It takes about an hour by train from Kurayoshi Station to reach Tottori Station.
You can get to the Tottori Sand Dunes by bus or taxi from the station.
I took a taxi because it was hot.
It cost about 3000 yen.
Totori Sands Dune
Tottori Sand Dunes is a quasi-national park. Anyone can enter for free 24 hours a day.
Please be careful of heat stroke on hot days.
Totori Sands Dune
It was a weekday so there weren’t many people around, but there were quite a few foreigners.
Totori Sands Dune
It’s hard to convey the vastness of the place in a photo.
Or maybe a video.
Google Maps said it took 5 minutes to reach the hill called Umanose, but that’s impossible.
It took 30 minutes.
My feet got stuck in the sand and I couldn’t move forward.
It’s scorching hot in midsummer, so I have to stay hydrated.
I think it’s easier than the deserts in the Middle East.
I’ve never been there though.
Totori Sands Dune
I thought it was amazing that even small children and dogs could ride on horseback.
The couple sat looking out at the sea.
Indeed, even in midsummer, the breeze from the Sea of Japan was cool and refreshing.
It took me another 30 minutes to go back.
I couldn’t stop sweating.
I drank an isotonic drink to cool down.
I bought some Sand Dune Coffee as a souvenir.
The beans are Brazilian, roasted with sand from the sand dunes.
Now, let’s return to Tottori Station and have lunch.
Seafood lunch: Mosaebi set meal
Mosa shrimp
This is a seafood resrautant called “Murakami Suisan“.
You order using a tablet system.
If I have an appetite, I wanted to eat a lot of local specialties.
However, the sand dunes are making me tired.
I ordered the specialty, Mosaebi set meal.
Mosa shrimp
It looks plain, but the taste is sweet and very good.
I’m going to travel by train from Tottori Station to Kinosaki Onsen Station.
It takes about 2 hours. I’m drinking iced coffee while traveling.
Kinosaki Onsen hot spring
Kinosaki Cable car
Unfortunately, we didn’t make it in time for the ropeway.
Kinosaki Cable car
The whole town of Kinosaki Onsen is a hot spring, and the best season is probably autumn and winter.
It is a hot spring after all.
However, it is also popular in summer.
Two women dressed in yukatas were walking around at that time.
This is the view of the hot spring town.
Onsenji temple
Kinosaki Onsen flourished around Onsenji Temple.
Nowadays, the station is located far away.
As a result, it is quieter.
The source of Kinosaki Onsen
I never imagined that the hot water (90°C) gushing out from such a small rock was the source of all the hot springs.
Listen to the sound.
Gosho no Yu
Kinosaki Onsen is also famous for having several public baths.
You can relax at one hot spring inn, but you can also take a tour of the hot springs.
This is Gosho no Yu, which was built with the image of the Emperor’s palace in mind.
ichinoyu
This is Ichinoyu.
Jizou yu
This is Jizoyu.
If you buy a one-day bathing ticket for 1,500 yen for adults, you can go to any public bath as many times as you like.
This means that you can enjoy the hot springs even if you are not staying overnight at Kinosaki Onsen.
Relaxed foreigner
People from abroad are looking forward to enjoying the hot springs.
Everyone is walking around the town wearing yukata.
Mikiya hotel
I decided to stay at Miki-ya for the night.
It usually costs around 100,000 yen for one night with two meals.
After washing off the sand from the Tottori Sand Dunes and feeling refreshed, I enjoyed a sumptuous meal and slept on a fluffy futon.
It feels like heaven.
John 14:2
In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?