1. Shimane Research Business Park (Matsue City) To spur creative development in key high-technology industries, Shimane Prefecture identified four strategic industries: the environmental industry, the life-support industry, industrial materials and IT. This park was created to nurture those industries. The main building, Techno Ark Shimane, provides a range of support functions, attracting a growing community of ambitious entrepreneurs. 2. Agate Crafyworks (Matsue City) The Izumo area has been a source of agate rock from ancient times. Red, white and blue agate is prevalent in the area. The agate rock of Tamatsukuri is very hard. It is said that once it is polished, its shine never disappears. 3. Sakagura (Rihaku Brewerirs, Kokki Breweries, Yoneda Breweries) (Matsue City) Matsue boasts three sake breweries, each of which offers tours as well as tasting in the factory shop. Different brewing methods create strikingly different tastes, so try them and compare. 4. Izomo Kanbe no Sato (Matsue City) This is a facility where you can enjoy listening to the myths and legends of the Izumo region as well as experience the traditional folk-craft of the area. In the "Kogei-kan", traditional arts such as washi temari, wickerware, and ceramics are displayed. 5. Shimane Winery (Izumo City) At this winery, you can watch grapes from all over Shimane Prefecture being turned into wine. Free wine tasting and a souvenir shop are available. The adjacent restaurant serves deliciously tender Shimane Wagyu beef. 6. Shoku-no-Mori (Unnan City) The lush, verdant valley of Oku-Izumo is filled with places where you can enjoy meeting the local community. Muroyama Farm offers a hands-on farming experience, while Oku-Izumo Vineyards, a winery, offers wine tasting and sales, a restaurant and even barbecue facilities. 7. Nakamura Chaho (Matsue City) Famous since the days of Prince Matsudaira Fumai for its tea ceremonies, Matsue is Japan's biggest tea-consuming region. Tea stores can be found throughout the city. At Nakamura Tea Store, you can watch matcha green tea being ground up for tea ceremonies. 8. Hirose Kasuri Center (Yasugi City) Yasugi The Hirose dye pattern gets more colorful the more you wash it. This living textile heritage has been a part of the local scene for 170 years. At the Hirose Dye Center, anybody can try their hand with indigo dye. 9. Kotobukijo Confectionery (Yonago City) Inside the castle, you can watch every process through the glass as the famous cakes are being baked. Purchase the cakes fresh from the oven at the shop across the hall. 10. Tatara Kakuro Heritage Museum (Okuizumo Town) This exhibition venue turns the spotlight on the technological history that took Japanese steelmaking from the foot-bellows (tatara) to the modern blast furnace. The Town of Nita has rebuilt an early furnace with a Makihara foot-bellows. 11. Wako Museum (Yasugi City) This museum of steel stands next to the Port of Yasugi, which prospered at the end of the Edo era as a steel port. Using HDTV and robots, Wako Museum introduces visitors to the tatara method of steelmaking employed here and much else about steelmaking in Japan.