#Sky Over Lake West#: A 14-Day Free Travel in Kansai — D6: Chartered Tour in Tottori, Tottori Sand Dunes, Tottori Castle Ruins

May 28, 2025 — my first sunny day in Japan, but unfortunately most of the day would be spent on the train.

After checking out in the morning, I headed to Shingu Station. Look, the weather was so nice, yet we had to rush. This was the road from the hotel to the station — quiet and clean.

A photo in front of Shingu Station.

Boarded the limited express train to Osaka Station at 6:24.

The scenery along the way was beautiful.

Arrived at Osaka Station around 10:50. First, I asked the staff at the ticket gate which platform and how to get to the train from Osaka to Tottori. After getting a detailed answer, I followed the signs to find the boarding platform for the Osaka-Tottori train.

Osaka Station is really huge; it would be very passive not to scout ahead. We had to transfer at Osaka to the limited express to Tottori at 12:56, and we had over an hour left. Not wanting to drag luggage out to find food, we rested in the station's rest area.

Next to the rest area were two shops — one sold cream puffs, the other sold donut-like pastries, neither suitable for lunch.

So I walked a few hundred meters to the central platform, crossed the footbridge to another platform, bought two takeaway meals at a 7-Eleven, heated them up, and brought them back to the rest area.

This is our reserved seat ticket, containing lots of information: Osaka to Tottori, departing at 12:56 on May 28, arriving at Tottori Station at 15:38, train code 7, car 2, seat 1A, ticket reserved at Wakayama Station on May 25, 2025. The ticket has an anti-counterfeiting watermark with "JR"字样.

On the platform, the electronic board showed that the limited express No. 7 to Kurayoshi at 12:56 would stop at Platform 3.

Found the boarding point for Car 2 (the ground had markings for "Car 2 Reserved Seat").

The train arrived. Did you notice? The front of the train was transparent — you could see the seats inside.

Off we go! Wow, such a beautiful carriage. There were very few passengers. We chose the last row for easy luggage storage.

The entire carriage was adorned with elements from "Detective Conan" — absolutely fantastic!

This was Car 1. Because the partition between the carriage and the driver's cab was glass (or possibly acrylic), passengers could clearly see the scenery ahead.

Along the way, the outside views were stunning.

After more than two hours, the train arrived punctually at Tottori Station. Look, the pattern on the outside of the carriage was also Conan — very distinctive.

Before coming to Tottori, I had read a netizen's guide saying that after exiting Tottori Station, there was a consulting company about a hundred meters to the right, where Chinese-speaking staff could help tourists with questions, and also offer chartered tours.

So I went out and turned right, and indeed saw a consulting company across the street at a corner. I went in and asked in English if they had any Chinese speakers. They did — a beautiful lady stood up from her desk and greeted me in Mandarin. Great, that saved a lot of trouble.

I first asked her about how to get to Conan Town from Tottori the next day, then asked about how to get from Tottori to Amanohashidate the next afternoon. After hearing this, she asked me to wait a moment, checked on her computer, and printed out two sheets.

1) First, let's look at going from Tottori to Conan Town. The principle is to catch the train back to Tottori Station from Yura Station (also called Conan Town Station) at the latest by 10:48. As for the departure from Tottori Station, there are many trains — choose based on your own schedule.

2) The limited express from Tottori to Amanohashidate departs Tottori Station at 12:56, transfer at Toyooka Station to the local train on the Kitakinki Tango Railway (Miyazu Line) towards Nishi-Maizuru to reach Amanohashidate.

I have to say it was very clear and detailed, allowing me to enjoy my trip worry-free.

Previously I had worried about missing (or not having) transport to Amanohashidate, so I had a backup plan: go from Tottori to Kyoto, then do a day trip from Kyoto to Amanohashidate. But that would have made the experience at Amanohashidate less enjoyable (not enough time).

Now the problem was solved. Next came the chartered tour in Tottori. It was already nearly 4 PM. I asked the lady if we could still arrange a chartered tour. She said yes.

I chose the Tottori Sand Dunes Route B. She contacted the driver and told me the driver would arrive in a few minutes, the cost was 4,000 yen plus 500 yen for parking, to be paid directly to the driver after the tour, and the driver would drop us at our hotel at the end.

With her help, this consultation was very efficient. Of course I thanked her a lot. She said all the routes in Tottori are subsidized by Tottori Prefecture to better promote the area. Indeed, 4,500 yen is only about 200 RMB for a three-hour taxi ride — not expensive, right?

The driver arrived. He was handsome — truly handsome, and I have a photo to prove it.

Departure at 4 PM.

First stop: Hakuto Shrine.

Hakuto (White Rabbit) is a deity from Japanese mythology, a rabbit from Inaba. According to legend, Hakuto is worshipped as a god of healing skin diseases. Moreover, because it helped the great god Okuninushi and Princess Yachihime get married, Hakuto is also considered a god of matchmaking, bringing relationships, protecting eternal love, and deepening bonds.

Next, we crossed the overpass and arrived at the seaside.

Strolled along Hakuto Beach, enjoying the sea breeze.

Second stop: Tottori Sand Dunes.

Enter here.

Wow! It felt like stepping into a desert.

It wasn't easy walking up — the sand was soft and slow.

On one side was the ocean, on the other the dunes — so comfortable!

After almost an hour, we came out.

The driver was waiting for us in the parking lot.

Third stop: Tottori Castle Ruins. We got off close to 18:25 — very limited time.

Tottori Castle was first built during the Tenbun era (1532–1555) as a mountain castle by the Yamana clan. During the Edo period, it became the seat of the Tottori Domain, and the Ikeda clan ruled as lords after the Battle of Sekigahara.

The mountaintop features a terraced castle built during the Tenbun era, skillfully using the mountain's terrain for defense. It served as the Tottori Domain office during the Edo period, but after the Meiji government issued the castle abolition order in 1873, most buildings were demolished in 1877, leaving only the stone foundation of the keep (tenshudai) and some stone walls.

I thought the castle ruins wouldn't be large, but after climbing up, I realized it had several layers; I ascended to the top in one go.

Looking down from above, I enjoyed a panoramic view of Tottori City.

No time to look closely; I had to hurry down again.

Took a panoramic photo.

The driver was anxiously watching the stairway from the main gate, but we took the wrong path — we came down via the car road. I knew the driver was worried, but we still made it within time.

We drove back to the hotel. Perhaps the driver hadn't clearly understood the consulting lady's instructions. Our reserved hotel (Super Hotel Tottori Ekimae) had two branches in Tottori, one on the north side and one on the south side of the station. The driver took us to the north branch. At check-in, the front desk clerk couldn't find our reservation and asked if we had booked the other branch. I showed her my booking info — indeed, it was not this one. So we had to drag our luggage for over ten minutes to the Ekimae (station front) branch (the driver had dropped us off, collected 4,500 yen, and driven away).

Luckily, the two hotels were not far apart — otherwise, we would have been in trouble. We checked in smoothly.

The room used a keypad lock.

From the small window, we could see Tottori Station, very convenient — only a five- or six-minute walk away.