By air

From Tokyo's Haneda Airport, there are five flights per day (¥28,800) which will get you to Izumo in 80 minutes (plus 30 minutes by bus to Izumo Station).

By train

Izumo's train station is called Izumo-shi Station (出雲市駅). It is located on the JR San'in Main Line.

Izumo is served hourly by the Yakumo (やくも) limited express train, which runs to Okayama station and provides direct connections to the San'yo Shinkansen (3 hours, ¥6700). Connecting with the Yakumo, the trip to Izumo is 4 hours from Osaka (¥10800), 4 1/4 hours from Kyoto (¥12300), 5 hours from Nagoya (¥15300) and 6 1/2 hours from Tokyo (¥19700).

From Hiroshima, the four-hour trip to Izumo via Okayama is best left to holders of the Japan Rail Pass, since taking the bus will be faster and cheaper (see below).

From Hakata station in Fukuoka, take the Shinkansen to Shin-Yamaguchi and change to the Super Oki (スーパーおき) which runs to Izumo three times per day (4 hours, ¥10600).

There is also an overnight train that runs from Tokyo to Izumo called the Sunrise Izumo (サンライズ出雲). The train leaves from Tokyo Station every night at 10 PM, reaching Izumo twelve hours later. The basic fare (¥11660) is covered by the Japan Rail Pass, but limited express and lodging charges will have to be paid separately. This ranges from ¥9450 for a B solo, ¥10,500 for a B single, and ¥16,500 for an A single deluxe. If you want to travel on the cheap side, ¥3660 gets you your own floor space... literally, you sleep on the floor.

By bus

Those wishing to save money on transportation should consider highway buses. Izumo is easily accessible by bus, because buses from a wide variety of locations stop at Izumo.

From Hiroshima, going by bus is the best option. Ichibata Bus and Chugoku JR Bus operate eight round-trips per day from Hiroshima Station and the Hiroshima Bus Center. (3 1/2 hours, ¥4000 one way, ¥7200 round trip)

From Okayama, several companies operate joint service to Izumo on a bus called the Momotaro Express, named after the famous Japanese folklore hero. Six daily round-trips (4 hours, ¥3900 one way).

JR Bus runs the Port Lake service from Kobe's Sannomiya Bus Terminal (4 round-trips daily, 5 1/4 hours, ¥5000). Hankyu Bus and Ichibata Bus run the Kunibiki service from Osaka (8 round-trips daily, 5 1/2 hours, ¥5650), while JR Bus operates the Izumo Express bus service from Kyoto (4 round-trips daily, 6 hours, ¥6000).

The overnight service that runs from Tokyo is strangely called the Susanoo and gets to Izumo in 12 1/4 hours - almost on par with its train counterpart - at a cost of ¥12070 each way.

By car

Izumo is about one hour drive from Matsue on Route 9, the main road through the Sea of Japan side of western Japan from Northern Kyoto to Shimonoseki.

Trains will get you to Izumo Taisha or out of the city, but otherwise bus, taxi or rental car will be your only option.

There are 2 different train companies in Izumo. The JR West Sanin Main Line and the Ichibata Electric Railway [2] (Ichibata Densha Kabushiki-gaisha [一畑電車株式会社]). The JR West Izumo Station is next to the Ichibata's Dentetsu Izumo Station. Ichibata has 2 lines, the Kita Matsue Line which runs for 33.9 km from Dentetsu Izumo Station to Matsue Shinji-ko Onsen Station in Matsue, and the Taisha Line which runs 8.3 km from Kawato Station (on the Kita Matsue Line) to Izumo Taisha-mae Station, near Izumo Taisha.

Izumo soba (出雲そば), the local variety of noodles, is the region's most famous food, but the beef (Shimane wagyu) is good as well.

• Shimane Winery, [8]. Try yakiniku (barbecue). Also offers free tours and wine tastings, though connoisseurs will likely be unimpressed.

• Hara, a good selection of small dishes is available here in addition to soba. Go straight out the north exit of JR Izumo station and look for the purple banner on the right just past the Toyoko Inn. Good food with an interesting crowd of local patrons from construction workers to groups of young women out for a party.

Just northeast of Izumo Station is Daikancho, Izumo's drinking district. It's mostly "snacks" and hostess bars aimed at the older crowd, but there are a few venues for young people.