The San'in coast itinerary: three slow days on the line the Shinkansen forgot

The Shinkansen has a map, and the map has an underside. On the Sea of Japan side of western Honshū, the bullet train never came — the coast was too thin, the towns too quiet to justify the tunnels. What runs instead is the San'in Main Line (San'in-honsen), single-track for long stretches, the water on your right for hours at a time.

Day one — Matsue, the city built on water

Start in Matsue, a castle town threaded with canals and the wide brackish lake of Shinjiko. The keep is one of only twelve original wooden castles left in Japan; the inner stairs are steep enough that there is a rope to haul yourself up. At dusk the lake turns the colour of weak tea, and locals will tell you the sunset behind Yomegashima island is reason enough to stay the night rather than pass through.

Day two — Izumo, older than the rest

A short hop west is Izumo Taisha, a shrine so old that the records arguing over its age are themselves ancient. You clap four times here, not the usual two. In October, the month the rest of Japan calls kannazuki, the month without gods, Izumo calls kamiarizuki, the month with them. This, the story goes, is where they all gather.

Day three — Tottori, where sand meets surf

Carry on east to the Tottori sand dunes, a two-kilometre run of wind-built ridges falling straight into the sea. They are not a true desert, only a quirk of sediment and current, but standing on the high ridge while the wind erases the last person's footprints, the distinction stops mattering.

山陰は、急がない人のための海岸線です。

None of this is fast. The trains are timed for schoolchildren and pensioners rather than connections, and you will spend afternoons on platforms where the vending machine is the brightest thing in sight. That is the trade. The Shinkansen skipped this coast, and in skipping it, left it whole.