, famous for its "loach scooping" dance—can you experience the Yasugi Bushi there?

The Yasugi Bushi Performing Arts Hall is the only public building in the San'in region to feature box seats and a main stage, earning it an Excellence Award in the Public Architecture category as a beloved performing arts venue.
Apparently, you can watch and experience the famous Yasugi Bushi dance here, known for its "loach catching" movements, so I decided to visit. Unfortunately, performances and experiences are only available on weekends and holidays.
Since Awa Odori is also a traditional performing art, Noguchi had planned that "if we come here, we absolutely have to dance," but that dream went unfulfilled.
We watched a video of Yasugi Bushi playing inside the hall to learn about its history, then headed to our next destination, the Adachi Museum of Art.

※As of September 2025

Beautiful Japanese Garden Ranked Japan's Best for 22 Consecutive Years

The Adachi Museum of Art boasts a Japanese garden that has been ranked Japan's best for 22 consecutive years as of 2024 by a U.S. specialist magazine.
While different from architecture, I decided to visit the Adachi Museum specifically to see its Japanese garden, thinking it was a must-see while in Shimane.
Its location right next to the Yasugi Bushi Performing Arts Hall was also a plus.
As an art museum, it naturally displays Japanese paintings and collections like those of Rosanjin Kitaoji, but what truly draws the eye is the meticulously maintained Japanese garden.
Spanning 50,000 tsubo (approx. 165 acres), the diverse gardens—including the dry landscape garden—feature beautiful contrasts of green curves and white, offering a soothing experience.
The garden transforms completely with each season. I left the museum after viewing the artworks, imagining how beautiful it must be during autumn's foliage season and in winter, blanketed in snow.

※As of September 2025

A historic landmark celebrating over 50 years since its founding

This time, since it was purely an architectural tour, today marked the end of my travels with Noguchi. He kindly drove me to our next destination, the Shimane Prefectural Library, where we parted ways.
Designed by the late Kiyonori Kikutake, one of Japan's leading architects, the Shimane Prefectural Library opened in 1968.
It appears to have originated from the Matsue Book Reading Room, established in 1873, making it one of Japan's oldest public libraries.
It combines an open, pleasant atrium with the solidity of steel and concrete. Considering it was built over 50 years ago, its appearance suggests it must have been a very modern building at the time.

※As of September 2025

The curves viewed across Lake Shinjiko
A very beautiful modern art museum

After drinking my café latte, I headed to the Shimane Prefectural Art Museum, which had just reopened after a major renovation lasting about a year, starting in May 2021.
Like the prefectural library, this museum was also designed by architect Kiyonori Kikutake. Its theme is harmony with water, and it has been selected as one of "Japan's 100 Best Sunset Spots."

Walking while gazing at Lake Shinji was incredibly pleasant, and the building standing by the lakeshore truly felt harmonized with the water, creating a beautiful sight.
It seemed a marathon event was happening that day, so I had to weave through runners approaching from both front and back to enter the museum.
The exhibition running at that time was the Hokusai exhibition. An incredible number of works were displayed, making it a truly impressive and rewarding exhibition to see.

※As of September 2025

This "Studio Meetup" is a side project of our journey exploring Japanese architecture. It's an initiative to meet Studio users in the areas we visit and chat about all things Studio.
This time, we're having drinks with Mr. Hanaoka, our Shimane Ambassador, and the folks from the San'in No-Code Plaza he runs.
(Sorry about this despite the event the next day...)

It was fascinating to meet people from diverse professions: Instagram managers, AI engineers, and agency sales (project managers).
Some had returned to their hometown of Shimane after working elsewhere, while others shared beloved local tourism and gourmet spots on their Instagram accounts. This No-Code Plaza served as a connection point for them, showcasing a strong love for Shimane.

Hanaoka-san, in particular, has a very interesting work style: his main job is as a prefectural government employee, while his side hustle involves production using no-code tools.
It's also interesting that Studio is gradually gaining recognition in Shimane, with more projects coming in, and there seem to be quite a few opportunities to build from templates.

Then, for the meal, we thoroughly enjoyed classic Shimane specialties: starting with blackthroat seaperch, followed by fried Daisen chicken, and finishing with a clam soup.
And then, once again, they even treated us to ramen for the final course.
The ramen I had was the famous shijimi clam ramen.
It was perfect for after drinking, with a gentle flavor that felt like it was cleansing my body, making me sigh involuntarily.
Closing time was 10 PM, so I barely made it in just in time – it was a hot night.
Thank you so much for joining me despite having an event the next day!

※As of September 2025

, an arts and culture complex with striking reddish-brown roof tiles

Finally, the last day. Today, we headed to Grantowa, an arts and culture complex consisting of the Shimane Prefectural Art Museum and the Shimane Prefectural Iwami Art Theater, located near Matsuda Station, about a 2-hour train ride from Matsue.
When I mentioned going to Masuda at yesterday's event, people said, "You're going that far! It takes about four hours by car." It's quite a distance from Matsue.
After checking out of the hotel, I ate a station bento box while being rocked about for about two hours on the Super Oki, which swayed quite a bit.
I heard the station lockers had been removed, so I left my suitcase at the nearby tourist information center and walked about 15 minutes to Grantowa.
The reddish-brown roof tiles are very impressive. They are tiles produced in the Iwami region of Shimane Prefecture, and it seems that a staggering number of Sekishu tiles were used: 120,000 roof tiles and 160,000 wall tiles.
The architect was Hiroshi Naito.
Not only were the exterior tiles impressive, but the courtyard with its water basin, the wall resembling a giant rock, and the hall with its striking lights resembling halos were also beautiful.

※As of September 2025