Monday, January 27, 2014

Japan (Oct2013): Day 9 Tottori

Day 9 (3/11/13): Tottori

Day Breakdown:
0902 Alighted from Overnight train Sunrise Izumo at Yonago station
0950-1058 Yonago to Tottori via Ltd Exp train
1110 Deposited luggage at hotel
1115-1120 Went Tourist info counter at Tottori station for bus info and
1150-1230 Lunch at Daimaru, opposite Tottori station.
1300-1321 Bus ride from Tottori station to Tottori Sand dunes.
1321-1510 Visited Tottori Sand Dunes and Sand Museum
1510-1531 Bus ride from Tottori Sand Museum back to Tottori station
1600 Check in hotel. Since it was raining, so I just relaxed in the room for the day.

Expenditures:
880yen Katsudon lunch
360yen Bus ride from Tottori station to Sand Dunes
600yen Admission fees for Sand Museum
360yen Bus ride from Sand Museum to Tottori station
480yen Dinner bento from convenience store

Alighted at Yonago station (around 0902am) from the overnight train Sunrise Izumo which I took from Tokyo the night before.

Arrival at Yonago station. Had to transfer to another train to be able to reach Tottori.

Lots of Gegege no Kitaro anime stuffs sold at Yonago station. Since I had about 50mins to spare while waiting for my next train to arrive, so I just hanged around Yonago station looking at these products. Too bad I don't really watch this particular anime, or else I'd have have a spending spree here.



Gegege no Kitaro Hello Kitty?




Souvenir shops at Yonago station

Lonely hippo sculpture outside Yonago station.

Waiting for my train to arrive.

I'm taking the Ltd Exp Super Oki train to Tottori. 

Saw this Detective Conan train arriving at Yonago station on the opposite platform.

The train which I will be taking to Tottori. Ltd Exp Oki train. Free for JR Pass holders.

Since I don't really have the strength to haul my luggage onto the overhead luggage compartment, so this is how I sat for my 1hr journey. Luckily no one was seated next to me so I had some space for my legs to stretch. That's usually how I travel around Japan on my own. 1 sling camera bag + my 25" luggage bag. 

After a 1hr train journey from Yonago, I arrived at Tottori station. As you can tell from the photo, it's a rainy day.

Lunch at Daimaru, opposite Tottori station. This Katsudon is really nice. 880yen.

100yen loop bus. Doesn't go to the Sand dunes though.
There are actually a few buses which goes from Tottori station to Tottori sand dunes. You can get bus timetable from Tourist info counter at Tottori station. 
This is a slightly cheaper bus than the one which I took, but this one takes a slightly longer journey time to reach Tottori Sand dunes from Tottori station. I forgot to take a pic of the bus which I took though.

After about 20mins bus ride, I arrived at the bus stop just opposite the Sand dunes. 
There is some food and souvenir shops in this building just next to the bus stop and opposite the sand dunes.
Inside.



Tottori Sand dunes.
 The sand dunes at Tottori is the largest in Japan. These were created over thousands of years and it spans about 16km of coast along Sea of Japan. 
If the weather's better, you can have camel rides here as well. Too bad it was raining and windy on the day of my visit. 






Reached the top of the sand dunes, overlooking the sea.


Looking down the slope from where I climbed up from. Slope seems gentle enough for climbing, but still,  it took me quite awhile to drag myself up the slope.
 Just a couple minutes walk away from the sand dunes is the Sand museum. They usually close during winter for preparations for the next sand exhibition which will start from Spring till Autumn. 

The team of sand sculptors for the current exhibition. The current theme was South East Asia.


















Malaysia and Singapore. Can you spot Marina Bay Sands?






Around 4pm, I was able to check in to my hotel for the day. I stayed at Toyoko Inn Tottori eki-mae hotel which was just a nice 2mins walk opposite Tottori station. 
My room. 
Was able to see Tottori station from my room window.
My poor sandy shoes.
 Dozed off for a short nap while watching the TV, and woke up in the evening to go to the convenience store just opposite the hotel to buy dinner.
The dinner bento which I bought from the convenience store. 480yen. Yes, that's Initial D anime which I was watching on my mobile phone.
Supper. The Nissin Cup Noodle which I customized from the previous day.