Shimane (especially the Matsue & Izumo areas) are chock full of wonderful sights - the overall trip greatly exceeded our expectations. As far as accommodations go, Minamikan is the "Pride of Matsue," and after staying 3 nights at this famous ryokan, we understand why. Minamikan was everything we hoped it would be, and then some.||||It's nicely situated along the banks of Lake Shinji and is within easy walking distance to the main sites in the area, including Matsue Castle. As well, one of the docks of the canal boat tour is less than a minute away. There are several very nice restaurants, cafes and shops in the immediate vicinity so you could easily spend a day exploring Matsue on foot (with a few exceptions, including Kamosu Jinja Shrine, which I highly recommend.) Of course, you'll definitely also want to visit Izumo Taisha Shrine and the area around it - for this, you'll need to drive or take public transportation - it'll take about an hour each way. Further afield is the historic Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and the charming (and very nicely preserved) Omori Town, which were definitely a major highlight during our trip.||||We chose one of Minamikan's top suites (if not the top one) - "Mizu No Ito," (Room #101), which is one of the two "Special" rooms in a new, separate wing of the property ("Mizu No Iro" #102 being the other.) It's a expansive suite at a full 121m², complete with a Western-style bedroom along with two separate living rooms - one a Japanese tatami type and another with a couch and dining table. The Japanese style living room has a view of Lake Shinji as well as the property's main garden; ditto for the in-room Onsen bath. In the mornings, we were able to observe men in boats rounding up the famed "Shijimi" (Japanese freshwater clams) in the Lake. As ryokan rooms go, it's about as good as it can get. Given that Minamikan's room rates are far lower than famous ryokans in more touristy locations like Nikko or Hakone, splurging here will put less of a strain on your wallet - I highly recommend Mizu No Oto if it's available for booking.||||The property itself is relatively small - there's a parking lot in front of the main building, which houses the common area, restaurant and all guest rooms (aside from the two "Special" rooms. There is a total of 16 rooms at Minamikan, so a tour of the property will take no more than a few minutes. The highlight of the grounds is the garden that is right at the edge of Lake Shinji. It's a "dry" rock garden with nicely manicured Matsu Pine Trees that are reminiscent of Bonsai. It's a very tranquil place that can be enjoyed from the restaurant that faces the garden. Come evening, the garden is illuminated in such a way that it gives out a tranquil yet mysterious vibe.||||The entire experience is a tranquil one, in fact. Service is friendly but graceful and discreet, it's far from the busy streets, and the garden and view of Lake Shinji contributed to lower our blood pressure and stress level. Meals are served either in a private "Koshitsu" room or in an open dining area (make sure you put in a request for a private room in advance if that's what you prefer), and was unique, high quality and memorable - Minamikan does a terrific job of sourcing numerous local ingredients and giving its guests a taste of the local flavors and dishes... and it's not a compromise in doing so at all. Given its accessibility to both a fresh water lake (Lake Shinji is known for its Shijimi freshwater clams) as well as the Sea of Japan, there's an abundance of top notch items from which the chefs can choose from. On top of that, Matsue is also known as being one of the two main areas in Japan for "Wagashi" (Japanese sweets); and after sampling the various offerings (at both Minamikan and elsewhere in Matsue), we think it's a well-deserved reputation. I can go on and on about the food; I'll describe two more highlights: Tai Meshi (Red Sea Bream flakes and other condiments over rice that you then pour dashi broth over) and Soba (Buckwheat noodles.) I had no idea that the Izumo was renowned for its Soba; but we thoroughly enjoyed Minamikan's take on this common dish; it was served to perfection.||||A few things kept out stay from being a perfect one. First, the internet speed was dog slow (and that's IF there was any connection at all.) Perhaps the situation is better in the main building, but in our room, it was very spotty to the point where we wound up resorting to our cellular connection (and tethering our laptop computer to it.) Second, the private dining rooms are laid out in a way where only one of the rooms has a view of the garden and Lake Shinji. I'm not sure if you can be guaranteed a dining room with a view; otherwise, if you'd want to enjoy the garden while having your meals, you'll have to resort to being seated in the standard open dining area. Finally - as far as our in-room Onsen bath, the natural Onsen spring water was 77 degrees celsius - way too hot. To get it down to a bath-eable temperature, you do need to add cold water to the mix, which does slightly dilute the Onsen's mineral concentration. It's also a bit of a hassle to have to manage the water temperature each time you want to enjoy the bath. Similarly, in the morning the water is too lukewarm - the shut off the running Onsen water from midnight to 6AM, so by the time we entered the Onsen just before breakfast, it was too cold... we had to add hot water to sufficiently warm it up for bathing.||||Aside from that, we had no complaints. It's centrally situated but in a quiet neighborhood, has a beautiful garden along with a view of Lake Shinji, the food is wonderful and Minamikan is serviced to a very high standard. Highly recommended.