—Far away from the hustle and bustle of neon Tokyo, the pulse of Heartland Japan beats to an ancient drum—one that is rooted in the past, and maintains customs and traditions that big city traffic has long since passed. The silence of the river stream, the purity of the water, the lush forests and warmth of those who are sustained by them give pause for thought and remind us to breath. Shimane Prefecture in western Japan has long been an off the beaten path destination for tourists who typically stick to the Tokyo-Kyoto-Hiroshima site-seeing route. Slowly but surely, visitors are catching on and looking to this pristine stretch of forests, rivers and mountains along the Japan Sea Side as the next frontier.—

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