Matsue's excellent modern museum gives a broad-ranging introduction to the history of the regional clans and development of local industry and crafts. Among the displays are old town maps, ceramics, letters and the local speciality, Matsue wagashi (sweets) – you can taste modern versions in the attached shop, made famous in Japan by a TV show. The free English audio guide is very good.
Matsue History Museum
Western Honshū
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
21.37 MILES
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6.96 MILES
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Koizumi Yakumo (Lafcadio Hearn) Memorial Museum
0.35 MILES
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Nearby Western Honshū attractions
0.15 MILES
Dating from 1611, picturesque Matsue-jō has a wooden interior showcasing treasures belonging to the Matsudaira clan. Known as 'Plover Castle' for the…
2. Buke Yashiki Samurai Residence
0.24 MILES
You'll take lots of pictures as you stroll around this immaculately preserved house and garden, built for a middle-ranking samurai family during the early…
3. Lafcadio Hearn Old Residence
0.34 MILES
A small late 19th-century samurai house with pretty gardens where the writer lived. You can still see the desk where he penned his classic collection,…
4. Koizumi Yakumo (Lafcadio Hearn) Memorial Museum
0.35 MILES
This memorial museum has displays on the life and work of former Matsue resident Lafcadio Hearn, as well as some of the writer's personal effects –…
5. Shimane Prefectural Art Museum
1.1 MILES
With its white undulating roof and huge glass windows facing the lake, the museum building itself is an impressive sight. Inside, it displays rotating…
6.96 MILES
This pretty garden occupying an area of around 40,000 sq metres was established privately in 1975 on Lake Nakaumi's Daikonshima Island, between Matsue and…
10.32 MILES
Local businessman and art collector Adachi Zenkō founded this excellent museum, located east of Matsue in Yasugi. The collection includes over 100…
11.15 MILES
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