Okidomari is a small fishing harbour on the Shimane coast, wedged into a cove with steep green hills at its back, and today it looks like nothing much at all. Boats are pulled up, nets are drying, an old man is doing something patient to an engine. In the sixteenth century the same cove was one of the ports through which Iwami silver left for the world. Ore from the mines at Omori was carried down to the coast on foot along a mountain track, the Iwami Ginzan Kaido, and shipped from places like this to the markets of Japan and abroad. Silver from this stretch of coast helped shape trade across East Asia, and it is a startling thought when you are looking at a tiny slipway.
The coast road is the reason to ride here. Route 9 and the smaller roads around Yunotsu run in and out of headlands, with short climbs, blind bends and little villages of dark tile roofs and stacked stone walls. The Sea of Japan is often rough and grey, and the wind off it can push a bike around on exposed stretches. After rain the slopes shed mud and leaves onto the tarmac, so take the bends gently. Fishermen park half on the road, which is just part of the charm. In summer there is a smell of seaweed and warm tar, in winter salt and diesel.
Yunotsu, the next harbour town, is an old hot-spring village with a street of narrow houses and a tradition of bathing in mineral water. It is also on the UNESCO listing with the silver mines. Gotsu, about fourteen kilometres away, is the bigger place for fuel and a proper meal, and it has a good port of its own. Smaller stations along the coast tend to close early in the evening, so do not run the tank too low.
Eat fish here without hesitation. The catch is landed in the morning and cooked simply, with plenty of rice and pickles. If you want a quiet evening, the coast around sunset, when the sea goes pewter and orange, is worth waiting for. Spring and autumn are the kindest seasons; summer is humid and the winter sea is dramatic but cold.