Tottori

Just got back from a 4-day trip in Tottori. For the first two days, the weather was hot but without the humidity of Tokyo which was great until Typhoon Ma-On brought along some heavy showers. My flight back to Haneda was rescheduled to fly two hours later, but the lovely staff at ANA called to let me know beforehand. Thumbs up ANA!

This time around, I thought I'd try using a backpack rather than a travel case. It was heavy, I think I might have been carrying around 15-20kg, but mobility-wise, I wasn't encumbered as much as I was when I was using a case. It was definitely a lot more convenient and 'freer'. I didn't have to check it in at the airport, I didn't have to look for or get held up at the escalators/elevators or drag up/down stairs if there weren't any, nor did I have to worry about finding a place to keep it while I moved from town to town - no locker? No problem. Although, urban backpacking doesn't seem so popular here. In fact, I didn't see anyone else backpacking. All the ladies were with their travel cases. It's funny, there were people wondering whether I was Japanese or not because "she's wearing a large backpack."

Day 1: Tottori City

[Sashimi lunch set includes rice, miso soup, egg, salad and pickled vegetables for only JPY880! So yuuummmy!]

Saw Jinpukaku, Castle Ruins, relaxed with a cuppa matcha and a sugar cake at Kannon-in Temple, followed by a trek over a sand dune and cruise along the Uradome Kaigan Coast.

[The Sand Dune]

During the day, the town was almost completely deserted, but as the sun set, the streets gradually filled up with people! Wait, let me doublecheck the day, yes it was a Saturday, maybe it's some sort of long siesta?? Ended the day with drinks, food and karaoke ;) I spent the night and the following night at an internet cafe. A 9-hour sleep pack costs JPY1980 and includes a futon-sized cubicle with tv, internet, a chair of your choice (I chose a floor seat), unlimited hot/cold drinks, ice-cream, popcorn and miso soup, and the use of the shower and washroom facilities. Pillows/blankets are available if needed. To be honest, it wasn't the most comfortable place to spend a night, but I managed to sleep, and it was kinda convenient to have internet access literally within arm's reach to check out my next destination, I'd certainly not rule out the possibility on my next trips.

Day 2: Kawahara, Beaches, the rest of Tottori City and a Pond

[View from Kawahara Castle]

In my opinion, the green fields, the tree-covered seemingly spontaneously placed hills, village houses wouldn't seem out of place in the scenery of a Studio Ghibli production. Absolutely beautiful.

[Hakuto Beach]

After Kawahara Castle, I went to Hakuto Beach. The buses in Tottori are on the pricey side, each one-way journey set me back about JPY500-700, however, they always, always, almost scarily so, arrived right on the dot. The rest of the day was spent sightseeing Warabekan (Children's Museum) - some of the toys and learning resources here are quite ingenious, it must have been weird to see this 'big child' trying out the toys and smiling widely as she watched two dolls going head over heels down a slope - Tottori Mingei Musuem of Folkcrafts and Koyama Pond. Dinner was a rice and miso set with daikon-wasabi maguro and a shrimp-avocado salad ;)

Day 3: Beaches, Kurayoshi and Yonago

[Smiling Crab in Aoya. No, I did not draw on any crabs nor was there any form of cruelty to crabs by me.]

To be honest, the beaches here aren't all they're hyped up to be, maybe it's because of all the human activity, Idegahama Beach in Aoya was not an exception. While waiting for the train, I also checked out the Aoya Kamikichi Site Exhibition Hall.

[Pears in Tottori Nijisseiki Pear Museum]

This is the only pear museum in Japan and its in Kurayoshi. Wanna get the facts and other know-how about pears? This is the place. There's free pear tasting too! My fav has to be the Shinsetsu Pear 新雪梨. An elderly couple I met at the tourist information centre were kind enough to drive me to the museum, and they just wouldn't stop giving me food! They weren't planning to go into the museum, but offered to wait for me! In the end, I persuaded them not to waste their holiday sitting around waiting for me, and we parted ways with lots of handshaking. Just after paying the entrance fee, the old man came running after me with an ice-cream, bless him! The pear ice-cream was delicious ;)

[Rice Cakes and Vegetable Hotpot]

Lunch was at a restaurant recommended by the tourist information centre called Seisuisan 町屋清水庵. The place is famous for mochi cake shabu shabu i.e. rice cake hotpot. The lunch set also included chawanmushi (Japanese steamed egg) and another rice cake cooked with kelp and covered in a syrup. Admittedly, it was tasty, but the portions! A person can only each so much rice cake! Afterwards, I explored the Shirakabe Warehouses, before getting the train to Yonago.

Day 4: Daisen, Sakaiminato and Yonago

The typhoon was incoming, so I decided to skip the hiking at Daisen but caught the bus to check the mountain out anyway. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to see, especially not with all the rainclouds, I might go back to hike Daisen when I'm next in Honshu.

[One of the statues that lined the Mizuki Shigeru Road]

The trains that run between Yonago and Sakaiminato are special trains, they have names. Basically each train is decorated with one of four characters created by Mizuki-Sensei. When the train I was in came to a standstill, one of the passengers asked what the problem was, and I heard the conductor say something about a 'nezumi', I thought, "What?! They're stopping a train because of a mouse?!" It turned out that he was referring to the Nezumiotoko Train (the mouseman train).

[Kani-Bouzu]

Walked along the Mizuki Shigeru Road and checked out the museum before heading back to Yonago.

[Sunset at Yonago]

Nothing much to do in Yonago, I was planning to check out the coast, but decided not to because of the typhoon. There's a nice supermarket though, that has a huge selection of sweet treats and really nostalgic-tasting bread.