While visiting the Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine area, you can try your hand at making a silver ring at Kyuuan. The owner/instructor is a great teacher and he is so nice. First, you get to pick how wide you want your band to be and figure out your ring size.
Now the real work begins. What really makes this special is that you stamp a word inside of the ring. It can be a name or it can be a word that has a special meaning for you. It can be whatever you want!
He gives you a small plate to practice on before you stamp your ring. I had to think about what I wanted to stamp on the inside of my ring.
Once you get to a certain point, the instructor has to take over for one part of the ring making. This will take a little while so it’s a perfect opportunity to grab a bite to eat, or a drink and a dessert.
If you are ready for some food, I recommend visiting Gungendo Store & Cafe. The menu is small, but the food and desserts here are really good. I ordered their daily lunch plate and I loved everything on my plate. It was also pretty filling. The main dish when I went was grilled chicken that was cooked perfectly. It also came with a delicious ume (plum) sauce to dip the chicken in. They also offered a spice curry that looked, and smelled, amazing. Whatever you decide on though, make sure you leave room for dessert. Even if you have to share. When we were there, they were offering a spice cake with soybeans, topped with WHITE MISO ice cream. The cake reminded me of a holiday spice cake and it had chunky soybeans throughout the cake. It wasn’t dry at all and it was so delicious. The ice cream though. It was amazing. The miso flavor wasn’t overwhelming or too strong at all. The flavor was perfect and it was so creamy. I would drive to Shimane just to have lunch here again.
After you finish eating, be sure to walk around their store before leaving. They sell some different products, but what I loved looking at the most was the local pottery. Are you surprised?
They have clothing and other household items, but I spent a majority of my time looking at the pottery. I mayyy have even bought a couple of pieces.
After you are finished here, don’t forget to head back to Kyuuan and finish making your ring.
Just a couple of steps left and your ring will be ready!
I hope this helps you plan your Shimane adventure to the Yunotsu Onsen area. If you are looking for more information on Yunotsu Onsen, please check out my blog post here.
*Photos by Mr. Takahashi and Linda Sue
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