Tottori Sand Dunes, Tottori Prefecture, Japan
Photo: rikky_photography via FIND/47 · CC BY 4.0
鳥取CHŪGOKU
CHŪGOKU · 鳥取県 · Japan

Tottori

Japan's famous sand dunes on the Sea of Japan.

Tottori is Japan's least-populous prefecture, hugging the Sea of Japan coast in the Chugoku region and famous above all for the Tottori Sand Dunes, a 16-km sweep of golden coastal dunes where you can ride camels or sandboard. Beyond the sand it offers a rugged volcanic peak (Mount Daisen), yokai folklore, and quiet seaside towns.

Tottori (鳥取) is Japan's least-populous prefecture. Its great coastal dunes (砂丘) have formed over 100,000 years from sand carried by the Sendai River and the Sea of Japan.

Tottori-shi 鳥取市Sakaiminato-shi 境港市Kurayoshi-shi 倉吉市
Where it isTottori, CHŪGOKU
Tottori Sand Dunes, Tottori Prefecture, Japan
Tottori Sand Dunes
The Sand Museum, Tottori Prefecture, Japan
The Sand Museum
Nageiredō Hall, Mt. Mitoku, Tottori Prefecture, Japan
Nageiredō Hall, Mt. Mitoku
Hakuto Coast, Tottori Prefecture, Japan
Hakuto Coast

Photos: Tottori Sand Dunes — Kei via FIND/47, CC BY 4.0 · The Sand Museum — Drivephotographer via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 · Nageiredō Hall, Mt. Mitoku — Reggaeman via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hakuto Coast — rikky_photography via FIND/47, CC BY 4.0

01

Getting there

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Tottori is reached by limited express from Okayama or Osaka.

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02

What to see

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Tottori Sand Dunes, Tottori Prefecture, JapanTop pick

Tottori Sand Dunes (鳥取砂丘)

Japan's best-known coastal dune field, ~16 km east-west and 2.4 km north-south, formed over ~100,000 years. A designated Natural Monument; highlights include…

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The Sand Museum, Tottori Prefecture, JapanTop pick

The Sand Museum (砂の美術館)

Just east of the dunes, the world's only museum dedicated to sand sculpture, themed 'traveling the world with sand.' International artists create large,…

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Mizuki Shigeru Road, Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture, JapanTop pick

Nageiredo Hall, Mt. Mitoku Sanbutsuji (三徳山三佛寺 投入堂)

A National Treasure Shugendo hall wedged into a cliff cavity ~500 m up Mt. Mitoku, dating to the 11th-12th century and built without nails. Reaching it…

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03

What to eat

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Matsuba crab, Tottori Prefecture, JapanMust-eat

Matsuba crab (松葉ガニ / snow crab)

Tottori's signature winter delicacy — male snow crab landed in the Sea of Japan, prized for firm, sweet flesh. Season runs early November to March 20;…

Tottori gyukotsu ramen, Tottori Prefecture, JapanMust-eat

Tottori Gyukotsu ramen (牛骨ラーメン)

A rare beef-bone broth ramen local to Tottori, popular since the 1940s-50s as the area raised cattle. Sweet, rich aroma (more roast-beef/sukiyaki than the…

Must-eat

Twentieth Century pear (二十世紀梨) & local produce

Tottori is famed for high-quality fruit on its fertile plains — crisp Nijisseiki (Twentieth Century) pears, watermelons and persimmons. The region is also…

04

Tottori at a glance

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05

Say it in Tottori

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Ask a local
Kirei desu ne.
It's beautiful, isn't it?
Test yourself
Local word
sakyū
sand dunes — Tottori's signature landscape
Test yourself
One more
suna ga atsui desu.
The sand is hot.
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Tottori Sand Dunes, Tottori Prefecture, Japan

Sleep in Tottori

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07

Next door

ShimaneHome to Izumo Taisha, one of Japan's oldest and grandest shrines.OkayamaA great garden, a 'crow castle', and the canal town of Kurashiki.Play the 47-prefecture mapUnlock Tottori in the RPG-style explorer.

Links marked PR are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Photos: Tottori Sand Dunes — rikky_photography via FIND/47, CC BY 4.0 · Tottori Sand Dunes — Kei via FIND/47, CC BY 4.0 · The Sand Museum — Drivephotographer via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 · Nageiredō Hall, Mt. Mitoku — Reggaeman via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hakuto Coast — rikky_photography via FIND/47, CC BY 4.0 · Tottori Sand Dunes — Shunsuke2233 via FIND/47, CC BY 4.0 · The Sand Museum — Drivephotographer via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 · Mizuki Shigeru Road, Sakaiminato — puffyjet via Flickr, CC BY 2.0 · Matsuba crab — nishimuraya.kinosakionsen via Flickr, CC BY 2.0 · Tottori gyukotsu ramen — ノボホショコロトソ via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0. Map: Geolonia (MIT).