will be free of toll). Get off at Matsue Nishi.
By normal roads:
Take Route 9 from Kyoto all the way to Matsue. Some parts of the freeway in Tottori prefecture and Shimane prefecture are toll-free so do take advantage of that where you can.
Coming from Kyushu, Yamaguchi prefecture:
By highway:
Quite some stretches of road towards Matsue are not yet covered by highway (although new parts are constantly being built).
When taking the Chugoku Expressway eastwards it's possible to take the Hamada Expressway at Chiyoda JCT towards Hamada and then Route 9 along the coast to Matsue, or to exit the highway at Miyoshi and take Route 314 through the mountains until Unnan(Mitoya-Kisuki) and then take the expressway to Matsue. Get off at Matsue Nishi. Both routes should take the same amount of time, although that may change depending on which highway is completed sooner.
By normal roads:
From Shimonoseki take Route 2 to Yamaguchi. The highway from Ube to Yamaguchi is toll-free so do take advantage of that. From Yamaguchi take Route 9 along Tsuwano, Masuda, Hamada all the way to Matsue. Seeing how many parts of the highways towards Matsue are still under construction at the time of writing (April 2012) taking Route 9 from Yamaguchi to Matsue can be almost as fast as taking the highway (and is considerably cheaper).
By boat
Overnight ferries depart twice a week from Sakaiminato DBS Ferry Terminal to Donghae, Korea and then onwards to Vladivostok, Russia a day later.
To get to Sakaiminato DBS Ferry Terminal from Matsue take the train from Matsue Station to Sakaiminato station (transfer in Yonago). There are free shuttle buses to the terminal on Friday and Saturday.
For booking and more information: DBS Cruise Ferry Japan Co., Ltd. tel: +81 859 30-2332
