Shimane Aquarium Aquas, Iwami Tatamigaura and Hamada Castle Ruins in Hamada

This guide covers Shimane Aquarium Aquas, Iwami Tatamigaura, the Hamada Castle ruins, the night Iwami Kagura performance and the practical details of visiting Hamada.

You can spend a day at Shimane Aquarium Aquas, which is open from nine in the morning until five in the afternoon, with admission until one hour before closing. The night Iwami Kagura performance in Hamada runs from eight to nine in the evening. The Hamada Castle ruins can be visited at any hour, with no regular closing day.

Iwami Tatamigaura is about a twenty-five minute walk from JR Shimofu Station. Reception for the night performance runs from seven to half past eight in the evening. Admission to the weekend night performance is one thousand five hundred yen per person, paid on site on the day.

Iwami Tatamigaura and Kokufu Beach

Rounded rock masses lie scattered across the flat rocky shore platform, with a green hillside to the right.

From JR Hamada Station, take the Iwami Kotsu bus bound for Gotsu to the bus stop for Iwami Tatamigaura, then walk fifteen minutes to the site. Parking at Iwami Tatamigaura holds several cars at two hundred yen per vehicle. Kokufu Beach is about ten minutes on foot from JR Shimofu Station. Its free parking lot has two hundred twenty spaces.

Seen from inside a dark sea cave, waves wash over dark stones toward a bright arched opening.

Item	Detail
Iwami Tatamigaura, from JR Shimofu Station on foot	about 25 minutes
Iwami Tatamigaura parking	200 yen per time
Kokufu Beach, from JR Shimofu Station on foot	about 10 minutes
Kokufu Beach parking	free, 220 spaces

Shimane Aquarium Aquas

The entrance front of the Aquas aquarium building faces a paved plaza, with fish-shaped metal sculptures along the wall.

From bus stop four in front of JR Hamada Station, the Iwami Kotsu bus bound for Gotsu via Hamako takes sixteen minutes to the Aquas stop, and the aquarium is right by the stop. From JR Hamako Station, Aquas is a twelve minute walk. Parking for passenger cars is free, with about two thousand spaces.

Aquas is closed every Tuesday, or the following day when Tuesday is a public holiday. From July twentieth to August thirty-first, Aquas is open from nine in the morning until six in the evening. By car, Aquas is ninety minutes from Hiroshima IC via the expressway.

Item	Detail
Aquas general admission	adults 1,700 yen; elementary, junior high and high school students 500 yen
Aquas group admission (20 or more paying visitors)	adults 1,300 yen; students 400 yen
Aquas annual passport	adults 4,500 yen; elementary, junior high and high school students 1,500 yen
Aquas admission with a disability certificate	adults 850 yen; students 250 yen
Aquas admission for school educational use	students 400 yen; accompanying teachers free
Aquas admission for infants	0 yen
Aquas opening hours	9:00 to 17:00
Aquas closing day	every Tuesday (the following day if Tuesday is a public holiday)
Aquas parking for passenger cars	about 2,000 spaces, free
Aquas parking for large buses	52 permanent spaces

Hamada Castle Ruins and Two Museums

The Hamada Castle ruins are about a twenty minute walk from JR Hamada Station. The ruins are open twenty-four hours a day with no regular closing day, so they can come before the aquarium or after the museums. The two museums below are each reached on foot from the same starting point, and their details follow.

Hamada Castle Museum is open from nine in the morning until five in the afternoon. It is closed on Mondays, on the day after a national holiday, and from December twenty-ninth to January third. The museum is a twenty minute walk from JR Hamada Station.

Hamada Local History Museum is open from nine in the morning until five in the afternoon, with admission until half past four. It is a ten minute walk from JR Hamada Station. Parking is free for fifteen standard cars. It closes on Mondays, the day after national holidays, over the year-end and New Year period, and during exhibit changeovers.

Item	Detail
Hamada Castle ruins, from JR Hamada Station on foot	20 minutes
Hamada Castle ruins visiting times	open 24 hours, no regular closing day
Hamada Castle Museum opening hours	9:00 to 17:00
Hamada Castle Museum closing days	Mondays, the day after a national holiday, December 29 to January 3
Hamada Castle Museum, from JR Hamada Station on foot	20 minutes
Hamada Local History Museum opening hours	9:00 to 17:00 (admission until 16:30)
Hamada Local History Museum closing days	Mondays, the day after national holidays, year-end and New Year, exhibit changeover periods
Hamada Local History Museum, from JR Hamada Station on foot	10 minutes
Hamada Local History Museum parking	free, 15 standard cars

The Night Iwami Kagura Performance

The sun sits low over a harbor at dusk, with wooded islands, breakwaters, fishing-port buildings and a cable-stayed bridge in orange light.

Weekend night performances of Iwami Kagura in Hamada cost one thousand five hundred yen per person, paid at the venue on the day. An annual passport for the night performances costs ten thousand yen. The performance venue is about a twenty minute walk from JR Hamada Station.

Reception opens at seven in the evening and continues until half past eight. The performance itself runs from eight until nine. Arriving during the reception window leaves time to pay and find a place before the performance starts. A day in Hamada can therefore end with a meal in the city and the performance in the evening.

Item	Detail
Night Iwami Kagura performance admission	1,500 yen per person (weekend nights), paid on site
Night Iwami Kagura annual passport	10,000 yen
Night Iwami Kagura reception	19:00 to 20:30
Night Iwami Kagura performance	20:00 to 21:00
Night Iwami Kagura venue, from JR Hamada Station on foot	about 20 minutes

Nodoguro and Other Meals in Hamada

Whole red-pink nodoguro fish lie on bamboo leaves and ice in a woven bamboo tray.

At Ishokuya Kirara, the nodoguro hitsumabushi is two thousand two hundred yen for the regular size and three thousand three hundred yen for the premium size, including tax. At Sushi Yuu, nodoguro nigiri is seven hundred seventy yen per plate, including tax. Hotel Matsuo lists a Kagura-meshi set at one thousand six hundred fifty yen, including tax.

Item	Detail
Hotel Matsuo, Kagura-meshi set	1,650 yen including tax
Kiraku, sashimi and mini tempura set meal	1,870 yen including tax
Mimata Onsen Kokumin Hoyo Center, Bato fry set meal	1,300 yen including tax
Ishokuya Kirara, nodoguro hitsumabushi	2,200 yen (regular); 3,300 yen (premium), including tax
Sushi Yuu, nodoguro nigiri	770 yen per plate including tax
Kappo Sakamoto, Hama TOKU set meal	1,540 yen including tax

Other Stops, Getting to Hamada and Staying Overnight

Rocky headlands and a dark blue bay are seen from above, with flowering cherry trees in the foreground.

The Hamada Tourism Association office is open from nine in the morning until a quarter to six in the evening. It is closed from December twenty-ninth to January third. The office is the place to check fares and timetables for the day before setting out. Questions about the places in this guide can go to the same desk.

Item	Detail
Hamada Tourism Association office hours	9:00 to 17:45; closed December 29 to January 3
Hamada World Children Art Museum opening hours	9:30 to 17:00
Hamada World Children Art Museum closing days	Mondays (the following day if Monday is a national holiday), exhibition changeover periods, year-end and New Year
Hamada World Children Art Museum, from JR Hamada Station by bus	15 minutes on the bus bound for the prefectural university, to the Children Art Museum stop
Michi-no-Eki Yuhi Park Hamada, rest areas and facilities	8:00 to 21:00
Michi-no-Eki Yuhi Park Hamada parking	128 spaces: 107 standard, 21 large, 4 for disabled users
Hamada Station Park & Ride	400 yen per day (only for JR limited express riders)
Hiroshima IC to Aquas by car via the expressway	90 minutes

Guides to Matsue and Izumo Taisha are also on this site. If you would like more time around Hamada, browse places to stay in Hamada.