Magic Carpet : March 2017

THE SAND, SNOW, AND SAKURA IN TOTTORI

A trip to Japan is not complete without visiting the charming countrysides.

While the beech trees on the roadsides were silently bidding goodbye to winter as they beckoned the refreshing notes of spring, my eyes were glued up in awe of the majestic partly snow-covered Daisen mountain in Tottori Prefecture.

Tottori is in the Chugoku region in western Japan and sits along the coast of the Sea of Japan. Being the country’s LEAST populated prefecture with a relaxing laid-back atmosphere, Tottori is an ideal retirement place where one can commune with nature and feel the tranquility of each passing day. It is also a place for respite for anyone who desires to de-stress and be away from the chaotic web of urban life. The place is also known for the sweet and juicy nashi pears. In fact, the Tottori Nijisseiki Pear museum is dedicated to the history of pear.

The more than three-hour trip from Kobe to Tottori was worth every second. When I told some of my Japanese friends that I had been to Tottori, they were surprised because they themselves have not been to the place. For tourists like me, Tottori offered something different from the other places I visited in Japan. For one, the largest sand dunes in Japan called Tottori sakyu stretches to about 16 kilometers from east to west and about 2 kilometers from north to south. My daughter enjoyed wandering through sand heaps and flats riding a camel named Lisa, while I was mesmerized by sand ripples and the good view of the deep blue sea.

After experiencing the dry spell of the sakyu, we drove up to the Daisen mountain and frolicked in the snow. I would have loved to hike the famous trails in the area but the temperature was too cold for my tropical flesh to bear.

In the late afternoon, we walked along a street in the city lined with full bloomed cherry blossom trees. If in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto we had to inch our way through the crowd to have a closer encounter with the flowers, in Tottori, we had the sakura to ourselves. We touched and examined each part, and were completely captivated by the softest shades of pink and white petals. The gentle floral smell, with a hint of fruity scent still lingers in my memory to this day. The serenity of the scene was made more dramatic by the lighted Japanese lanterns hanged on each tree.

In an open field nearby, we saw some locals setting up a fire and preparing food at the back of a pick-up type truck. A few minutes later when the light of day began to fade away, more trucks arrived, bringing in more food and booze. It was, indeed, a memorable celebration of the sakura season on a chilly spring evening in Tottori.

Partly snow-covered Daisen Mountain