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After wrapping up our brief stopover in Osaka, we officially set off
towards our main destination – Tottori
(鳥取). |
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In Japan, there are three station networks famously known for their
complexity: Shinjuku Station and Tokyo Station in Tokyo, and 'Osaka-Umeda
Stations'. Personally, I find Umeda (梅田)
even more complicated than the other two. The entire network is made up
of multiple stations, some sharing the same name and others different,
all independently operated yet interconnected. These include JR Osaka
Station, JR Tôzai Line Kitashinchi Station (北新地駅),
Osaka Metro Midôsuji Line Umeda Station, Yotsubashi Line Nishi Umeda
Station (西梅田駅),
Tanimachi Line Higashi Umeda Station (東梅田駅),
Hanshin Railway Osaka Umeda Station, and Hankyû Railway Osaka Umeda
Station – forming a highly intricate interchange hub. |
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In 2023, the JR Osaka Freight Line (大阪貨物線)
was moved underground, and a new station was opened in Umeda for limited
express services such as Haruka (はるか),
Kuroshio (くろしお),
and the Osaka Higashi Line. During construction, it was temporarily
named 'Umekita Station', but it was eventually integrated into Osaka
Station as the 'Osaka Station Umekita Area', making the layout even more
complex. Thankfully, Japanese railway operators provide detailed station
maps on their websites, so as long as you do your preparation in
advance, it is still manageable and you are unlikely to get lost. |
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Super Hakuto train (Chizu Express Series HOT
7000 DMU) |
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Tickets (basic fare ticket & limited express
surcharge ticket) |
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Inside the train compartment (standard class) |
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Although our only activity this morning was visiting the shrine, Hachimangû, we
actually started quite late, so the schedule felt rather tight. We
returned to Namba from the shrine at around 15:00, had our 'lunch', Todd
bought his tattoo covers, and by the time we got back to the hotel it
was nearly 16:30. We then rushed straight to Yodoyabashi station, took
the Osaka Metro Midôsuji Line to Umeda, and arrived at the
platform at JR Osaka station just as the train was already pulling in
while we were still trying to find where our coach would stop on the
platform... Picking up the tickets in
advance at the airport the day before turned out to be absolutely the
right decision. |
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We took the limited express Super Hakuto departing Osaka station at
17:04, arriving at Tottori station at 19:38. Super Hakuto is currently
the fastest way to travel between Kansai and Tottori, and also one of
the fastest diesel-powered limited express trains in Japan. The journey
takes about 2 hours 30 minutes to 2 hours 45 minutes (from Osaka), and
the ticket (including the limited express surcharge) costs JP¥7,320 per
person. The train runs along the JR Tôkaidô Main Line (東海道本線)
and Sanyô Main Line (山陽本線),
then enters the Chizu Express Chizu Line (智頭急行智頭線,
operated by a different railway company), before returning to JR lines
via the Inbi Line (因美線)
and San'in Main Line (山陰本線). |
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The name 'Super Hakuto' comes from a local legend in the Tottori area –
the 'Inaba's White Rabbit' (Inaba no Shiro Usagi), but uses the
alternative pronunciation 'Hakuto' for the Japanese word '白兎'
(white rabbit) instead of the more common 'Shiro
Usagi'. The 'Super' prefix comes from the fact that there was originally
a semi-express service called Hakuto, while the limited express version
was branded as 'Super'. The train stops at Sannomiya (三ノ宮),
Akashi (明石), Himeji (姫路),
Kamigôri (上郡), Sayo (佐用),
Ôhara (大原), Chizu (智頭),
and Kôge (郡家). Some
services extend to Kyoto and Kurayoshi (倉吉),
and may additionally stop at Kobe (神戸),
Nishi Akashi (西明石),
and Kakogawa (加古川). |
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Cockpit, very much like Train Simulator |
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Arrival at Tottori station, with a San'in Main
Line train (JNR KiHa Series 40 DMU) on the opposite platform |
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The staircase from the ground floor concourse
to mezzanine at Tottori station features as a 3D design of the
Tottori Sand Dunes |
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Although both the starting point and destination are JR stations, it is
actually the Chizu Express that makes Super Hakuto the fastest option
between Osaka and Tottori. The trains use Chizu Express Series HOT 7000
tilting diesel multiple units, which can lean into curves for higher
speeds. The line itself was also designed specifically for express
services. Compared with the JR Bantan Line (播但線) route used by the limited
express Hamakaze (はまかぜ),
which takes over four hours between Osaka and Tottori, the difference is
very clear. |
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Chizu Express is a third-sector railway,
yet thanks to Super Hakuto, it is one of the few such operators that is
financially successful. |
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Third-sector Railway |
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are typically found in areas where there is a strong
need for rail transport, but the population is too small
for the railway to be profitable. Some are newly built
lines, while others were previously operated by JR or
private railway companies but were unprofitable or
running at a loss and faced closure. |
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| With support from the central
government or local prefectures, and funding from
municipalities and regional banks along the route, a
'third-sector railway' is established to build or take
over the line. These companies are usually not
profit-driven, but instead aim to break even while
providing essential transport for local resident. |
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On Super Hakuto services, JR and Chizu Express sections are operated by
their respective drivers and conductors, with crew changes taking place
at stations Kamigôri and Chizu. In addition, the timetable at Himeji is
coordinated with the arrival times of the Shinkansen (bullet train)
Nozomi from Tokyo and Nagoya, making it the fastest land route between
Tôkaidô corridor and the San'in region. |
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'TOTTORI' sign at the north exit of Tottori
Station |
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Snow piled up along the street |
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Like most trains in Japan, the cockpit (railway professionally wording
should be 'cab') of the Series HOT 7000 is separated from the cabin by
glass, allowing passengers to enjoy a clear forward view and observe the
driver at work – very much like the
Train
Simulator games produced by Ongakukan (even more realistic than
Dansha de GO, which uses animation). We were seated in the second row,
and the passenger in the front row had his phone pressed against the
glass the entire time, recording the journey. He was probably a railfan.
In fact, there are quite a few full front-view journey videos like this
on YouTube. |
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Super Hakuto is not without its drawbacks, though they are all quite
manageable. As the train runs through many rural areas, mobile signals
are often lost. Although free Wi-Fi is provided on board, it relies on
the same signal as mobile networks, so it drops out just as often. My
portable Wi-Fi router also ran out of battery early because it was
constantly searching for a signal. In addition, as the Series HOT 7000
dates back to 1994, the interior does feel a bit dated, and the seats
show some signs of wear. |
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The train arrived at Tottori station on time at 19:38. The temperature
in Tottori was noticeably cooler than in Osaka. For someone like me, who
is used to the weather in the UK, it was just 'cool', but for Todd it
felt 'cold'. Although the temperature was not as low as in the UK, there
were piles of snow along the streets – something far less common in
Manchester. With my Wi-Fi device out of battery, luckily my phone still
had a cached map of the area from earlier searches, which was enough to
find our hotel. |
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Hotel drop-off entrance, with a Coat of Arms
style logo |
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Hotel Monarque Tottori, the name of the hotel |
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For tonight and tomorrow night, we stayed at
Hotel Monarque Tottori (ホテルモナーク鳥取) – the only hotel in the trip where we
stayed for consecutive nights. It is about a 5-10 minute walk from the
north exit of Tottori station. As there is no Dormy Inn in Tottori, I
searched for accommodation on
Jalan
while planning the trip. Since we had not rented a car yet and public
transport in Tottori is not particularly convenient, I focused on hotels
around Tottori station. |
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I personally wanted a hot spring, but did not want to stay in a
one-night-two-meals onsen ryokan (traditional Japanese hot spring inn)
for two consecutive nights, so I narrowed my options to regular hotels
with hot spring facilities, similar to Dormy Inn. In the end, I chose
Hotel Monarque Tottori, which ticked all the boxes – it has a hot spring
bath, is close to Tottori station, and the price is quite reasonable. |
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As we arrived at around 20:00, there were few guests checking in at that
time. There were only two staff members at the reception, and they
proactively used a translation app to communicate. The exterior and the
lobby on the ground floor felt quite grand. Next to the lift lobby,
there was even a Jamaican flag on display. It turned out that the
Jamaican national athletics team stayed at this hotel while preparing
for the 2015 World Championships. The flag is covered with the athletes'
signatures and was given to the hotel as a souvenir. |
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Self-service area for tea bags, yukata, and
toiletries |
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Lift lobby on the ground floor, with the signed
Jamaican flag |
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During check-in, there was also a rather amusing exchange: |
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| Staff: |
'Are you driving? Do you need a parking space?' |
| Me: |
'Not today, we're renting a car tomorrow, so
we'll only need it then.' |
| Staff: |
'Only for tomorrow, that's fine. The parking
fee is 500 yen per night. Is that okay? Could I have your car
plate number in advance?' |
| Me: |
'That's fine, but since we're only renting the
car tomorrow, so I don't know what the plate number is.' |
| Staff: |
'Hmm... the plate number means the number on
the number plate. Could you provide it now?' |
| Me: |
'Sorry, what I mean is that we'll only be
picking up the car from car hire company tomorrow, so we don't know
the number yet.' |
| Staff: |
'Oh... in that case, you can let us know
tomorrow.' |
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At the reception area, there are two cabinets. The staff explained that
there are no yukata or sleepwear provided in the rooms, so guests need
to take them from the cabinets if required. The rooms and bath area only
provide basic bathing amenities, while personal care items such as
toner, cleansing lotion, moisturiser, cotton pads, and cotton buds are
placed in the cabinets for self-service. Tea bags also need to be
collected there. |
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Lift lobby on the guest room floors |
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The hotel has 7 floors with around 108 rooms in total, and our room was
assigned on the 4th floor. In addition to guest rooms, the 4th floor
also has two meeting rooms, which is why there are toilets along the
corridor as well. |
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This hotel offers a wide variety of room types, far too many to go
through one by one. The room we booked was a 'Stylish Twin (Hollywood
Type)'. Personally, it feels somewhat like a Japanese-Western style room
(although the hotel actually has another room type specifically called
'Japanese-Western room'). The layout is quite similar to Onyado Nono.
The entrance area allows you to wear shoes (of course, you still need to
take them off before stepping up onto the raised floor). A 'Hollywood
Twin' means two single beds placed side by side, but each still has its
own separate bedding. |
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Although the concept is very similar to Onyado Nono, to be honest, the
space is smaller. There is no wardrobe in the room – only a set of hooks
in the entrance area – and there are just four hangers. With so many
layers of clothing in winter, this is clearly not enough. In the end, we
simply hung our coats over the backs of the chairs. |
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As for tea facilities, the room only provides a kettle and teacups, while
tea bags need to be collected from the cabinet next to the reception.
However, there is a UCC coffee machine with coffee capsules provided. |
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To be fair, although the hotel's exterior and decor feel quite grand, it
was renovated and reopened in 1996, which means it already has around 30
years of history. Inevitably, there is a slight sense of age, and some
facilities show signs of wear. Overall, I think it is still quite good.
The only thing I found slightly inconvenient is the charging setup by
the bed. Since it is a 'Hollywood Twin' with the two beds placed
together, you would expect power sockets on both sides. In reality,
however, there is only one side with sockets, meaning the other person
cannot keep their phone by the bedside. |
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Hotel Monarque Tottori does not offer as many complimentary services as
Dormy Inn – there is no bottled water, no snacks, and no drinks bar.
However, the price is quite reasonable. For two people staying two
nights, it cost a total of JP¥47,500 (including breakfast), making it
the cheapest hotel of the entire trip. |
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Kettle and tea set are also located under the
desk |
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Tea set (tea bags must be collected from the
lobby on the ground floor) |
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Capsule coffee machine and UCC coffee capsules
provided in the room |
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The bathroom facilities are fully separated into dry and wet areas, with
the washbasin, bathroom, and toilet all in separate spaces. The toilet,
of course, is the typical Japanese bidet-style toilet. Since we would be
using the hot spring baths, the bathroom in the room was not
particularly necessary. |
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After checking out the room and settling our luggage, it was already
around 20:45. It was getting quite late, so naturally, it was time to
head straight out for dinner. |
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When planning the itinerary, I actually felt that dinner timing for
today would be a bit awkward. I had previously considered taking a later
train (departing Osaka at 19:06) and buying an ekiben (rail meal box) at
Osaka station before boarding. I noticed that the ekiben sold by
Awajiya
at Osaka station looked quite interesting, but eating a cold meal box
in winter felt a bit harsh on Todd, so in the end we decided against it. |
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Suehiro Onsenchô (末広温泉町),
located in front of Tottori station, is the city's main entertainment
district, and it is actually right next to our hotel – less than a
five-minute walk away. Many people might assume that Tottori is a quiet
city with little nightlife, but in fact, Suehiro Onsenchô is full of
izakaya, seafood restaurants, yakiniku and yakitori places, as well as
even a few so-called 'free information centres' (無料案内所),
which provided information on adult entertainment venues.
Just like in Tokyo and Osaka, restaurants here do not close particularly
early. It is a place where locals and business travellers come to relax
after work. Staying here, you really do not have to worry about finding
something to eat. |
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By the time we went out, it was already past normal dinner hours and
almost late-night snack time, so ramen felt like the most convenient
option. Many regions in Japan have their own signature ramen styles –
Tokyo soy sauce, Sapporo miso, Hakata pork bone... and in Tottori, it is
beef bone. We had pork bone ramen for lunch, and now beef bone ramen for
dinner – a whole day filled with ramen! In Chinese-speaking regions,
ramen is often seen as a type of 'Japanese cuisine', but in fact,
Japanese people generally regard ramen as Chinese cuisine. |
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In Japan, noodles only became widely popular after the WWII. Before that,
rice had always been the staple food. Although noodles had already been
introduced to Japan, they were not widely consumed. After the war,
however, Japan's economy was severely damaged, and the United States
provided aid in the form of wheat flour, its staple food (similar to
what happened in Taiwan). As a result, soldiers and civilians returning
to Japan from China and Manchuria brought with them northern Chinese
eating habits. Noodles became a cheap, filling, and tasty new food, and
ramen street stalls gradually became widespread, eventually developing
into a style of noodles quite different from those in Chinese-speaking
regions. |
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Beef bone ramen restaurant 'Gottsuo Ramen' |
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Free iced barley tea and cola |
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We chose
Gottsuo Ramen (ごっつおらーめん),
a chain based in the San'in region. In addition to this beef-bone ramen
brand, the group also operates other ramen brands serving pork-bone and
chicken-bone broth. 'Gottsuo' (ごっつお)
is a well-known San'in dialect word meaning a feast or treat, equivalent
to the standard Japanese 'gochisô' (御馳走).
Last year, we visited a
crab all-you-can-eat restaurant in Tokyo, also have same name 'ごっつお'
(but it spelling as 'Gozzo' instead). |
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The beef bone broth looks clear, but is actually richer than pork-bone
broth, without the greasiness or stickiness. It feels clean and
refreshing, and even after finishing the noodles, you feel tempted to
drink the entire bowl of soup. Personally, I think adding a bit of
pepper enhances the flavour even further. |
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So far, I would say Tottori beef bone ramen is the best ramen I
have had – even more appealing than Hakata pork bone broth or
Hiroshima seafood broth. In addition to the ramen, we also
ordered two side dishes – pork kimchi and gyoza dumpling. The
pork kimchi is made by stir-frying kimchi with braised pork
belly, then topped with mayonnaise and chopped spring onions.
The kimchi helps cut through the richness of the pork belly,
while pork absorbs the spicy, tangy flavours of the kimchi,
making it a very well-balanced combination. |
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Gottsuo ramen (the signature ramen) |
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It is said that beef bone ramen originally traces its roots back to
Manchuria. In its early form, both beef and pork bones were used
together to make the broth, but over time the use of pork bones
gradually declined. On the other hand, in the post-WWII period, with the
economy in collapse, there was a need to make full use of inexpensive
ingredients. Chicken bones had to be purchased, whereas beef bones were
generally treated as waste and could be obtained for free. Moreover,
even after simmering for more than ten hours, beef bones could still
produce a rich stock, making them far more economical than chicken
bones. In addition, Tottori has long been an important cattle-producing
region, making beef bones even easier to obtain. All of these factors
contributed to the development of beef bone ramen in Tottori. |
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The idea that 'ramen should naturally be made with beef bone broth'
became deeply ingrained in the minds of people in Tottori. Combined with
the region's relatively limited transport connections and less
interaction with other prefectures, people were not even aware that beef
bone ramen was a distinctive local style. It was not until 2010, when it
was ranked second in the Nippon TV programme SUPER SURPRISE – 'Top 50
Local Specialities' – that its representative status was more widely recognised. |
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That is quite normal – people in Hong Kong only realised around the same
time that Tempo tissues, Demae Iccho instant ramen (出前一丁,
apart from the sesame oil flavour), and Schweppes Cream Soda are
considered 'Hong Kong specialities' by the Japanese! |
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There were quite a few office workers in the ramen restaurant after work, some arriving in groups of colleagues, including managers
and their juniors. As we were leaving, we noticed that there was still a
large crowd waiting outside. It seems this place really gets livelier as
the night goes on! |
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Hot spring bath located on the ground floor |
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Own-source hot spring 'Oshidori no Yu' |
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Back at the hotel, after a short rest, it was of course time for a
shower and a hot spring bath, The hot spring bath at the hotel – the
in-house source 'Oshidori no Yu' (おしどりの湯)
– is located on the ground floor. There is a dedicated lift from the
guest room floors (which is slightly more convenient), and there is also
an entrance next to the lift lobby on the ground floor. The bath is
divided into men's and women's sections, each with an indoor bath and a
sauna. There is no open-air bath. Opening hours are 06:00-09:30 and
12:30-00:00. In addition to hotel guests, day visitors are also
accepted, at a fee of JP¥1,200, with access available from 12:30 to
17:00. |
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Many onsen ryokans provide facial cleansers, skincare products, and even
grooming items such as combs and cotton buds in the changing room – even Dormy Inn offers these. However, the facilities here are relatively
basic. Essentially, only body wash, shampoo, and hair conditioner are
provided in the shower area, and even facial cleanser is not available
there. It is not that these items do not exist, but rather that they
need to be collected in advance from the cabinets near the reception.
Realising you have forgotten to take them only after getting undressed
can be rather inconvenient. In addition, they are all provided in
single-use sachets, which can feel slightly impractical (though some may
consider them more hygienic). |
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The most important thing to prepare when staying at this hotel is –
100-yen coins. They are needed in quite a few places, including the
lockers in the changing room. Although they are free to use, you still
need to insert a 100-yen coin to lock them and retrieve the key, and the
coin is returned when unlocked – just like supermarket trolleys in the
UK. Not having 100-yen coins is not a big problem, as the reception can
provide change (after all, they collect quite a lot of coins
themselves), but if you have left your wallet in the room, that becomes
another inconvenience altogether. |
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Ice-cream vending machine and ice machine |
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Snacks, instant noodles, and drinks |
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Of course, milk – and even glass-bottled milk! |
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Glass-bottled milk, 'White Rose' milk from Daisen Dairy, with a rich
milky flavour |
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Tottori Onsen is one of the few hot spring sources located within an
urban area in Japan. It was discovered in 1904, when a local merchant,
IKEUCHI Genroku (池内 源六),
was digging a well for drinking water at his home in Yoshikata (吉方,
now Yoshikata Onsenchô), and hot spring water at 80°C gushed out. As the
hot spring was developed, the Yoshikata area gradually transformed from
farmland into a lively district, with teahouses and restaurants opening
one after another. |
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In 1923 and 1925, another merchant, YOSHIMURA Kinji (吉村
欣二), believed that the hot spring vein might extend towards
Tottori station. He invested JP¥520,000 to construct two roads
connecting Yoshikata to Tottori station – Suehirodôri (末広通り)
and Eirakudôri (永楽通り) – and successfully discovered additional spring sources
along the way. This eventually led to the formation of today's Suehiro
Onsenchô and Eiraku Onsenchô. |
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The vending machines here offer a surprisingly wide variety of items –
instant noodles, snacks, cold and hot drinks, ice-cream, and of course
milk. As the milk supplier here is a local Tottori company – Daisen
Dairy – rather than large nationwide brands such as Meiji or Morinaga,
glass-bottled milk is still available. The decline of glass-bottled milk
is partly due to low return rates, which increase costs. If we do not
want glass-bottled milk to disappear completely, we should remember to
return the bottles to the collection trays after drinking, rather than
taking them away. |
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Coin-operated washing machine |
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Another place where 100-yen coins are required is the laundry room.
Interestingly, it is not located in the hot spring changing area, but in
a corner on the 7th floor. Strangely, the lift directory does not
indicate that there are laundry facilities on the 7th floor – only the
Japanese hotel guide in the room mentions it, which made Todd somewhat
doubtful. |
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At Dormy Inn, washing machines are free to use, and only the dryers
require payment. Here, however, both require payment. Washing costs
JP¥400 per use (around 30 minutes), while drying costs JP¥100 per 30
minutes – and everything only accepts 100-yen coins. I did not bring
many clothes, and since this was the only place where we stayed for two
consecutive nights, it was a good opportunity to do some laundry. The
cost was reasonable, so it did not matter much. |
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There are only two washing machines and two dryers, and the in-room
television does not show their usage status. When we first went up, we
found that both machines had just been started about five minutes
earlier. So we went back to the room, kept track of the time, and
returned later. The second time, there were still about three minutes
left. It took another one to two minutes after the machines stopped
before the previous users came to collect their laundry. We ended up
waiting outside the laundry room for about five minutes before we could
start ours. Half an hour later, we had to come back again to use the
dryer... I only dried the clothes for 30 minutes, leaving them about 80%
dry – they could easily finish drying in the room the next day. After
dealing with the laundry, it was finally time to sleep... |
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After a good night's sleep, breakfast was a must. The reception had
mentioned at check-in that only the next day's breakfast ticket would be
issued, and the following day's ticket would need to be collected later.
The breakfast location is the main dining restaurant – PATRIE (パトリエ),
near the souvenir shop. The breakfast hour is 07:00-09:30. |
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Breakfast is served buffet-style, with both Western items such as
sausages, bacon, and fried eggs, as well as local San'in dishes like
pickled shallots and grated yam. Among the bread selection, I spotted
something that looked very much like Hong Kong style French toast (西多士).
The label described it as a Tottori speciality called 'Myfly' from a
local bakery, Kameidô (亀井堂).
I gave it a try... and it really was Hong Kong style French toast –
except that the filling was adzuki bean paste instead of peanut butter,
and without syrup. I never expected such a subtle culinary connection
between Tottori and Hong Kong. |
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After breakfast, we went for another hot spring bath, then set off again
to begin a new day's journey... |
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