Chapter 0: The Genesis#

Planning this itinerary required balancing a number of constraints and considerations. Our primary concern was my wife’s physical condition; she finds stairs and slopes difficult to manage, and mountain paths were completely out of the question. Coupled with our insistence on independent travel without renting a car, and our desire to avoid long-haul flights, Japan—with its excellent barrier-free infrastructure—became the only viable choice.

Having visited Japan numerous times, the standard “hotspots” hold little appeal for us now. Ultimately, my wife settled on a destination she has longed to visit: Izumo Taisha (I will explain the reasons for this later). Once that target was set, the rest of the itinerary fell into place around it.

Izumo is quite remote. The most convenient major transit hub for accessing it is Okayama, though Okayama itself requires a significant transfer from Kansai International Airport. We briefly considered flying into Hiroshima or other airports, but after weighing flight schedules and other factors, we decided to fly into Kansai (Osaka).

Although Izumo Taisha itself can be toured in half a day, having traveled such a long way, we naturally wanted to see more than just a single sight. The final decision was to stay four nights in Okayama first, followed by two nights in Izumo, and finally three nights in Kobe on the return leg.

We chose to stay in Okayama primarily to stage our journey into Izumo. While our return route would necessitate passing through Okayama again, we decided not to stop there a second time, opting instead to find a base in a major city within the Kansai region.

When one thinks of major Kansai cities, Osaka or Kyoto usually come to mind first. However, concerns about the overwhelming crowds led us to rule them out. In the end, we chose Kobe.