The coast of Gōtsu City, Shimane Prefecture seen from the Osakihana lighthouse. Shimane Prefecture (島根県, Shimane-ken) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. [2] Shimane Prefecture is the second-least populous prefecture of Japan at 665,205 (February 1, 2021) and has a geographic area of 6,708.26 km 2.Shimane Prefecture borders Yamaguchi Prefecture to the ...