Sand Dunes in Tottori
Howdy? It’s me! Mr. Wada on duty! Why so high? It’s summer. Not like pros though, I and Mrs. Wada have been trying outdoor stuff last few years. Now, time for camping has come.
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Camping in Tottori
Camping in Miyajima, which we tried two years ago, was quite something. It was a great way to save up as well (a rental tent for 4-5 people costed only like 2,000 yen). If you are interested, you can check the details below.
This year though I’d thought of camping somewhere nearby during one of the holidays, but we want to visit the Sand Dunes and the Sand Museum in Tottori Prefecture.
Then the same idea as our Miyajima (camp) trip came to my mind.
“Why not visit and camp in Tottori?”
Drive up to Tottori Prefecture
We drove up towards north from Okayama.
The weather wasn’t great, very unstable at first. However, after passing through the mountain roads it cleared up. Yeeey!
Depressing
Relaxing
Explore Central Tottori
After 3-hour drive, we got to Tottori. The city itself looks rather small. We were in the central but kinda quiet.
Downtown, Tottori City
Wow, official skateboard field. Skateboarders can’t be bad here (it’s only my impression of them. Sorry)
The First Starbucks in Tottori Prefecture
Hey look at that, this is the first Starbucks store opened in Tottori Prefecture recently. It was on news because Tottori was apparently the last city to have a Starbucks store in Japan (I remember the first Starbucks store opened in Okayama, in mid 90s).
Front
Drive Thru
Seats outside
We decided to take a break and grab some coffee.
We had a little unexpected encounter. As I entered the store, an employee was handing the menu out. He looked at Mrs. Wada and seemed to realize something. Mrs. Wada also realized something. I had no idea. It turned that he used to work at a Starbucks store in Okayama where we normally hang out, so he remembered us! Wow.
He told us that he was transferred in this branch a month ago. I don’t know how long he would stay in Tottori but I wished him good luck. It was a nice surprise anyway. Quite unexpected though.
Dog-friendly!
We like visiting Starbucks Concept Stores lately. Know what they are? Please check this post if you are interested.
Sunaba Coffee
Oh by the way, actually there IS another well-known cafe before the Starbucks, it is called Sunaba Coffee. Many Japanese call Starbucks “SUTABA,” and this is SUNABA……..well, it’s obviously a silly joke (Sunaba means sand pit. I kinda think it’s smart that it is still related to sand!). This place also has been featured on many TV shows, so we wanted to take a look at it but it seemed even busier than the Starbucks! How weird…
Sunaba Coffee
Lunch time
We walked around and found this place called Dora-Meshi. This place serves 500-yen rice bowls.
I picked this one. Stewed tender beef on rice.
Mrs. Wada’s. Pork-don? I think.
Burp! It was delicious and gave us energy to continue our journey.
Drive down to Tottori Sand Dunes
Alright, now we are heading to the campsite and the sand dunes. The campsite is very close to the sand dunes, so our plan was to check-in at the campsite first and visit the sand dunes.
After driving about 15 min, we got to the campsite.
I can see the sand dunes already!
Hmp! Some people are intentionally blocking the parking space by their chairs!
It was still early, so we decided to drive around.
Sengan Matsushima (Geopark)
We drove down the road, then saw this sign.
Looks neat.
We followed the signs and got to this place called Sengan Matsushima. Let’s go take a look up there!
Sengan Matsushima spot – sign
path on the way to the spot
path
Sengan Matsushima view
Hmmm. It was harder than I expected….but see, it’s a worth trying. Beautiful!
Make Our Camp!
Alright, we headed back to the campsite to prepare our tent.
Yanagijaya Campground
Address : 1157 Hamasaka Tottori city
Tell : 0857-20-3227
Website: http://www.city.tottori.lg.jp/www/contents/1335848117565/
It’s admission free! But it doesn’t provide any tools, etc. So be sure you take all you need for camping and stuff.
Camp site’s reception
Looking for a place for tonight.
Watching my men working hard
Done!
OK, now we’ve got a place to stay over tonight.
The Tottori Sand Dunes
Now what? We are off to the sand dunes!
A path to the sand dunes.
The map
See the sign saying “Be careful of heat stroke”?
It was after 16:00 but still hot….
Great view.
Starting point (it’s not going to be easy…)
My find! A Toy Story soldier guy… (I swear I didn’t make it up!!!!)
Almost there!
Sunset view from the top of sand dunes
Everyone is waiting for the sunset
Beach is just behind the sand dunes
It was as beautiful as we expected.
After that we visited a supermarket nearby for BBQ party.
Got food for BBQ and drinks. There is also a Family Mart across the street.
BBQ Time!
I found that I forgot to bring a portable lamp but it was pretty bright by the lights of other campers. Good relief.
Had a great BBQ and fun talk. Our friend told us stories about his Boy Scout days. Interesting.
To be continued.
You all look so happy! Must be the beer.
The dunes and Sengan Matsushima look very nice
It was amazing. The beer helped to get even higher for sure. haha.
I love camping! It can be a little hard for foreigners to find information about them and to understand the rules for booking and paying. It would be awesome if you put together a post of top ten camping destinations – I’d read and share it with my foreign friends!
Hi Wren. Thx for your comment. Sounds neat! Although rules might vary at each campsite, I may consider that.