3 Best Sights in Western Honshu, Japan

While spartan, the house is worth a visit to commemorate the achievements of this gifted genius who called Tsuwano his home. Ogai Mori (1862–1922), son of the head physician to the daimyo of Shimane, became a doctor at the young age of 19 and, in spite of courting trouble for his outspoken criticism of Japan's backward ways, went on to become the author of such acclaimed novels as The Wild Geese and Vita Sexualis. He was also a prominent figure in the fledgling government behind the Meiji Restoration. From Tsuwano Station it's a 12-block walk south along the main road, or take the bus and get off at Ogai Kyukyo-mae.

The celebrated writer's house has remained unchanged since he left Matsue in 1891. Born of an Irish father and a Greek mother, Lafcadio Hearn (1850–1904) spent his early years in Europe and moved to the United States to become a journalist. In 1890 he traveled to Yokohama, Japan, and made his way to Matsue, where he began teaching. There he met and married a samurai's daughter named Setsu Koizumi. He later took posts in Kumamoto, Kobe, and Tokyo. Disdainful of the materialism of the West, he was destined to be a lifelong Japanophile and resident. He became a Japanese citizen, taking the name Yakumo Koizumi. His most famous works were Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan (1894) and Japan: An Attempt at Interpretation (1904). The house's simple elegance makes it worth a quick stop even for those unfamiliar with Hearn.

Built in 1730, this house belonged to the well-to-do Shiomi family, chief retainers to the daimyo. Note the separate servant quarters, a shed for the palanquin, and slats in the walls to allow cooling breezes to flow through the rooms. A few rooms have somewhat kitschy dioramas recreating scenes from household life, but they do give an idea of how Matsue samurai lived in the late Edo period. Buke Yashiki is on the main road at the base of the side street on which Meimei-an Teahouse is located (keep the castle moat on your left).