Local Bus Trip from Gifu to Tottori (Part 3)
Share this content
Bookmark
Japan Hour:
Local Bus Trip from Gifu to Tottori (Part 3)
Our four-day bus trip from Gifu continues and our goal is to reach the Tottori Sand Dunes by the end of Day Four. On the third day, we arrive at Kyoto City and go to the bus ticket centre at Kyoto Station. We want to travel west and head towards a place like Fukuchiyama, for instance. We are told we can take the Keihan Kyoto Transportation bus to Kameoka City, transfer to a bus going to Sonobe Station and subsequently travel by a regular route bus to Fukuchiyama.
So we catch the 2.10pm bus from Kyoto and arrive at Kameoka Station after about an hour. We then hop on a bus departing for the Sonobe Station West Exit at 4.15pm. The bus goes through Yunohana Hot Springs and reaches Sonobe at 6pm. Unfortunately, the last bus to Fukuchiyama left at 5.35pm. The only buses departing now are going to Hinokiyama. So we take a bus to Hinokiyama, in the hope of finding a bus heading towards Fukuchiyama from there.
We find out the first bus from Hinokiyama will depart at 7.10am the next day. Hinokiyama is situated in the middle of the Kyoto Jukan Expressway. It is a hub where three national roads intersect. Once we arrive at Hinokiyama, we drop by a sushi shop near the bus stop to ask about inns nearby. We manage to find lodging and have sushi for dinner. The owner of the restaurant is kind enough to drop us off at the inn.
On the fourth and last day of our trip, we want to reach Hyogo Prefecture first. We depart from Hinokiyama at 7.10am, reach Fukuchiyama at 8.10am and board a bus to Shimoyakuno at 8.15am. We arrive at 8.50am and catch the 8.55am bus from the Shimoyakuno Station Bus Stop to Kamiyakuno, 15 minutes away. We then walk along Route 9 to cross the prefectural border and find a bus stop there. We make a stopover at a roadside station along the way to gather some information. We are advised to go to the Kaneura bus stop before the border to take a bus to Hyogo. But when we reach the bus stop at 9.35am, we find out the buses have been suspended on this particular day.
We then decide to walk to Wadayama Station in Asago City, Hyogo Prefecture. We reach the station at about 1.35pm and the bus to our next destination, Youka, will leave at 1.55pm. We have lunch at a restaurant nearby and order a local delicacy, ankake udon, which is prepared with homemade noodles.
We later head by bus to Youka Station and go to the bus enquiry office to find out about buses going to Tottori. We are told we can take the 3.10pm bus to Yumura Hot Springs, which is close to the Tottori border. We would then have to take a bus to Sakyu Centre at the Tottori Sand Dunes.
We arrive at Yumura Hot Springs at 4.25pm. But to our dismay, we find out there are only two buses a day going to Sakyu Centre and the last bus left at 3.05pm. The other option would be to walk 10km along a mountain road to the Shiotani bus stop; the last bus to the Tottori Sand Dunes from there leaves at 6.35pm. We know we won’t be able to reach Shiotani in time to catch the last bus, so we have no choice but to throw in the towel and end our four-day trip without reaching our goal.
Tips:
1) Pamphlets found at sales or enquiry offices may have useful information about buses, timetables and routes
2) Buses may be suspended along a particular route sometimes so always have an alternative in mind
