At the Tottori Train Station, there was a little information booth about the size of a closet, with two women inside. They were the absolute best at giving information and pulling out maps and bus schedules and explaining it all in English! First place to go that day - Tottori Sand Dunes by bus.
From Wikipedia:
The Tottori Sand Dunes (鳥取砂丘, Tottori sakyū) are sand dunes located outside the city center of Tottori in Tottori Prefecture, Japan. At a length of 9 miles (14 km) and less than 1.5 miles (2.4 km) wide, it is the largest sand dune in Japan. The sand dunes are part of San'in Kaigan Geopark, which is part of The UNESCO Global Geoparks.
The sand formations were created when sediment deposits carried from the Chūgoku Mountains by the Sendai River were thrown away into the Sea of Japan. Strong winds then shaped the dunes over a span of 100,000 years.
The area of the dunes has been steadily decreasing due to a government reforestation program following World War II. Concrete barriers have been built along the coast to prevent the formations from eroding. Authorities have adopted measures to stop the shrinkage of the dunes, partly because they attract a significant amount of tourism to the area.
I haven't been to any other sand dunes, so I don't know how this compares. I thought the Tottori Sand Dunes were pretty interesting, but it was cold and windy that day.
Everywhere is uphill in Japan.
People can pay to ride the camels here. I didn't, but I did take these two pictures.
There was one sand dune ninja.
There were only a few people on the dune and you can see one far behind me. The dunes are really big.
Enough sand and wind. Back on the bus and the next stop is Tottori Castle Ruins.
