From the Tottori Sand Dunes to the Universal Studios Japan Harry Potter theme park, check out these destinations popular with the Japanese and tourists
Visiting an onsen usually includes the dining experience with the freshest local ingredients.
Located in the western part of southern Japan, Tottori prefecture is a coastal fishing region known nationally for its white squid, matsuba (snow crabs) and Nijisseiki pears. It is about 2.5 hours’ drive from Osaka.
Tottori city, easily accessible by rail, serves as gateway to its nationally-famous attraction, the Tottori Sand Dunes.
16km-long sand dunes grace the coast of western Japan in Tottori, the perfect place for sand-boarding.
Sand Dunes in Japan?
Formed over 100,000 years ago, the Tottori sand dunes span 16km wide and 2km deep. The constant wind from the sea creates rolling dunes and sculpts ripple patterns on its surface.
Its largest dune, a few minutes’ walk from the entrance, is several storeys high and provides the perfect place for sandboarding or paragliding. Kids can have a blast as well. The sand dunes are great for hiking or riding camels or horse-drawn carriages. (www.torican.jp/en/)
Two-Storey Sand Sculptures
Aside from the dunes, the ingenious marketing people for Tottori created a Sand Museum – the world’s first. Conveniently located across the street from the sand dunes, the museum exhibits an impressive array of towering sculptures made entirely of sand.
Each year, the museum creates a theme and invites distinctive sand sculptors from around the world to participate. Even Singapore’s award-winning Joo Heng Tan has participated in several previous exhibitions.
This year, the museum’s theme celebrates Russia’s history and culture in conjunction with the Sochi Winter Olympics. From great mammoths battling the Rus (the original settlers in Russia) to the exploration of space by the Russian cosmonauts, 21 sand dioramas portray and pay tribute to the various aspects of Russia’s past.
The current exhibition will run until Jan 4, 2015. (www.sand-museum.jp/en/)
Get up close to caves, tunnels and sea walls at the Uradome coastline.
Short Cruise along Uradome Coast
A short ten minutes’ drive away, you can hop on a short cruise along the Uradome Coast.
The cruise weaves in an out of the coastline, giving spectators a close-up view of the tunnels, caves and unusual rock formations created by marine erosion of the sea walls.
If you are shy, Asanoya offers private tubs with flowing hot spring water direct from the source.
1,100-Year-Old Hot Spring
Unbeknownst to most, Hyogo is the home to the famous Kobe beef. This is an area rich in onsens (Japanese hot springs) and cattle production. As part of my onsen experience, I visited Yumura, a small village with a population of slightly over a thousand, in the northwest area of Hyogo.
What distinguishes Yumura from many other hot springs is its unusually high temperature, measuring about 98°C – hot enough that, in the past, townspeople cooked food by leaving a net basket filled with bamboo shoots, vegetables or mountain herbs in the water.
Today, tourists buy eggs, corn and sweet potatoes from the surrounding shops to cook in the central onsen using the same method.
Asanoya & Japan’s Onsen Culture
While I was at Yumura, I stayed at the Asanoya, an onsen hotel modelled in the style of a Japanese castle, atop a hill. While most rooms at Asanoya have private wooden tubs, the best rooms come with outdoor tubs, which can fit up to five people. The tubs are made from 1,000-year-old Hinoki trees. What a luxury!
Asanoya also has a series of communal baths with varying temperatures. The warmest one is about 60°C, located next to a two-storey waterwheel, surrounded by overhanging foliage.
The most distinctive one, for me, is made out of a massive tree trunk, almost 2m in diameter and 2m long. It is hollowed out like a canoe. But instead of keeping water out, it catches the ever-flowing spring water.
At Asanoya, each guest is given a yukata (literally “bathing clothes”), a casual Japanese summer kimono. For the complete traditional look, a pair of geta (wooden sandals) is provided for guests to clip-clop around town.
Tottori Sand Museum exhibits magnificent sand sculptures, some towering over two storeys, created by international sculptors.
Onsen Ritual
Customarily, guests take a bath before dinner and stroll around town in their yukata and geta, return to feast on the best local fare on offer, and then bathe again.
As they dine, the bedding is rolled out on the tatami (traditional Japanese mats) in preparation for bedtime. The next morning, traditional breakfast is served. Typically, the Japanese will onsen-hop to experience different onsens while on vacation.
Bathing Rules & Etiquette
In the communal baths, everyone needs to be naked. So the sexes bathe separately.
To keep the baths pristine, everyone needs to soap and shower before entering. For bashful people, such as myself, even a waist towel is not allowed. Naturally, photos are also not allowed.
To prevent the Yakuza (the Japanese mafia) from entering, onsens prohibit anyone with tattoos. For Singaporeans with decorative tattoos, this may pose a problem. However, showing the manager your Singaporean identity pass may exclude you from the Yakuza profile.
The onsen is certainly very different from our everyday bathing experience in Singapore. Every visitor to Kansai must try it!
Mochi Pizza: Salty, sweet soya sauce splashed on chewy mochi on pizza dough. At Robata Kaba, Tottori.
Yumura beef sizzling on a hot salt slab. The melted fat mixes with the salt to heighten the flavour.
Grilled local catch of the day
Tottori’s speciality is Matsuba crab. We went in the wrong season so we got fresh squid at Ajiroya.
Nope, it’s Ajiroya’s squid-ink soft ice cream. I tried it and fortunately it’s not very “squid-y”.
NEW ATTRACTION: WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER
Calling all Harry Potter fans!
Universal Studios Japan is the only park in Asia to have the new Harry Potter attraction, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Visit Hogwarts castle and explore all the iconic rooms, such as Dumbledore’s office or the “Defence Against the Dark Arts” classroom. For something more adventurous, take the “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” ride to fly above Hogwarts with Harry himself!
You can also dine at the Three Broomsticks and drink Butterbeer! Or, shop at Hogsmeade.
Immerse yourself in the magical world of Harry Potter and experience all the other quirky and magical attractions. Universal Studio Japan is in Osaka, and only a short 30-minute train ride from Kansai International Airport.
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