鳥取砂丘に行ってみたいというカミさんの希望で、今回の旅では足を伸ばしてみた。まぁそれが大きな目的地というワケではなく、わたしの旅人生でようやくの全県制覇という目的達成の「動機」という位置付け。
　特定の作家の住宅とかの探求目的などもなかったので、事前の調査などもまったくしないでの観光。ただ、やはり鳥取といえば砂丘という刷り込みがながく脳裏にあった。どんなものさ？
　砂丘というので日本にはない「砂漠」みたいなイメージがあって、なんとなくラクダ観光みたいな広大さイメージがあったのですが、現地に着いたら完全に「観光地」のひとつという印象。きのう紹介した隈研吾ランドマーク建築もある、自然観光スポット的な光景が広がっている。
　広さはおおむね東西南北２kmほどのスパンで、まさに広大な「砂場」。写真のようにまことに「広大な砂漠」というイメージ。さすがにビジターセンターの出発点から海岸線に沿った段丘スポットまでを一望して、高年齢者としては、これはそこそこの往復運動量とは思われた。でもいまのところ毎日10,000歩程度はウォーキングしているので、軽々と出発。途中で素足で歩きたくなって靴を脱いでおりました。さて「熱さ」はどうかと体感したくなったのですね。現地では７月以降の真夏には裸足はオススメできません、という案内。体感では往復おおむね２kmで足裏にはそこそこの熱さが溜まって、最後は「アチチ」状態となりました。ただ、砂の表面を少し2-3cm足で掘ってみるとそれなりの低温感も得られていた。しかし真夏時期には確かにアチチの猛威は燃えさかりそうだと実感できた。最後はそのほてりを抑えるべく、ベンチで足についた砂を払いながらしばし冷却させていました。
　ビジターセンターを中心にして広がった地域自然ミニツアーゾーンという感じでしょうか。ラクダ観光もあって１回1600円という料金で記念撮影などもあるという「観光」ぶり。子ども時代からの空想イメージに対しての現実解が得られたことでそこそこの充足感。けっして「ガッカリ」感はありませんでしたよ。

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[Tottori’s “Giant Sandbox” Achichi Experience / Tottori Sand Dunes]
A sightseeing spot that offers a completely different experience from the Sapporo Clock Tower and Kochi Harimaya Bridge. I was so excited that I was able to cheerfully traverse the 2 km round trip. Tottori Sand Dunes

　My wife wanted to visit the Tottori Sand Dunes, so we extended our trip this time. Well, it was not a major destination, but rather a “motive” for achieving my goal of conquering all the prefectures in my life as a traveler.
　Since there was no specific artist’s residence to explore, I did no prior research at all. However, I still had an imprint in my mind that Tottori is famous for its sand dunes. What kind of dunes?
　I had an image of the dunes as a “desert” that does not exist in Japan, and I had an image of vastness like camel sightseeing, but when I arrived there, I had the impression that it was completely a “sightseeing spot. I had the impression that it was a natural tourist spot, with the Kengo Kuma landmark architecture I introduced yesterday.
　The area spans approximately 2 km from east to west, north to south, and south to north, and is truly a vast “sandbox. As you can see in the photo, it is truly a “vast desert. As an older person, I thought it would be a good amount of exercise to make a round trip from the starting point of the visitor center to the terraced spot along the coastline. But since I am currently walking about 10,000 steps every day, I set off lightly. On the way there, I took off my shoes because I wanted to walk barefoot. So you wanted to experience the “heat. The local guide said that barefoot is not recommended in midsummer after July. The heat was so intense that I felt a “hot” sensation on my soles after walking about 2 km round-trip. However, when I dug my feet 2-3 cm into the sand surface, I also felt a reasonable low-temperature sensation. However, I could feel that the fury of the achichi was certainly going to flare up in the midsummer period. At the end of the day, I had to cool down by brushing the sand off my feet on a bench in order to keep that hot flare-up at bay.
　I guess you could call it a regional nature mini-tour zone spread out around the visitor center. There is also a camel tour for a fee of 1,600 yen per visit, which includes a commemorative photo. I felt a sense of satisfaction in having found a real-life solution to my childhood fantasy image. I was not disappointed at all.

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Posted on 6月 25th, 2025 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 出張＆旅先にて