Matsue Guide…In English

English Guide to Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture, Japan

Events Archive – 2009

EVENTS IN MATSUE – MARCH 2009

March 8th (Sunday) 

ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE in Matsue

Place: The area around Matsue Castle and Karakoro Kobo.

Event: There are 2 parades; 1 on water and 1 on land. The water parade takes place on the moat around the west side of the castle to the canal in front of Karakoro kobo. (Starts at 12:15). The land parade starts and finishes at Karakoro kobo. (Starts at 13:00).

Various other events also take place around the area including the following…

Juggling Show: From 12:00 and 14:30, Marching bands performances on the parades, Irish music and dance: 14:30 – 15:00 and an IRISH PUB called THE SHAMROCK open on March 7th (Sat) 17:00 – 22:00, and 8th (Sun) 15:30 – 21:00. The pub is in the old bank vaults underneath Karakoro kobo (yes, it used to be a bank).

There are traffic restrictions on the day, so it is best to walk from the station. Head north to the river then follow the river to the west until you come to O-hashi bridge. Cross the bridge and keep going. Karakoro kobo is to the left across the canal.

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March 14th (Sat) 10:00 – 16:30, March 15th (Sun) 9:30 – 16:00 

CAMELIA FESTIVAL

Place: The 2nd enclosure at Matsue Castle.

Camelia from all around Japan are on display and for sale.

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March 28th (Sat) – April 15th (Wed)

MATSUE CASTLE CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL

Place: Matsue Castle

Event: The cherry blossoms around the castle are lit up from 18:00 – 21:30 so take some sake and drink the night away under the cherry trees (however…it closes at 21:00…) …

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March 29th (Sun)

MATSUE LOCAL TRADITIONAL PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVAL

Place: Kenmin Kaikan (Citizen’s Hall) 13:30 ~ (The kenmin-kaikan is opposite Matsue Castle and the Prefectural Office on the south east side. See Matsue Castle info for how to get there).

Traditional performing arts groups from the various towns around Matsue will perform. Tickets should be bought beforehand (1,000 yen) and are available from the Kenmin-kaikan, Plover Hall and the Matsue City Office Tourism Dept.

Here are some events happening in Matsue this April…

The cherry blossom festival will of course be continuing up at Matsue Castle until April 15th (see March events for details).

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There are also other great places to see cherry blossoms in the ciy, try Tamatsukuri (a few minutes by train from Matsue Station heading towards Izumo. Take the local train because the others don’t stop there!) The blossoms bloom along the riverbank.

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Matsue English Garden Narcissus (Daffodill) Festival (April 4th – 12th 2009)

You can enjoy the spring flowers at the English Garden which stands overlooking Lake Shinji in north east Matsue. There are also events to coincide with the flower festival including…

April 11th (Sat) – A choir concert at 11:00am in the main hall…

April 11th (Sat) – A string quartet at 3:00pm in the mail hall…

April 12th (Sun) Shimane University’s wind ensemble will give 2 concerts, starting at 10:00am and then 11:00am

April 12th (Sun) The ‘Godess of the Garden’ (no, I’m not joking), will give a belly-dance show at 3:00pm in the main hall.

Getting There: (It’s not the most accessible of places so good luck!) Take the Ichibata Bus No. 34 or 37 from Matsue Station Bus stop No.3 to Matsue English Garden Mae. It takes about 30 mins.

Or take the train or Ichibata bus from Shinjiko Onsen Station to Matsue English Garden. The train takes about 5 mins and the bus around 15 mins. (No English announcements though).

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SPRING FLEA MARKET (April 11th Saturday)

A spring flea market will be held outside and in the lobby of the prefectural citizens hall on April 11th (Sat) from 10:00am to 3:00pm.

Might be able to pick up a few bargains/souvenirs?

Getting there: Ichibata buses No. 93 through to No. 99 leave Matsue Station from bus stop No. 6. They all stop at the prefectural citizens hall (kenmin-kaikan in Japanese)

SAMURAI PARADE (April 4th Saturday)

A samurai parade will be held through the old streets of Matsue on Saturday from 12:30 onwards.

It starts at the roundabout at Tenjin Shrine, crosses Ohashi Bridge, goes past the Prefectural office and ends at Matsue Castle. To get to Tenjin Shrine, turn left out of the north exit of Matsue station and follow the railway tracks for about  5 minutes. You can’t miss it…

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GOSPEL CONCERT (April 4th Saturday)

There will be a sunset gospel concert in the lobby of the Shimane Art Museum next to Lake Shinji from 4pm.

Entrance is free!

For details on how to get to the museum, see the info on the what to see page.

HORAN ENYA in Matsue!

The festival Horan Enya only takes place once every 12 years, so miss it this time and you’ve got a long wait!

For details about the festival and its history, check out Matsue City’s homepage at the link below.

The site doesn’t give any practical details in English, so we will do that here. The festival events are held on three days:

Togysai – Saturday, May 16th 8:30 – 17:30

This starts at Jozan Inari Shrine near Matsue Castle and the boats will be on the river (i.e. there will be something to see) around from Lake Shinji to Kunibiki Bridge (not far from the station) from around 10:00 am until around 1:00pm. After that it heads off down the river, out of the city to Higashi Izumo Town.

Chunichisai – Wednesday, May 20th 10:00 am – 16:00

This takes place in Higashi Izumo Town at Adakaya Shrine. There will be dances etc. from 1:10 pm – 3:30 pm. To get to Higashi Izumo from Matsue you can take the local train from Matsue Station to Iya Sation and get a taxi.

Kangyosai – Sunday, May 24th 8:00 am – 18:00

This long day starts at Adakaya Shrine and the boats work their way back to Matsue. They will be in the city centre by about midday, and  you should be able to see a bit of action between 12:30 and 2:45pm between Kunibiki Bridge and Lake Shinji. After that the procession goes back up to Jozan Inari Shrine. Things will start winding down around 4:50 pm and until 6:00pm there will be ceremonies within the shrine.

You’ll need to get to these events early to get a good seat – Horan Enya in Matsue is a festival counted as one of the country’s top three festivals on water, so there should be a fair few people from here and there!

Link to history of Horan Enya in Matsue (Matsue City)

http://ho-ran2009.city.matsue.shimane.jp/en.html

MATSUE ENGLISH GARDEN ROSE FESTIVAL

‘Tis the season to enjoy the English roses, and the festival will run from May 30th to June 7th (Sun)

Opening times: 9:00 – 17:30

Getting there: Take the Ichibata Bus No. 34 or 37 from Matsue Station Bus stop No.3 to Matsue English Garden Mae. It takes about 30 mins.

Or take the train or Ichibata bus from Shinjiko Onsen Station to Matsue English Garden. The train takes about 5 mins and the bus around 15 mins. (No English announcements though).

EGYPTIAN EXHIBITION  (June 10th – July 26th 2009)

There will be an exhibition of items from the National Cairo Museum and also artifacts that have recently been discovered in Egypt and put on display for the first time. They include mummies…a rare sight in the San-in area.

The exhibition will be in the Shimane Art Museum by the lake. See ‘What to see page for details on how to get there.

The museum is closed on Tuesdays but will be open on June 23rd and July 21st.

The exhibition costs 1,300.

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HARP CONCERT (July 4th Sat)

There will be 2 harp concerts on this day at the Shimane Art Museum and they are both free! The harpist is Mari Honda. For details on how to get to the museum see the Matsue – What to see page.

Times: 4pm and 7pm (both approx. 30 mins each)

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TENJIN FESTIVAL (July 24th and 25th (Fri/Sat) 2009)

The annual Tenjin Shrine Festival will start around 5pm on Friday, with the procession leaving Matsue Castle  at 7pm and getting to the rotary in front of Tenjin Shrine at about 9pm. The area around the shrine will be full of stalls selling food and more importantly beer. The night of the 25th from around 7pm should be quite lively as well!

Getting There: Turn left out of the north exit of Matsue Station and keep following the railway tracks, then follow the crowds. It’s only about 5-10 mins walk from the station.

SUIGOSAI (Aug 1st and 2nd 2009)

Come and enjoy the fireworks! The fireworks over the lake will run from 8:00 to 8:30 on Saturday and 8:00 – 9:00 on Sunday. There will also be live events outside the City Hall.

Getting There: Follow the crowds!

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MATSUE CASTLE SUMMER FESTIVAL (August 22nd 6:00 pm – 8:30pm)

The festival is held in the main grounds of Matsue Castle and has a good line up of

dances – traditional/modern, hip-hop and street dance. Nt what you would expect at a

castle festival, but it makes a nice change from samurai parades and other historical events.

The castle will also be open until 9:00pm on the day. (last entry 8:30pm)

Let’s hope the rain holds off for once…

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MATSUE ILLUMINATION (LANTERN) FESTIVAL 

 

Every Saturday, Sunday and national holiday between September 19th (Sat) and October 18th (Sun) Evening. 

As usual, the lanterns will be placed all around the castle and samurai houses in Shiomi-nawate. The horikawa boat trip will run until 9:00pm and Matsue Castle, the Samurai Houses and the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Hall will stay open until 9:00pm too. 

The Samurai Houses and Hearn’s Memorial Museum will be free on Sept 26th and 27th , and rickshaws will run on these days and Sept. 19th – 23rd in that area. 

Karakoro kobo will also organize evening events to co-incide with the festival. (Concerts etc.) 

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LAFCADIO HEARN SPEECH CONTEST 

 

September 27th (Sun) 

The annual speech contest will take place in Plover Hall in the afternoon (I think.) It’s free admission so if you want to come along and cheer on the school children giving speeches from Hearn’s writings in English, come along!

MATSUE CASTLE TEA CEREMONY

October 3rd (Sat) 4th (Sun) from 9:00 to 3:30pm.

Admission Fee: 800 yen per time, or 2000 yen for 3 times.

A total of 10 different tea ceremony schools will be out serving tea around Matsue castle, each with different sweets and subtle differences. It is usually very busy so be prepared to wait!

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MATUSE DOGYO RETSU (Drumming Parade)

On the 3rd Sunday in October every year the narrow streets of Matsue come alive with the thunderous sounds of drumming. The event is held as part of the Matsue Shrine Festival. Each of the old towns of Matsue participates with a float holding two drums and a number of drummers, which is pulled across the Ohashi bridge and around the streets near the castle accompanied by the shrilly sounds of the flute. It started back in 1724 as a celebration when the Lord of the castle brought a princess back from Kyoto as his bride. It’s present form dates back to 1915 when each town made a drum as an offering to the emperor ascending the throne. For a few weeks before the event you can hear the sounds of drums and flutes echoing around the old streets late into the night as each town practices for the big day.

The best place to see it is from around the prefectural office to the Ohashi bridge.

The parade will be held on Sunday 18th October 2009. The sounds of the drummers practicing can already be heard around the town most nights!

PLOVER ILLUMINATIONS

Dec 2nd to 25th from 5:00pm to 9:00pm.

Time to get a bit Christmassy! Matsue’s cultural centre and concert hall will be all lit up during the above period, and will also feature some Christmas concerts as follows…(They are free but you are advised to reserve a ticket on the following number – 0852-27-6000. I wouldn’t bet on English being understood though!)

December 9th (Wed) 7:00pm to 8:00pm Christmas concert by an ensemble

December 13th (Sun) 6:30pm to 7:30pm ‘Holiday Treats’ – A concert of Christmas carols by Shimane Horn Club.

December 16th (Wed) 7:00pm to 8:00pm An improvisation performance by Theatre Group Ashibue.

December 19th (Sat) 5:00pm to 7:00pm  Organ concert