Matsue

松江 | Matsue

Why visit

Matsue Castle is one of Japan's finest, climb the steep wooden stairs of the original keep for views over the lake and the Shinjiko sunset (one of Japan's official 'top 100' sunsets). The Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum and his preserved samurai house bring 1890s Meiji Japan to life. Izumo Taisha, one of the oldest and most sacred Shinto shrines in Japan, sits 35 minutes west by train. Matsue's tea ceremony tradition (a holdover from a 19th-century daimyo) means excellent matcha and wagashi sweets in old machiya teahouses.

When to avoid

Winter brings serious snow and grey skies on the Sea of Japan side, not great unless you embrace the moody atmosphere. Public transport is limited. Trains to Izumo Taisha are infrequent. Most attractions close by 5 pm, even in summer. Cherry blossom season (early April) brings crowds to the castle moat, book accommodations months ahead.

Plan Matsue

Current conditions and the practical reference material that helps turn the saved places into a trip.

The next week in Matsue

7-day forecast from Open-Meteo. UV badges flag days when sun protection matters (3 and above is moderate; 8 and above is risk territory for unprotected fair skin within 30 minutes).

Today

Drizzle

33° / 26°

0.7 mm

UV Very high

Wed

Partly cloudy

33° / 27°

UV High

Thu

Partly cloudy

36° / 26°

UV Very high

Fri

Clear

37° / 27°

UV High

Sat

Partly cloudy

33° / 27°

UV Moderate

Sun

Thunderstorm

30° / 25°

6.3 mm

Mon

Drizzle

29° / 26°

1.2 mm

UV Moderate

Climate

Summer (Jul-Sep)

Typical highs around 27°C, lows around 23°C. Also the wettest months.

Winter (Dec-Mar)

Typical highs around 9°C, lows around 5°C.

In August 4

Drag to scrub across the year.

JFMAMJJASOND

Weather

29° / 25°

Typical high / low

4 mm rainfall this month

Daylight

13.5h

05:26 – 18:58local

Holidays coming up

Public holidays from Nager.Date.

Airports

closest IZO · 16 km

Getting around Matsue

Public-transit operators within 8 km of the city center. Click through to each operator’s site for routes, fares, and tickets.

Local transit operators

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Operators and modes are aggregated from individual transit-agency GTFS feeds. Route classifications come from each feed’s route type codes.

About Matsue

Matsue is the capital city of Shimane Prefecture, Japan, located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. As of 31 March 2023, the city had an estimated population of 196,748 in 91287 households and a population density of 340 persons per km2. The total area of the city is 572.99 square kilometres (221.23 sq mi). Matsue is home to the Tokugawa-era Matsue Castle, one of the last surviving feudal castles in Japan.

Area: 530 km²
Mayor: Masataka Matsuura

Japan basics →Country context, advisories, and entry links for the practicalities shown above.

References5

The links below support the changing or licensed reference material on this page. Personal notes and ordinary geographic facts are not footnoted individually.

City background. Wikipedia summary may be clipped or paraphrased. Structured fields are cross-checked against the related references. Related: Wikidata, Open-Elevation, .