Tottori Prefecture is located in western Japan, along the coast of the Sea of Japan, about two and a half hours away from Osaka. Tourism in Tottori can be divided into four main areas of interest: nature, manga, delicious food, and hot springs.
Nature
The Tottori Sand Dunes is one of the main attractions in the prefecture. It is a coastal sand dune stretching 16km from east to west, and 2km from north to south. The area features the largest sand hill in Japan, at a height of 50 metres. Visitors can enjoy the beautiful landscape and experience activities such as paragliding, sand boarding, and camel riding.
The Tottori Sand Dunes is also the location of the world’s first sand sculpture museum, which opened in 2012. The theme for this year’s main sand sculpture exhibit is Russia.
The Uradome Kaigan is a scenic coastline located in the eastern part of the prefecture. Visitors can enjoy a sightseeing cruise around the rocky shore, as well as activities such as snorkeling and net fishing in the transparent waters.
Mount Daisen is the tallest mountain in Japan’s Chugoku region. The mountain features different colours and sites to be enjoyed each season. When seen from one direction, the shape of Mount Daisen resembles Mount Fuji.
Also located near Mount Daisen is Japan’s largest flower park, the Tottori Hanakairo Flower Park. A wide variety of flowers can be enjoyed here all year round.
Manga
Since Tottori is home to numerous successful manga artists such as Gosho Aoyama, known for “Detective Conan”, and Shigeru Mizuki, known for “GeGeGe no Kitaro”, the prefecture has been promoting its local manga culture through an initiative entitled the Tottori Manga Kingdom.
A major manga related tourism site in Tottori is Mizuki Shigeru Road. The road features over 150 bronze statues of Yokai manga characters, as well as manga-related gift shops and restaurants. Approximately 3 million tourists visit Mizuki Shigeru Road each year.
At the Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory, visitors can view displays of original Detective Conan drawings, as well as a full scale reproduction of Aoyama’s studio. Everything related to Conan can be found at this facility.
Delicious Foods
Tottori Prefecture is also promoting itself as The Food Capital, marketing the region’s local food products. The winter specialty in Tottori is the Matsuba crab. The Matsuba crab season runs from November to mid-March.
There are also many other local food products such as the Twentieth Century Pear, which is the most popular fruit in the fall season.
As well, Tottori is a producer of high quality marbled beef.
Hot Springs
There are ten hot spring resorts in Tottori Prefecture, each featuring different qualities and characteristics. For example, Misasa Hot Springs is a resort located deep within the mountains, while Hawai Hot Springs offers a beautiful lake-side view. Kaike Hot Springs is located on the coast, featuring an excellent view of the Sea of Japan.
Hawai Hot Springs
Kaike Hot Springs
Misawa Hot Springs
