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I have had a bit of "blog lag" so pardon for not writing the past 2 months. I have been thoroughly enjoying my summer thus far...only now is it becoming extremely humid and hot!

Tottori Beach Party!

Casey Lary
2006-10-06 16:13:48

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I have had a bit of "blog lag" so pardon for not writing the past 2 months. I have been thoroughly enjoying my summer thus far...only now is it becoming extremely humid and hot!

This weekend adventure (back in June!) took us to Tottori. Every year there is a beach party in Tottori Prefecture. Tottori prefecture (guess its not a major tourist spot, not even listed on the blog location list above!) is northeast of Hiroshima. Japan is roughly the same size as California. Knowing this, it shouldn't talk too long to go anywhere in Japan. On the contrary- due to huge mountain all over the place and rather inefficient road systems (all the R&D spent on that shinkansen gig) it took as a good 4 hours to drive to Tottori prefecture. There was Nikki behind the wheel, me, Lisa, and Jen. With such great company the time flew by.

The 4 of us packed our bags and sped off Friday night planning to arrive in Tottori just as the evening festivities began. We arrived at 10, and in the pitch black dark night (we all managed to forget to bring flashlights, smart girls huh) were setting up our tents. Chu Hi and beer in hand, we somehow successfully put up the tents. Some of us weren't so good at the whole tent thing (Jane and Evania!). From that point the alcohol was flowing, the music pumping, and we danced throughout the night until the sun started to rise.

After a short sleep we awoke to realize we were on quite a nice beach (for Japanese standards). Hungover to high heaven, our car of girls decided to head into Tottori City in search of some food. After some delicious Chinese, we headed to the Sand Dunes. Honestly, outside of the beach party, the sand dunes are the only attraction to come seen in Tottori. If you tell any Japanese person you are going to Tottori, they tell you to go to the sand dunes. You have to see them to believe them. You would never think they were a natural phenomenom...but they are! The sand is absolutely beautiful and looks like it is straight out of the Sahara Desert. They were really beautiful and heaven to walk barefoot on. But seriously, they didn't look real. I mean, Japan isn't necessarily known for its sand. After a few photos and chill time in the sand, we headed back to the beach party. The Tottori Beach Party was actually a lot different than I expected. It was a lot smaller, many gaijin, and a total outdoor rasta/hippy feel. Despite not being what I thought it was, it was still great being there. The rest of the night we drank, have great conversations, barbecued, had the most beautiful sunset, and just had an great time. That night the DJ was AWESOME!!! I have a new appreciation for house music and realize there is a difference between being an okay DJ and a GREAT DJ. It was Heather's birthday so we definitely took care of her and she got a few Japanese kisses to celebrate.

Sunday we woke up and took in a few good hours at the beach, and then headed back to Hiroshima. It was a great weekend vacation (most of my trips cannont be dubbed vacations). Rather funny- we went to Tottori to dance, have fun, and meet new people. Yet for most of the weekend we hung out with all the Hiroshima people. We technically could have done the same thing in Hiroshima, yet instead drove 4
hours away to do it in Tottori! Just shows you that we are the coolest JETs around ;-). Another great weekend to add to the list.