Sometimes things about Japan can be so interesting and yet difficult to understand. I may laugh because of the differences, but I always appreciate them.

Shimane Prefecture lies in the Ch?goku region on the coast of the Sea of Japan. I was finally able to devise an itinerary which included a visit to the prefecture and specifically Matsue, last May. I prepared for the trip by reading what material was available online. One of these sources was "Visit Shimane," presented with the cooperation of the Shimane Prefectural Office.

Tourist information included, naturally, shopping information. That is when I saw a store called Antique-ya located in Matsue. The description sounded interesting, and I made a note of it in my planner. I thought, "This must be something pretty good if it's on the Shimane Tourism site."
On the day we visited Matsue we went to Izumo Taisha Shrine, to Matsue Castle, and walked to the beach. It was a lovely day and we decided to drop by Antique-Ya.

My daughter, whose special skill happens to be expert map-reading and a flawless sense of direction, found the store quickly. Yes, there it was. And we had to laugh, at least a little.

Antique-ya did not look like the picture on the website. It looked as if it had been rained on for a long time (probably true). There were so many items outside. I said to Amanda, "They can't possibly bring all of this inside at night. It must just sit out here all the time." ...