Job Discussion Forums

[Harajuku Girl]

Just wondering if anyone out there has lived in or visited Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture? If so, would you recommend it as a place to live? Any feedback of first-hand experiences would be great.......

[Ryu Hayabusa]

I've visited there once. There are some nice outlet stores and second-hand shops on highway 54. It seemed like a nice, quiet little city not without its charms.

[Samurai]

I lived in a small city called Sakaiminato-shi which is only a few minutes away from Matsue by car. So I visited Matsue many times. Would I recommend it as a place to live? Yes, definitely. This side of Japan is called San-in...which means that it is often overcast. The Okayama area is called San-yo...which means it is bright and sunny. As I have lived in both kens I can vouch for these terms. Everytime I made my way back from Osaka on the bus I knew we had hit Tottori-ken (Sakaiminato-shi) when we hit big black clouds overhead.
It snows in this area to such a degree that snow tires and even chains are needed. If you don't mind the snow then it won't be a problem for you. Mt. Daisen is very near Matuse and so if you like skiing this will be a place for you...they have a section which has floodlights and is open till quite late.
Getting to the big cities is done either by bus or plane. As you will know, there isn't any shinkansen up in the San-in area. So I used to have to get the train (Super Yakumo) from either Matuse or Yonago down to Okayama (which takes 2 hours). From here I would then switch to the shinkansen. The alternative is to take a bus (I used to ride them from Yonago)...it would take 4 hours to get to Osaka. Busses go to many places...including Tokyo...which was an overnight bus. I never did this run...too long for me...but I know many who did. I preferred to take the plane from Yonago airport...(when they had the nice 10,000yen deals!)
I loved living in this area of Japan and would highly recommend it.