Izumo

Japan Extreme Budget Travel! A trip from Tokyo to Izumo for just 30,000 yen [Part 2]

Things got off to a good start on our crazy-cheap trip to the land of the gods, but with funds running low, will we have a roof over our heads on a snowy night?

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Japan Extreme Budget Travel! A trip from Tokyo to Izumo for just 30,000 yen [Part 1]

Can we make it from the capital to the land of the gods, sightsee, eat, find a hotel, and make it home for just 30,000 yen (US$195)?

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Here are five incredible places to add to your itinerary on a visit to Shimane’s Izumo City

Not sure what to do in the area besides visiting one of Japan’s most ancient shrines? Here are our recommendations to make the most of your visit.

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An overnight trip on the Sunrise Izumo, Japan’s awesome Tokyo-Shimane sleeper train【Photos】

Mr. (and Mrs.) Sato ride the overnight rails back to his hometown on one of Japan’s coolest cross-country travel options.

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We visit a Brazilian buffet in Shimane Prefecture, eat so much beef and sausage we forget dessert

The food was delicious, even though we didn’t get to try Brazil’s most famous dish. 

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Japan’s new eight-headed dragon license plates might be the coolest in the entire world【Pics】

The Yamata no Orochi is ready to leap out of the annals of mythology and onto your car.

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Izumo’s Starbucks, a stone’s throw away from the gathering place of Shinto’s eight million gods

Shintoism has such a large pantheon of gods that the religion even has a structured way in which they all keep in touch with each other. Every October, the deities enshrined across the nation are said to gather in Shimane Prefecture’s Izumo Taisha Shrine, where they convene for their annual divine meeting.

We imagine it’s a busy conference, considering that some eight million deities are thought to attend. So we’re sure several of them were happy to find Izumo City now has a Starbucks, with the same tasty beverages the chain serves all over Japan, but with Japanese décor that’s unique to Izumo.

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