Kurayoshi & Misasa Onsen

A hot spring district in central Tottori, where the whitewashed earthen storehouses of Kurayoshi sit beside the radon hot springs of Misasa. You can climb Mount Mitoku to see the Nageire-dō hall clinging to a cliff, and visit the hometown of the author of Detective Conan.

Kurayoshi and Misasa Onsen lie in central Tottori Prefecture. The area is centered on Kurayoshi City and includes Misasa Town, Yurihama Town and Hokuei Town. It faces the Sea of Japan to the north and the Chugoku Mountains to the south, and is about 50 km from both Tottori City to the east and Yonago to the west. The seasons offer different highlights. Cherry blossoms bloom at Utsubuki Park in April, and the autumn foliage on Mount Mitoku is most beautiful in October and November. The pilgrimage path to the Nageire-dō on Mount Mitoku is closed in winter, roughly December to March. The Nijisseiki pear season is August and September. Winter is ideal for hot springs and matsuba crab, and the mountains sometimes have snow.

The area is divided into several sections. In Kurayoshi City, you can see the white-walled earthen storehouses and red-tiled old streets, Utsubuki Park, the newly opened Tottori Prefectural Museum of Art, a pear museum and a figure museum. About 10 km southeast, Misasa Onsen is famous for its radon hot springs and riverside open-air baths. Further inland is Nageire-dō, a National Treasure built into a cliff face and reached through a mountain training path. To the north, on the shore of Lake Tōgō, are Yurihama and Togo hot springs, along with Enchoen, a Chinese-style garden. To the northwest, Hokuei Town is the hometown of the author of Detective Conan, with the Gosho Aoyama Hometown Museum and Conan Road.

Transport: Kurayoshi Station is on the JR San’in Main Line, about 30 to 40 minutes from Tottori Station and about 1 hour from Yonago. From Okayama, the Super Hōki limited express takes about 2 hours. Route buses connect the city with Misasa Onsen and Mount Mitoku. Plan for 1 to 2 nights in Misasa or at the hot springs around Lake Tōgō.

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