Road Trip on Sanin Main Line and Sakai Line (Part 2)
Japan Hour
Sub Navigation
- The Weather: The Race To Forecast
- Singapore Green Plan 2030: Highlights from Parliament
- Midnight Story
- The Worlds Of Georgette Chen
- Tokyo Dreams
- Our New Normal
- Factories: Making The Future
- Colours Of The Sea
- It's In Our Nature
- Coming Home
- The Vaccine Quest
- In Search Of Precious Stones
- The Great Escapade: Homebound
- On Common Ground
- Seeing Is Believing
- Climate Change: A Wicked Problem
- The Hidden Layer: Healthcare Trailblazers
- Dream Spaces
- Undercover Asia S8
- Singapore Budget 2021
- In The Age Of AI
- Climate For Change
- Believe
- Remember Our House
- There's Something About Orchard
- Singapore Perspectives 2021: Dialogue with Minister of Education Lawrence Wong
- Inside The Probation Service
- Work.Able
- Once Upon A River
- Greening The 'Net
- Remarkable Living 3
- Contact Tracers
- Game Nation
- The Great Escapade
- Ahead Of Their Time
- When Titans Clash
- From Crisis To Catalyst
- Becoming Human Again
- The Pandemic: One Year On
- A Deadly Ascent
- Strangers In My Head
- Into The Vault 2
- Business Unusual
- Beyond the Viral Video
- Wild City: River World
- Disease Hunters
- Wizards Of Tech
- Feeding A City
- Undercover Asia S3
- 23
- Belly Of A Nation 2
- For Food's Sake! 3
- Forgotten Heroes
- Kampong Konkrit
- Rising To The Challenge
- Grounded
- The Longest Day
- Survival: Developing Countries On The Frontline
- Artists Unstaged
- Corridor of Hope
- Deciphering Japan
- The Family Affair S5
- Singapore Votes 2020: The Political Debate
- In Conversation Special
- Coronavirus Pandemic
- GRIT
- National Broadcast
- Why It Matters 4
- Faith Over Fear
- Outbreak Onboard
- Slumfood Millionaire
- #COVID19: The Social Media Pandemic
- CNA Correspondent
- One Of Us
- The Mark Of Empire
- Courage
- Race Against Pandemic
- A Frame In Time
- Carbon Conundrum
- Secret Wars
- Chasing Scarcity
- Undercover Asia S7
- Stronger: The Battle Against COVID-19
- Gadg(AID)
- Food In Our Time
- Tycoons China
- Inside The Child Protective Service
- Politics Of Climate Change
- The Singapore Perspectives Conference
- Borderlands
- In Our Time
- The Next Wave
- One Day That Changed Asia
- The Year Ahead 2020
- Migrants' Diary
- Ships That Shaped Us
- We Are Gen Z
- Crime Science
- Majulah: Symbols For Singapore
- A Billion Chinese Dreams
- CyberPunk'D
- Remarkable Living S2
- China's Growing Appetite
- In Search Of The Frog Boys
- Venturepreneurs
- The Skin We Wear
- The Millennial Investor
- Show Me The City
- Jewel: After Hours
- The Islands That Made Us
- Rishi & Sharul Try…
- Why It Matters 3
- Regardless Of Generation
- The Singapore Bicentennial Conference
- The Negotiators
- Secret Delicious
- Fighting Foreign Interference
- Hawkers In Our Centre
- HT MintAsia Leadership Summit 2019
- Coded World
- For Food's Sake! 2
- The Big Boss: A 21st Century Criminal
- Belly Of A Nation
- #DontForgetMe
- #HuntingHistory
- #Wanderlust
- Aarushi – Beyond Reasonable Doubt
- Across ASEAN
- Aerial Asia
- A Big Little Murder
- Against The Elements
- Age Of Innovation
- Algorithms
- An Astronomical Journey
- Astropreneurs: To The Stars & Beyond
- ASEAN’s Next Generation Leaders (ANGeLs)
- ASEAN Spotlight
- Asia First
- Asia First Encore
- Asian Century
- Asia in the Great War
- Back to School
- Becoming Human
- Becoming Singapore
- Bridging Giants
- Blueprint For Survival
- Bronze: A Forgotten Treasure
- Butterfly Children
- Challenge Tomorrow
- Champions For Change
- Check In
- City DNA
- City of Opportunities
- China on Film
- CNA Leadership Summit: Navigating a Post-Pandemic World
- Coming Clean About Green
- Conversation With S14
- Collaborate to Innovate
- Cool Living in an Eco-city
- Correspondents' Diary
- Cram Course Asia
- Days in Pyongyang
- Days Of Rage
- Days Of Disaster
- Deciphering Indonesia
- Deciphering The Philippines
- Destiny of a Maritime Nation
- Don't Make Us Invisible
- Electric Dream
- Edible Wild 2
- Edge of Space
- Enemy Within
- Every Woman
- Facing Dementia
- Facing Depression
- Fake News
- Finding Singapore
- Fighting Fake News
- Fighting Falsehoods
- Facing Terror
- Food Heroes
- For The King
- Forums
- Futuropolis
- Gangnam Insider's Picks!
- Get Real S17
- Going Places
- Going Underground
- How To Raise A Super Baby
- In Conversation
- Into The Vault
- India on Film
- Inside the Storm 4
- Indonesia’s Game Changers
- Inside The Children's ICU
- Inside Our Factories
- Insight
- Inside The Cryptokingdom
- In Search of Umami
- In Pursuit of Magic
- I Remember The Fall Of Singapore
- Johor: A New State of Affairs
- Japan Hour
- Just Like You
- Kashmir: A War of Stones
- Land Unlimited
- Law of the Land
- Love in A Time of Change
- Life Lines
- Luxe Asia S5: The Ultimate Access
- Made in Singapore
- Market Insights
- Maverick Politicians
- Money Mind
- National Service - The Beginning
- National Service - The Transformation
- Neighbours: Singapore-Malaysia Relations
- Nepal's Child Brides
- The New Silk Road
- Once a Refugee
- On The Red Dot
- Our Tiny Superheroes
- Palu: A Month After
- Perspectives
- Parliament Specials
- Asia Tonight
- Power And Piety
- Powering the Future
- Power List Asia
- Raffles Revealed
- Raffles: An Icon Reborn
- Real Deal
- Rebellion In Marawi
- Refugee Chef
- Regardless of Class
- Regardless of Race
- Regardless of Religion
- Roar!
- Savouring The Future
- Slackers, Shockers, Suits and Superheroes
- Singapore Food Stories
- Singapore Reimagined
- Singapore Mosaic
- Game Changers Singapore
- Singapore Tonight
- Singapore on Film
- Singapore After Dark
- Smart Cities 2.0
- Specials
- Super Octogenarians
- Start-UP S6
- Talking Point
- Taking Singapore Forward
- Tapestry: The Heart of ASEAN
- The ASEAN I Know
- The Big Questions
- The Dark Web
- The Family Affair S4
- The Great Migration
- The Last Rites
- The Past Beneath Us
- The Successors
- The Terror Trail
- The Truth About Fake News
- This is What I Hear
- The Traitor Within
- This Weekend
- This Side of The Border
- Tipping Point
- To Live
- Transformation For A New Normal
- Trash Trail
- Undercover Asia S6
- Unusual Suspects
- Vanishing Foods
- Vice & Virtue: 1800s Singapore
- Walk This Way
- When We Play
- Wild City: Forest Life
- Wild City: Secret World
- Whiter Shade of Terror
- Why It Matters 1
- Why It Matters 2
- Work Is A 4-Letter Word
- Don't Call Us Poor
- Don't Call Us Beaten
Bookmark
Japan Hour:
Road Trip on Sanin Main Line and Sakai Line (Part 2)
Our trip on the JR San'in Line and Sakai Line in Tottori Prefecture continues. On the second day, we have breakfast at our inn, Kasuitei at Kaikei Hot Springs. It includes sandfish and mackerel from the Sea of Japan, and pickled scallions.
We go to Yonago Station, which connects the JR San'in Line and JR Sakai Line. We travelled on the JR San'in Line the previous day so we will ride on the Sakai Line on the second day. The railway line opened in 1902 and is famous for its train cars inspired by Yokai, which are supernatural Japanese monsters. The characters - which include Kitaro, Cat Girl, Eyeball Father, Ittan-Momen and Rat Man - come from manga series GeGeGe no Kitaro. Six different Yokai trains operate on the Sakai Line. This railway line ends at Sakaiminato City, the hometown of the series’ creator, Shigeru Mizuki.
We first go to Sambommatsuguchi Station, four stations ahead, on the Kitaro train. Its seats have Kitaro designs on them too. We arrive in 10 minutes and want to explore the area for about two hours. We ask a local about a famous spot and he tells us about Kisaragi Corp, which manufactures, sells and distributes merchandise related to GeGeGe no Kitaro. We also find out that there is a place called Shigeru Mizuki Road in Sakaiminato City. It has become a popular site for tourism. The store near Sambommatsuguchi Station sells about 500 kinds of Kitaro merchandise, including T-shirts, towels, candies, memo pads, toys and body pillows. We buy a bag of Yokai merchandise as souvenirs before heading back to the station.
From Sambommatsuguchi Station, we catch the 11.45am to Yonago Airport Station. This time, we ride on the Cat Girl train. After 20 minutes, we reach the station. We ask a gentleman to recommend a place to eat. He suggests Shinraiken and offers to drive us there. The Chinese restaurant opened in 1972 and its most popular dishes include rice topped with shrimp and egg, and stir-fried noodles served with a thick starchy sauce.
After lunch, we are given a ride back to the station and we travel two stops ahead to Takamatsucho Station by the 1.50pm train. The train ride takes about five minutes. At Takamatsucho, a local resident tells us about Modern Coffee, a cafe located between Nakahama Station and Yonago Airport Station. This means we have to walk back towards Nakahama Station. However, after walking for 40 minutes, we are still unable to find the place so we have no choice but to shelve our plan to visit the cafe. This time, we walk towards Amariko, the station after Takamatsucho.
Along the way, we pass by a white leek packing house and ask about interesting spots. We are told about Wing, a coffee shop nearby with a Showa-era atmosphere. Opened in 1980, its speciality is a mixed juice made from apple, yellow peach, banana and tangerine. After this, we head to Amariko Station and catch the 4.15pm train to Sakaiminato Station, the last stop on Sakai Line. We go to Shigeru Mizuki Road, which is lined with stores selling Yokai merchandise. The shopping street has been around for 25 years and now attracts more than two million visitors each year.
We drop by a confectionery shop called Tatsumiya. Opened more than 70 years ago, it specialises in traditional Japanese snacks. Nearly 25 kinds of old-fashioned treats are sold here, such as seaweed candy and ginger rice crackers. The store is managed by 85-year-old Ms Tatsumi. She suggests we also visit the Kyokuno Footwear Shop, which sells Kitaro wooden clogs.
Established in 1915, Kyokuno used to be a general goods store but later started selling footwear, especially wooden clogs. They have lovely designs and pictures of Kitaro drawn on them by the owner who uses thin bamboo skewers. The shop also sells tall wooden clogs, which are believed to strengthen your core and improve your balance. In fact, Nao Kodaira, a speed skating gold medallist at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, incorporated single tooth wooden clogs from the store during her training.
Tips:
1) The JR Sakai Line is popular among fans of manga series GeGeGe no Kitaro for its Yokai-themed trains
2) To get a taste of traditional Japanese snacks, check out Tatsumiya near Sakaiminato