Did you know that there is also a sand dune desert in Japan? Just like the sand dunes in Maranhão, Japan has its tourist desert known as Tottori Sakyu [鳥取砂丘]. There are more than 30Km of sand spread to the east of the city of Tottori in the Chugoku region, measuring 16 kilometers in length and two kilometers in width.
The dunes are formed by the winds from the Sea of Japan, which bring sand from the ocean floor to the beach, and every year the landscape is prone to change.
In some places of the dunes, the hills reach up to 90 meters in height, offering a spectacular view of the sea and the horizon; the slope of the dunes can reach up to 40 degrees, making Tottori a popular destination for tourists and also for sandboarding enthusiasts.
Sakyu [砂丘] is the Japanese word for sand dunes or sand hills.
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Tottori Sakyu – The Desert of Japan
It is said that this small desert existed thousands of years ago, when ashes from the Daisen Volcano mixed with sand from the Sendai river carried to the sea, which eventually deposited the sand on the coast of Japan.
In this desert, it is possible to ride camels, horses, and even wheelchair users have a special chair to walk on the sand. The sand dunes in Tottori attract more than 2 million tourists each year.
The temperature of the sand is high and can reach up to 60º. Some plants hamahirugao and hamanigana manage to grow due to the moist sand underneath. In winter, the Tottori dunes are covered by meters of snow.
To ride a camel in the dunes of Japan, you pay about 1300 yen.
Lighting and Tottori Sand Museum
At the end of the year, the place also gains beautiful lighting at night called Tottori sakyu illusion. Lighting in tourist spots is something popular throughout Japan between November and December.
In the Tottori desert, you can also find a Sand Museum with large sand sculptures by artists from around the world. Previously, the sand exhibitions were held outdoors, but in 2012 the sand museum moved to its own permanent building.
To enter the sand museum, you pay 600 yen. The museum closes from early January to mid-April with the aim of changing its exhibitions annually. Each year you visit is a new experience.
The Tottori desert is also the setting for several Japanese films and dramas.
Ready to visit the dunes of Japan?
To visit the sand dunes in the Tottori region, you can take a bus from Tottori station to Tottori Sakyu [鳥取砂丘] and get off at the last stop.
The Tottori dunes are yet another one of the thousands of places you should visit in Japan. Have you had this opportunity? What was your experience? We would love to hear your comments. To finish, let’s leave some videos of this beautiful desert in Japan:
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