Japan Heritage story
Inaba and Tajima: landscapes made by the Sea of Japan wind
日本海の風が生んだ絶景と秘境
The strong north-west winds off the Sea of Japan built the Tottori Sand Dunes, carved 50 km of rocky coast and dropped deep snow on the mountains of eastern Tottori and northern Hyogo. People here still dance the kirin-jishi, a lucky beast, to give thanks for surviving the windy season.
Key facts
- Theme
- Castles, Sea and waterside, Forests and timber, Festivals and rituals
- Era
- Edo
- Region
- Kansai, Chugoku
- Official name in Japanese
- 日本海の風が生んだ絶景と秘境
- Official subtitle in Japanese
- －幸せを呼ぶ霊獣・麒麟が舞う大地「因幡・但馬」
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 鳥取県（鳥取市、岩美町、若桜町、智頭町、八頭町）・ 兵庫県（香美町、新温泉町）
The story
Rivers carry crushed rock from the Chugoku mountains to the sea, and the winter wind blows the sand back ashore. Over a long time this built the Tottori Sand Dunes, among the largest in Japan, with up to 90 m of rise and fall. The wind draws ripples, sliding sand curtains and sand pillars on them, and at the top of the great 'Uma-no-se' ridge you feel the wind fresh off the Sea of Japan.
The same waves built sandbars and calm lagoons. About 2,000 years ago, Yayoi people at Aoya Kamijichi used one as a port to trade with mainland Asia. East of the dunes, waves have carved about 50 km of coast into rocks shaped like dragons and lions, caves and cliffs, with fishing villages tucked into coves. Across the region, people dance the kirin-jishi, a lion dance of a lucky beast, and share its good fortune with travellers.
What to see
- Tottori Sand Dunes: wind ripples and the climb up the Uma-no-se ridge.Google Maps 鳥取砂丘 (opens in a new tab)
- Fuzofugen pond: the pond where the White Hare of Inaba is said to have washed.Google Maps 不増不減の池 (opens in a new tab)
- The coast east of the dunes: rocks, caves, cliffs and white-sand coves along about 50 km of shore.
- Amarube viaduct: a railway bridge high over the coast, called the 'station in the sky'.Google Maps 余部鉄橋 空の駅 (opens in a new tab)
- Aoya Kamijichi site: a Yayoi lagoon port that traded with mainland Asia.Google Maps 青谷上寺地遺跡 (opens in a new tab)
Plan your trip with the Tottori prefecture guide and the Hyogo prefecture guide, and see more nature.
Good to know
- Climb to the top of the Uma-no-se ridge to feel the wind coming in off the Sea of Japan.
- Look for the sand sculptures that local people create from the dunes' sand.
- If you can, catch a kirin-jishi dance: meeting the kirin is said to bring happiness.
Questions travellers ask
How were the Tottori Sand Dunes formed?
Rivers carried crushed rock from the mountains to the sea as sand, and the wind blew it back onto land over a very long time.
What is kirin-jishi?
A lion dance featuring the kirin, a lucky mythical beast, danced across Inaba and Tajima to bring happiness.
Where it comes from
More heritage stories from the same area
- Ako: the town that made Japan's finest salt
- Awaji: the first island in Japan's creation myth
- Daisen: Japan's biggest cattle market, born from faith in Jizo
- Itami and Nada: the birthplace of Japan's clear sake
- Kitamaebune: the merchant ships that made Japan's port towns rich
- Mt Mitoku and Misasa Onsen: cleanse on the cliff, heal in the spring
- Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage: Japan's 1,300-year journey of the heart
- Tamba-Sasayama: a castle town in a folk song
- The Kanmon Strait: retro ports on both shores
- The Silver Carriage Road: 73 km to Hyogo's mines
- The Six Ancient Kilns: pottery born and raised in Japan
Local foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.