IRISH FESTIVAL IN MATSUE  14th March, 2010 (Sun)

The annual peony festival will be held around Daikon-jima during this period.

There is a shuttle bus running from Matsue Station called the Daikon-jima Shuttle Bus. (We are trying to find out running times…there is a lack of info even in Japanese….) or you can go by boat apparently from Yasugi port!

Once you get onto the island there is a free bus that will take you around the island.

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GREAT UKIYOE MASTERS EXHIBITION (April 21st – May 26th 2010)

The Shimane Art Museum will be holding an exhibition of around 170 works of Sharaku, Utamaro, Hokusai and Hiroshige.

Opening Times : Oct – Feb 10:00 – 18:30, Mar – Sept 10:00 – 30 mins after sunset.

Closed on Tuesdays.

Admission: regular exhibition: 300 yen, special exhibition: 1000 yen, but if you bring your passport or gaikokujin registration card, you can get 50% off the special exhibition price!

Take the north exit out of Matsue Station, turn left and keep walking straight for 15 mins. When you reach the lake you will see the museum opposite you.

ROSE FESTIVAL AT THE ENGLISH GARDEN (until June 12th)

As well as the flowers you can enjoy some music -

the performance schedule for June is as follows:

June 5th (Sat) 2:00pm – Guitar and mandolin concert

June 6th (Sun) 11:00am – Horn ensemble

June 6th (Sun) 2:00pm – Piano, cello and flute ensemble.

The garden will be lit up on Friday and Saturday nights until June 12th from 7:00pm – 9:00pm.

(200 yen entrance for this.)

Getting There: Take the Ichibata railway from Matsue Shinjiko Onsen station to the English garden stop.

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FROM ENSOR TO MAGRITTE (June 4th to July 19th)

An exhibition of pictures from the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Belgium

will be held at the Shimane Art Museum. 70 works by 39 artists will be on show.

Overseas visitors get in half price. (Take your passport or registration card.)

The museum is closed on Tuesdays.

Getting There: Turn left out of the north exit at Matsue Station and keep going. It is on the shores of Lake Shinji.

MATSUE ENGLISH GARDEN Photo Contest Exhibition

July 3rd – August 1st.

Photos on a theme of ‘the English Garden’ will be diplayed throughout the month.

To get there: Take the Ichibata Railway from Shinjiko Onsen Station on the north side of the lake to the English Garden stop.

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TENJIN FESTIVAL (July 24th/25th Sat/Sun)

Follow the crowds in the direction of Tenjin Shrine.

Port Below (which is in the Tenjin area) is having its Open Mic night on the Saturday night, so that’s were a lot of the foreign residents will be!

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MATSUE SUIGOSAI FESTIVAL 2010

July 31st (Sat) 8:00pm – 8:30pm

August 1st (Sun) 8:00pm – 9:00pm.

It’s that time of the year again! The times listed are for the firework displays over Lake Shinji. The food/beer stalls will be open from early evening and there will be other events around the city office from early evening.

SUIGOSAI Firework festival (Aug 1st)

There will be fireworks over the lake in the evening and various events/stalls around the north and south shores from late afternoon into the night.

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DOLLS HOUSE EXHIBITION at Matsue English Garden

The exhibition of works by 5 Japanese doll house makers is on from August 21st to September 26th from 10:00 – 5:00 daily.

Admission: Adults – 800 yen, high school children and under 600 yen.

Getting There: Take the Ichibata Bus to Matsue English Garden Mae stop from Matsue Station, or take the Ichibata Electric Train from Matsue Shinji-ko Onsen Station on the north bank of the lake.

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Matsue Lantern Festival

The area around Matsue Castle and the moats will be lit up with paper lanterns every Saturday, Sunday and National Holiday from September 18th to October 17th (6:30pm – 9:00pm).

The Horikawa Boats that go around the castle moat will be running from 6:30pm to 9:00pm so you can enjoy the lanterns from the water. (500 yen one way per person.)

There will be a free shuttle bus running from the south exit of Matsue Station from 5:30pm to 9:30pm on the days shown above.

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MATSUE TEA CEREMONY

OCT 2/3 (Saturday/Sunday) 9:00am-3:30pm

Matsue’s ‘Grand’ Tea Ceremony will be held in Matsue castle grounds. Different tea ceremony schools will be taking part and Japanese sweets will be on sale!

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MATSUE CITIZENS’ TUG O’ WAR TOURNAMENT…

OCT 3rd (Sunday)

The 50 metre rope tournament will be held on Ohashi Bridge at 1:pm,

and the 200 metre rope one will be held on Shirakata Park Road (on the shores of the lake near the art museum) at 3:00pm.

Well… it might be worth a look…

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MIZUBE -no- ART FESTIVAL

Oct 3rd (A lot happening on this day)

There will be open-air concerts and art exhibitions all along the lake shore around the museum from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm. There will also be a flea market and food stalls.

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MATSUE DRUM PARADE

The annual drum parade will take place on October 17th. The parade will go from Tenjin in the south area up to the castle in the afternoon. A good place to watch is on the Ohashi bridge or around near Karakoro Art Studio on the north side.

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Don’t forget the lantern festival is still on – every Saturday/Sunday/Nat. holiday until October 17th in the evenings! (Until around 9 pm).

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IZUMO KAGURA FESTIVAL in Matsue OCT 17th -24th

Performances  of the spirtual dance kagura will be held in Terrsa on the north side of Matsue Station every night between October 17th – 24th. Every evening features a different group of performers all from the Shimane area.

We can’t often see performances like this in Matsue, so it should be an entertaining and unusual night out.

TIMES: October 17th -24th Every evening from 7:00 – 9:00. (Doors open at 6:30)

Tickets are usually 700 yen on the door, but for visitors from overseas….if you say that you heard about the performances from Heather at Matsue Guide (Heather no shokai), you can get a discount, so tickets will be 500 yen!

GETTING THERE Walk out of the North Exit of Matsue Station and turn left. You should see a large, modern building just past the bus station. All the performances are in that building on the 1st floor.

YAKUMO INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL

The 4th YITF will be held from November 3rd to 7th 2010 in the town of Yakumo in south Matsue.

There will be contest performances, school performances and shows for children of all ages, in addition to other events such as the opening and closing ceremonies and parties.

Particiapting countries include Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy, Japan and Slovakia.

See their website for more details. www.yitf.org

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THE  OPEN MIND OF LAFCADIO HEARN

The exhibition will continue in Karakoro Art Studio until 14th November.

See the following links for details!

http://yakumokai.org/2349

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fa20101105a2.html

PLOVER HALL CONCERTS AND ILLUMINATIONS

The outside of Plover Hall will be lit up from December 8th to 25th (except 14th and 21st),

The following concerts will also be held:

Dec 8th 6:30-8:00pm Opening concert

Dec 10th 7:00-8:00pm Choir concert

Dec 11th 6:30-8:00pm Guitar and mandolin concert

Dec 12th 2:00 -4:00pm Ballet performance

Dec 13th 7:30-8:30pm Christmas concert

Dec 15h 7:00-9:00pm Hungarian music

Dec 17th 7:00-8:00pm Horn concert

Dec 18th 7:00-9:00pm Organ concert

Dec 24th 7:00-8:00pm Children’s play

Entrance is free, but you need to get a ticket in advance. They are available from Plover Hall (0852) 27-6000.

Getting There: Head south past the department store Stay, and cross over Route 9. Plover hall is on your left.