki, 24.05.24

Next and last port of call was Izumo right on the other side of the island of Honshu. To go there was a decision of curiosity. What is there? What happens there? Probably the remotest place we visited in Japan. It just happened to have a Kai hotel, Kai Izumo. It looked to be right by the sea. To get there we had to take a Shinkansen right up to Okayama and from there on a Limited Express to Izumo still more than an hour from Kai Izumo which was in a village called Hinomisaki. It involved a bus ride to Izumo Taisha and from there another bus to Hinomisaki. According to my research all these modes of transport should be connecting and get us to our destination in mid-afternoon. After our experience with the train system of Japan we had great confidence in getting there. No problem. Only we missed our connection in Okayama. It was a kind of very confusing railway station with very little English signage. In the end we managed to change our tickets to the next train and were on our way an hour late. We had a bento box for lunch while we waited.

Bento Box

The Limited Express Yakumo runs on a single track system through a very mountainous landscape hardly ever interrupted by stops at small towns or villages. One of these was Niimi, a small city of 30000 people where they produce cement and mine limestone. Grapes, peaches, chestnuts and Japanese pears are grown. 

Limited Express Yakumo

Nearby at Ikura is a large limestone cave visited by lots of tourists. Part of the fascination of the cave is a legend that a long time ago two lovers lived here: Mosaku and Arisa. One day the beautiful princess Tsuruhime visited and Mosaku was smitten and followed her to the city. Arisa was heart broken and jumped off a cliff within the cave. The village people of Ikura built a shrine and Arisa became the goddess of marriage and guardian angel for lovers. 

Once through the mountains the plains near the coast become more populated and we passed through Matsue and along a lake to Izumo. Luckily at the station a bus was still running to Taisha where we could change to the last bus taking us to Inomizaki along a beautiful winding coastal road. In the end it stopped right outside our hotel. 

A receptionist stood outside the entrance expecting us I think and welcoming us into the lobby for check in. The hotel itself was a very modern structure in a stunning location on a cliff overlooking the Sea of Japan. From the room we had views up and down the coast and could faintly hear the breaking waves below. We were also told that the sunrise was really magnificent! Sunrise for us?! There was a lounge and a library with coffee making machines. There was also an Onsen fed with hot spring water. 

Dinner was included in the package, and it really needed to be because there was no restaurant far and wide. It started at about 6.30 and was a Kaiseki affair. The dining room was divided into booths all very cozy but it also separated us from the other diners. In the past we often met people on the next table and could talk to them which is kind of nice. Maybe the Japanese prefer their privacy. 

Dinner

We had a lovely waiter who was rather nervous because we were his first European guests and as we ordered a bottle of wine he was even more nervous and not sure how to open the bottle properly and how to pour it. Another first for him. We gave him tips in how to do it and he relaxed quite a bit. 

The food was a mixed selection of fish, soup, rice and wagyu beef. All very beautifully presented in little bowls and plates. By now we were sort of used to this kind of food and knew what to expect but some of it was just too different in taste and texture. In fact in these places, where they served us this real and proper Japanese food, the textures were more often than not our stumbling block. That could be slimy, gooey, chewy and wobbly with a definite lack of seasoning. Not things we do in French cuisine apart from maybe a Creme Brulee or in Italy a Panna Cotta. In this kind of Japanese food there is also a lack of herbs and spices. The only spice I came across was a kind of Japanese pepper mix. The soya sauces on the side were often the only remedy to make things more palatable. Or a dollop of wasabi. It would take years I think to learn how to appreciate this kind of fare, and maybe a less squeamish nature to be able to swallow almost live or half dead 'things'.

In the dining room

After dinner we were offered to partake in the 'activity', the Kai difference. It started after nine o'clock and was performed in the lounge where they put up chairs facing a dance floor. It was a kind of Japanese theatre with three performers. The first one introduced the play, which we did not understand at all, but then got the gist when the other two, both warriors, started their dance around each other in a kind of mock battle accompanied by music. They wore traditional Japanese dresses of gold and red and blue and covered their faces with a mask. One looked more threatening that the other, one was obviously the bad one and he was going to lose the fight, as what we guessed, when he submitted to the other who waved his sword over his head. But in the end, all seems to have been forgiven, the whole display a ritual of submission of one lesser lord to another, greater one. 

The Dance

They asked us to get onto the stage for a photograph with the actors which we obliged to. Funnily enough other Japanese guests also wanted to take photographs of us two foreigners and it seemed they were quite proud to have been able to share such a local and really spectacular treat with us. A truly Japanese experience. 

The Performers

Gallery