Moopon

1. Once visitors exit immigration and customs at Kansai Airport, visitors will be on the 1st floor. Follow the signs for “Railways”, taking one of the 4 escalators or 3 elevators to arrive at the 2nd floor.

2. Once on the 2nd floor, follow the signs to one of several walkways and walk across the road to Kansai-airport Station. Visitors need to exit the air terminal building to arrive at the JR Station (two separate buildings connected by a walkway). Two train companies use Kansai-airport Station: JR (blue/green) and Nankai (orange). Only JR can take visitor to the platform Haruka departing from. DO NOT use Nankai.

3. Before entering tickets gate, find JR Ticket Office where visitors can purchase ticket or reserved ticket for JR train.(there is a huge sign in English above their head).JR ticket office staff may or may not speak English, but they can read place names and train types written in the Roman alphabet. 

4. With one’s tickets, go through JR ticket gate and take an escalator to get to Platform 4.

The Tottori Sand Dunes (鳥取砂丘, Tottori Sakyu) is Tottori’s most famous tourist attraction.  The sand dunes are located outside the center of the city; they are a part of the Sanin Kaigan National Park.

Being the largest in Japan, the Tottori Sand Dunes span 16 kilometers along the Sea of Japan coast.  Being along the coast, the tides and winds constantly reshape the sand dunes to a new design.

Between the visitor center and the sea is the main sightseeing area. Visitors will find many of the largest sand dunes here.  Walking to the top of the tall dune will enable visitors to experience breathtaking sea views. From this location, visitors can see the trails of never-ending sand in almost every direction.

Beside the sand dune, there are other tourist attractions in this areas. There are camel rides as well as horse drawn carts to travel through the dunes.  Adventurous visitors have the option to try paragliding or sandboarding (similar to snowboarding) here as well.


Next to the dunes is The Sand Museum, a unique museum which displays large sand sculptures by artists from around the world. In the past, the exhibits were held outdoors or in temporary structures but since 2012, the sculptors are displayed in their permanent home.

The span of an exhibit is from mid April to early January of the following year. Each exhibit has its own theme which is usually a country or a region.  For 2014, the theme is Russia.  The current show started on April 19, 2014 and will close on January 4, 2015.

**Camel Ride Information:
Hours: 9:30 to 16:30 (March to November)
10:00 to 16:00 (December to February)
Closed: No closing days
Admission: 1300 yen (one person), 2500 yen (two persons)

**Sand Museum:
Hours: 9:00 to 20:00 (entry until 19:30)
Closed: Between exhibitions (early January to mid April)
Admission: 600 yen
English Level: Good

**Access Information:
By Bus:
*from Tottori Station, board the regular city bus bound for Tottori Sakyu (鳥取砂丘). Visitors can board the bus from bus stop #0 in front of Tottori Station.  Visitors will disembark at the final stop. The ride to the dunes takes about 20 minutes. The fare is 370 yen.  There 1 bus per hour.
*from Tottori Station, board the Kirin Jishi Loop Bus.  The A-Course takes about 25 minutes to the dunes whereas the B-Course takes about one hour. The frequency is one bus every 1-2 hours. The cost is 300yen per ride or 600 yen for a 1-day pass.
NOTE:  the Kirin Jishi Loop bus to Sand Dunes operates only on the weekends, national holidays and summer vacation (July 20th to August 31st). For other dates, please use the regular city bus.
By taxi:
*from Tottori Station, it is a 20 minute ride with a fare of about 2200 yen.
 

Kannon-in (観音院), Buddhism’s Tendai Sect temple, is located on the eastern side of Tottori City. It was built during the Edo Period (1603-1867) by ruling family, the Ikeda Clan.

From the gates welcoming visitors to the temple grounds, visitors will appreciate the traditional elements of this Buddhist temple. Visitors can enjoy the beautiful Japanese style landscape garden that is temple is most famous for.  The garden includes a large pond with carp fish or koi. Also, there are small islands in the pond, which symbolize a crane and a turtle, auspicious creatures for longevity and health in Japan.  The pond is surrounded by the beautiful, well-maintained lawn and tall maple and pine trees.  Within the temple, visitors can experience the serenity of the garden while being served green tea, or macha, and sweets.

Access Information:
**By Bus:  from Tottori Station, board the red line of the 100 Yen Kururi Bus. Disembark at bus stop number 11.  From here, it is a short walk to the temple.
The bus ride will take about 10 minutes and the fare is 100 yen.  The frequency of the bus is one bus every 20 minutes.
**By foot:  30 walk from Tottori Station

Hours: 9:00 to 17:00
Closed: Opened All Year Round
Admission: 600 yen (includes green tea and sweet)