Tottori

Travel Guide

• Museums in Japan: Six of the Best

  

  14.08.2018

• Stay at Kaike Kikunoya Onsen

  

  11.02.2018

• A Day in Sakaiminato

  

  11.02.2018

• The Delicious Matsuba Crabs of Tottori

  

  11.02.2018

• Shoji Ueda Museum of Photography

  

  11.02.2018

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Best Events

• Festivals

  

  • Yonago Gaina Festival
  • Mt. Daisen Summer Opening Festival

• Cherry Blossom

  

  • Tottori Castle Ruins
  • Utsubuki Park

• Fireworks Festivals

  

  • Tottori Shan-Shan Festival

Top Things to do

• Tottori Sand Dunes

  

  Tottori Pref. Tottorishi Fukubechouyuyama

  Tottori Sand Dunes run along the Sea of Japan coast in Tottori City. They are the largest dunes in Japan and extend 16 kilometers from east to west and 2.4 kilometers from north to south. The landscape formed by the granite sand which is carried from the Chugoku Mountains due to the swift current of the Sendai River and the sea breeze from the Sea of Japan is beautiful. From the viewpoint of these dunes having characteristic topography, there are places with large depressions which are called “suri-bachi” because their shapes resemble that of an earthenware mortar, and it is said that large ones can be as much as 40 meters deep. It is also fun to ride a sightseeing camel through the sand dunes or glide over the sand on a sand board. The sand dunes were designated as a Natural Monument of Japan in 1955, and were selected as one of Japan’s top 100 geological features in 2007.

• Sakyu Center (Sand Dune Center)

  

  Tottori Pref. Tottorishi Fukubechouyuyama 2083

  This is a tourist facility located about 15 minutes by car from Tottori Airport, equipped with a drive-in, hotels, restaurants and so on. It overlooks the Tottori sand dunes and the Sea of Japan, the view terrace also making a great photo spot. At the restaurants one can enjoy a meal looking out over the sand dunes, with popular choices including a squid rice set menu and Daisen chicken rice bowl. There is also a souvenir shop stocking Tottori’s specialties. One can take a sightseeing lift from the Sakyu Center straight to the Tottori sand dunes.

• Kannon-in (Shusse-Kannon)

  

  Tottori Pref. Tottorishi Uemachi 162

  This is a temple located in Tottori City’s Uemachi Town in Tottori Prefecture which used to be the temple for the Ikeda family, the feudal lords of the Tottori domain. It is also the 32nd temple of the Chugoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, a junrei pilgrimage route. The principal object of worship is an image of the Shokanzeon Bosatsu, or Kannon Bodhisattva, and it is believed to be a Shusse Kannon (the word ‘shusse’ in Japanese means ‘success in life’ or ‘moving ahead in your life/career”) since it reportedly became larger every time it was moved. Construction of the Kannon-in garden, which has been designated as a Special Place of Scenic Beauty, took ten years from 1650 to be completed, and is an example of Chisenkansho-shiki Teien style in which there is a large pond around which gentle slopes, stones and trees and bushes have been arranged. Visitors can partake of the matcha tea and sweets service to sit down and slowly appreciate the garden view.

• Tottori Castle Ruins, Kyusho-koen Park

  

  Tottori Pref. Tottorishi Higashimachi

  This is an urban park built around the Tottori Castle ruins, famous for Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s starvation tactics. At the summit of Mt. Kyusho there are ruins of the tower and outer citadel, keeping the appearance of a mountain castle. At the base is Kyusho-koen Park, where there are many sights such as the Jinpu-kaku Mansion and a prefectural museum. Selected as one of Japan’s top 100 cherry blossom spots, there are approximately 240 cherry blossoms including the Yoshino cherry variety and in spring the area is teeming with stalls and cherry blossom viewers.

• Hinomaru Onsen

  

  Tottori Pref. Tottorishi Suehironsenchou 401

  This is a public bath close to JR Tottori Station, where one can enjoy natural hot springs. The interior has the atmosphere of an old-fashioned bathhouse with wooden lockers and massage machines. The first floor is a bath and dressing room, the second is a pub & restaurant that holds live performances at weekends. Between 10 am and 2 pm on weekdays it is possible to reserve private baths, popular among parenting and friend groups.

• Sumibi no Jujuan

  

  Tottori Pref. Tottorishi Suehironsenchou 751

  This is a restaurant in Suehiro Onsen town, where one can savor the luxurious taste of charcoal-grilled local sea and mountain foods. A popular menu choice is the Jujuan course where one can enjoy both carefully selected black-hair Tottori Wagyu beef and seafood from the local harbor. There are also plentiful combination platters and a la carte options, and in winter the snow crab menu is popular. There are counter and table seats, as well as private rooms where one can easily hold dinner meetings.

• Hawai Yu-Town

  

  Tottori Pref. Touhakugunyurihamachou Kamiasodu 204-2

  This is one of Yurihama Town’s representative Hawaii hot spring baths on the south bank of Tougou lake, also known as “Tsuru no Mizuumi” (lake of cranes). It is known for the bright and open interior, and both men’s and women’s baths featuring glass ceilings. There are three baths drawing natural hot spring water-small, middle and large-accommodating over 50 bathers at once. There is also a drinks corner, tatami rest area, and massage room.

• Iwai Yukamuri Onsen

  

  Tottori Pref. Iwamiguniwamichou Iwai 521

  This is a public bathhouse in Iwai Onsen in Iwami Town, Iwamigun, Tottori Prefecture, a place of 1,300 years’ history where one can enjoy one of the oldest hot springs in the Sanin area. There exists an unusual custom of “Yukamuri”- tying a hand towel around one’s head and covering oneself in water with a ladle, which has continued since the Edo period. High-quality water from the source, designated a national health preservation onsen, flows directly into the bath and maintains a perfect temperature.

• Mitokusan Sanbutsuji Temple

  

  Tottori Pref. Touhakugunmisasachou Mitoku 1010

  This is a temple of the Tendai Buddhist sect, with grounds on the 900 meters Mt. Mitoku. It is said that Enno Oguno was opened as a gyoba (practice site) for Shugendo mountain asceticism in 706, though details are scarce. It is famous for the Nageiredo sub temple built into the crevice of a sheer cliff, and even today details of the building method are not fully revealed making it a national treasure. Aside from the main temple, the grounds are dotted with halls designated important cultural properties including those for Monjudo and Jizodo. In the Homotsuden (treasure house) is Nageiredo’s original object of worship, a wooden standing statue of Zao Gongen. *Climbing to Nageiredo is currently prohibited because of the Tottori Prefecture Chubu Earthquake.