Driving Through Sanbe Highland Wide-open grassland and a bite with a surprising kick

I parked my red car at Nishi-no-hara, and the grassland stretched out right in front of me. With a jacket over my white top, I held the Sanbe wasabi burger I'd brought along in both hands. Beyond the grass, the mountains rose in layers beneath a vast open sky. I'd been wondering where to stop for lunch, but this view made me want to stay a little longer.

I tugged the wrapper down a little and took a bite. First I tasted the meat, then the wasabi heat came through. It was spicier than I'd expected, and my eyes went wide. The burger is layered with Sanbe wasabi pickled in soy sauce, and the patty is made with beef and pork from Shimane Prefecture. I took my next bite slowly, to get a better sense of the flavour. I'm glad I chose this for lunch on a mountain drive.

When I looked up between bites, I saw rounded mountains of different shapes lined up on either side. The open grassland gives me such a wide view of the mountains. I knew Mt. Sanbe as a place to hike, but taking a break at its foot and looking up is a different pleasure. I wasn't in a hurry to reach the summit today, so I took my time comparing which slope looked closest.

They say controlled burning in spring helps preserve Nishi-no-hara's broad grassland. I'd thought it was a naturally open landscape, but learning that people help keep it this way makes me notice the autumn grass, too. A breeze catches one patch of seed heads, then the motion ripples to the next. I could watch it over lunch without getting bored—maybe because there's always a little something shifting in the grass.

Sanbe Highland stretches across foothills at 400–600 m elevation, and Nishi-no-hara is part of it. It's 40 minutes by car from Omori Town in Iwami Ginzan to Nishi-no-hara, so pairing a stroll around town with a stop on the grassland could make a lovely day out. By the time I'd savoured my last bite and folded up the wrapper, I felt full and content. I'm glad I could enjoy a lunch like this before heading back out on the autumn mountain roads.