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# Matsue (The Place You Probably Haven't Heard of) and Osaka
- URL: https://mattstravelblog.co.uk/matsue-the-place-you-probably-havent-heard-of-and-osaka/
- Published: 2023-06-29T21:03:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-24T07:45:38.000Z
- Author: Matthew Alfred Jones
- Tags: Japan, Matsue, Osaka, Anime, Beach, Castle, Festival, Sakaiminato, Scary Bridge

Hello everyone, scary thought is that in 4 weeks’ time I will be in the air heading towards Tokyo *\*panic\**.

So without further ado, I will be going over what stuff I will be doing when I stay in Matsue

## Matsue - Capital of Shimane Prefecture

![Elevated view over Matsue city towards Lake Shinji, showing urban buildings, green trees, distant mountains and calm lakeside scenery beneath clear blue skies.](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1702018747834-e35c146c0eea?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixid=M3wxMTc3M3wwfDF8c2VhcmNofDF8fG1hdHN1ZXxlbnwwfHx8fDE3ODQwNTcyMTZ8MA&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=2000)

Photo by [ibuki shuto](https://unsplash.com/@ivkky?ref=mattstravelblog.co.uk) / [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/?utm%5Fsource=ghost&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fcampaign=api-credit)

Matsue is a city all the way in Shimane Prefecture of Japan which is North of Hiroshima Prefecture and has a very old castle dating back to the 1600's. This castle has survived earthquakes, fires and wars and sits on the shores of Lake Shinji.

Some of the stuff on my to do list is:  
Go to the castle  
Take a ride of the Sightseeing bus  
Go to the beach at Oda  
And going to Sakaiminato (home to the Japan’s Scariest bridge)

## Osaka - Major Financial centre and Night city

![Tsutenkaku Tower rises above the busy Shinsekai district in Osaka, with colourful restaurant signs, lanterns, shops and pedestrians lining the vibrant street below.](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1589452271712-64b8a66c7b71?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixid=M3wxMTc3M3wwfDF8c2VhcmNofDF8fG9zYWthfGVufDB8fHx8MTc4NDA1NzI3MXww&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=2000)

Photo by [Nomadic Julien](https://unsplash.com/@nomadicjulien?ref=mattstravelblog.co.uk) / [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/?utm%5Fsource=ghost&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fcampaign=api-credit)

Osaka is the 3rd Most Populus city in Japan and fun fact is that it was the Capital of Japan during the 4th/5th century. It also has Universal Studios and one of the largest aquariums in the world.

Some of the stuff to do:  
Osaka Castle/Castle Park  
Take the Nara Sightseeing train to Nara  
Go to the Nara To-Kae festival  
And visit Expo 70' Commemorative park

Fun fact: In Matsue/Sakaiminato there is a bridge called Eshima Ohashi Bridge (often nicknamed rollercoaster bridge in English) and it both curves and reaches 45 meters high so it can let ships underneath it. It is also known as the Slope where you need to put your foot down hard.

Fun fact: The new bullet trains (Shinkansen) have built in Lithium-ion batteries which activate when there is a loss of power from the overhead cables so the train can still run at a slow sleep and get to a safe location in case of an earthquake.