Tottori 鳥取県 my #24th
(All places have google map links if you click on them)
July 13, 2024– Before checking-in to my driving school in Shimane, me and my friend Alysa decided to go to Tottori Prefecture to see the Sand Dunes. At first I was worried that there isn’t much to do for the whole 2 days because only Sand dunes and sand museum caught my attention first but eventually found some interesting places to visit and wished we stayed for at least 4 days.
We flew from Haneda airport (7:00 am departure) to Tottori airport (8:00 arrival) via ANA and took the bus from the airport to Tottori station (about 45min). Fans of Detective Conan will be excited upon arriving to this airport because you will see a lot of Detective Conan display. I used to watch it when I was in grade school so I got a little excited too. (I actually had a crush on him when I was young because he is so smart.)
Anyways, to be honest I didn’t plan much for this trip so I forgot to plan our transportation upon arrival. Imagine my surprise when I found out that there is no railway station at the airport. Good thing the bus is available just after we arrived. You have to buy the ticket for the bus via a machine at the arrival area and the bus is just right out the main entrance. I couldn’t take much pictures of the airport because we were in a hurry to get into the bus.
Personally, I think the best way is to just rent a car upon arrival to save time. Public transportation is quite limiting if you want to maximize your time in this prefecture because some routes like the loop bus from Tottori station to the Sand dunes area only comes once or twice every hour.
But if you choose to take the bus, they will drop you off infront of Tottori station. You can buy the ticket going to the airport at the bus terminal right outside Tottori Station near to the loop bus stop going to sand dunes.
We stayed at Y Pub&Hostel TOTTORI close to Tottori station (about 3min walk). The hostel was very nice. We arrived around 10:00 am, super hungry and too early for check-in but the lovely staff told us they can keep our bags even before checking-in.
We ordered lunch at the hostel cafe on the first floor, ate lunch there and rested for a bit then we went to the station to catch a bus to the sand dunes, but we missed it by a few minutes. This is why it’s better to rent a car because the next one was an hour later.
While waiting, we went to the Tourist counter inside the train station to ask if there is another way to go, we even considered just renting a car but nothing is available that day. The staff at the Tourist counter gave us a map and taught us where to get off so we can go around without walking too much.
13:00 – Our first stop was at the Sand dunes to take picture with a camel and explore the area. During weekends, you cannot take the camel out to walk but I was told by the staff that you can do it on certain times during the weekdays. Good thing we did this first because they stopped letting people take pictures with the camels after us because they need a break for feeding. It looks like there’s a LOT of activities too like paragliding and ATV riding but you have to book them in advance. We didn’t book anything so we had to call them one by one and ask if they take walk-ins.
15:00 – Then we went to Takahama Cafe/ observatory to get some refreshments. We got strawberry shake and a drink and went to the top floor overlooking the Sand Dunes. I really like the architectural design of that building.
15:30 – We took the lift to go to the Sand Museum. I really enjoyed this museum, it’s France theme this year and while I do like France, I really wanted to see the Egypt theme. There are sand sculptures inside and outside too which was so cool. I still would recommend this place 100%.
17:00 – After exploring the Sand Museum we took the bus and went back to our hostel near Tottori station and then took a taxi to go to Chanko Ishiura / ちゃんこ石浦, a restaurant owned by a former sumo wrestler. This is the first time I had Chanko Nabe or Sumo stew- commonly eaten sumo wrestlers as part of a weight-gain diet and I was in food coma after. I also recommend their wings because it was really good! we ordered more to take back to the hostel.
We took a taxi again going back to the hostel and I really wish we just rented a car upon arrival but the moment we realized it, most taxi rental places are all booked up. We did however managed to find an available rental car with Toyota the next day and the price was reasonable for a full day rental with insurance. (I would use my Times Car-share card next time though because I feel like it’s more convenient than the usual car rental places..)
Then we had lunch at KAEN – one of the best pizza I’ve had in Japan, and I’ve had really good pizzas here but I really like this one. The staff here were really nice and the service was great. You really won’t regret eating here even if you came to Japan to eat authentic Japanese foods.
After lunch we shopped inside the mall where the restaurant is at, and bought some Omiyage for my coworkers (which some, I’m gonna be honest-ended up in my belly). Omiyage culture is big in Japan and I really have fun picking out stuff for my friends whenever I go travel. Next time maybe I’ll start taking pictures of what I got and maybe do reviews since I eat some of my omiyage anyways.
14:00 – After shopping we drove to Tottori Deaino Mori / とっとり出合いの森 to go see the Mystery House / ミステリーハウス. Finding the parking lot was kind of tricky and we went the wrong way first because we put in the Mystery house on google maps but I think it’s better if you put in this parking lot instead. Then you can walk to go inside the park. This park is massive and I think kids and adults can enjoy it, especially the Mystery House. It really is full of mystery.
It started to rain but we were already set on going to the beach so we drove to Uradome Coast. It’s a long stretch of beach and we didn’t know where to park so we just parked here , it says free on google maps but when we got back to the car after swimming they closed the entrance to the parking lot so I don’t know if we were supposed to park there.
There is an observation deck nearby overlooking the Torii in a small island but getting there is hard because of the stones. I suggest you bring an aqua shoes especially if you’re not a fan of foot reflexology.
Then we ate Ramen at Tonraku Ryomitsuyanagi. We ordered Gyukotsu Ramen (Beef bone) since we are in Tottori. Gyukotsu is a specialty ramen from Tottori and you don’t see it a lot all over Japan. I liked it, but honestly at that point, I would be so glad to eat anything because I was so hungry.
21:00 After dinner, we finally reached our last stop- Mizuki Shigeru Road– AT NIGHT. I’ve never seen the anime and it was my first time hearing it but I really enjoyed this area. It was a little spooky, especially when the lights keep on turning off on us. I wish we went a little earlier so we can go to the shops.. They were already closed by the time we got there. We didn’t see a lot of tourist…nor regular people. Just us and the ghosts.
Places I wish I went:
–Lake Koyama
–Eshima Bridge (Famous steep bridge in Japan)
–Mt. Daisen
–Sanbutsu-ji
–三徳山三佛寺奥院 (国宝投入堂)/みとくさんさんぶつじおくのいん（こくほうなげいれどう) /Mitokusan Sanbutsuji Okunoin (Kokuhou Nageiredou) or NageireDou for short -a hanging buddhist hall built in a cliff in Mt. Mitoku as the inner sanctum of Sanbutsu Temple. It is nicknamed “Japan’s most dangerous national treasure” because it is literally built into a cliff.
Many others on my google maps saved (https://maps.app.goo.gl/fLeHEvy1ZauWeGxY8)
Thank you always for reading till the end!
I appreciate all the comments and love hearing feedbacks.
I organize trips in Kanto area and joiners are always welcome so feel free to send me a message if you want to join us.
EAT, SLEEP, TRAVEL, REPEAT =)
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