Sakai Fishing Port in Tottori Prefecture is one of the leading fishing ports in Japan, where various marine products from the Sea of Japan are landed, including raw bluefin tuna and crab, boasting the largest amount of catches in Japan. At the direct sales store next to such a fishing port, you can enjoy the fresh seafood you have purchased on the spot. It is also an area where you can enjoy the world of Japanese yokai drawn by the Sakaiminato-born manga artist Shigeru Mizuki, such as the JR Sakai Line, which are themed on "GeGeGe no Kitaro", and Mizuki Shigeru Road. This time, I will introduce sightseeing spots in Sakaiminato.
The amount of tuna and crab caught is amazing! If you go to Sakaiminato, you definitely want to try some seafood!
The first thing you should try at Sakaiminato is raw bluefin tuna (mainly caught from June to July) and red snow crab (caught from September to June of the following year). Matsuba crab (松葉ガニ / matsuba-gani - snow crab) caught by offshore trawl fishing from November to March, and white squid (ケンサキイカ / kensakiika) from June to September are also famous nationwide. Moreover, Sakaiminato is home to abundant seafood from the Sea of Japan. Below are some recommended direct sales shops and markets where you can enjoy freshly caught seafood. You can also join a “Fish Market Tour” too.
Sakaiminato Seafood Direct Sales Center
At "Sakaiminato Seafood Direct Sales Center" (境港水産物直売センター), which is adjacent to the Sakaiminato Fish Market, fresh caught-same-day seafood are displayed. You can enjoy the seafood you have purchased on the spot done as sashimi. At the cafeteria, a variety of seafood rice bowls are served, including wild tuna. Let's enjoy seafood that can only be eaten here.
Spot Information
- Address: 9-5 Showamachi, Sakaiminato City, Tottori Prefecture
- Access: About 5 minutes by car from JR Sakaiminato Station
"Nakaura Fish Market" and "Sakaiminato Sakana Center" are also recommended!
"Nakaura Fish Market" (大漁市場なかうら / Tairyo Ichiba Nakaura) is well-known for its 7.7m-tall stone statue of Kitaro, the "Gaina Kitaro". In addition to crabs, it also sells overnight dried fish, kamaboko, sweets, Kitaro goods, and more. You can enjoy fresh seafood dishes at the on-site dining room.
Spot Information
- Address: 209 Takenouchi Danchi, Sakaiminato City, Tottori Prefecture
- Access: About 10 minutes by car from JR Sakaiminato Station
At "Sakaiminato Sakana Center" (境港さかなセンター), you can have the seafood you purchase at the store cooked for you to eat at the attached restaurant. Inside the center, there is also the "Kitaro Tairyosha" (鬼太郎大漁社) which enshrines Kitaro as deity.
Spot Information
- Address: 259-2 Takenouchi Danchi, Sakaiminato City, Tottori Prefecture
- Access: About 10 minutes by car from JR Sakaiminato Station
Fish Specimens and Old Japanese Life Museum
The "Fish Specimens and Old Japanese Life Museum" (海とくらしの史料館 / Umi to Kurashi no Shiryokan) with beautiful white walls is a museum that boasts the largest collection of stuffed fish specimens in Japan. The number is surprisingly, 700 kinds with over 4,000 specimens. Many fish such as the 4.2-meter-long great white shark known as a man-eating shark and Japan's largest giant sunfish are displayed in glossy forms. You can enjoy the appearance of the fish different from picture books by the luster and color to reproduce the color of the fish actuall seen in the sea. In addition to fish, fisheries information and fishing methods are also on display. You can even board the real fishing boat "Minato Maru".
Spot Information
- Address: 8-1 Hanamachi, Sakaiminato City, Tottori Prefecture
- Access: About 8 minutes by "Hama Loop Bus" (はまるーぷバス) from JR Sakaiminato Station
Kitaro and yokai-related spots
In Sakaiminato, spots associated with Mizuki Shigeru's masterpiece "GeGeGe no Kitaro" are also very popular. One of them is the "Kitaro Trains" adorned with Kitaro characters which run from Yonago Station on the JR Sakai Line. At Sakaiminato Station (nicknamed "Kitaro Station") at the end of the line and in the surrounding area, there are giant murals of yokai and even Kitaro posts.
The Mizuki Shigeru Road, which stretches for about 800m from Sakaiminato Station, is full of yokai, including 177 yokai bronze statues, the "Yokai Shrine" (妖怪神社 / Yokai Jinja), and the "Mizuki Shigeru Museum" (水木しげる記念館). You can enjoy the extraordinary feeling here.
Eshima Ohashi Bridge
With a total length of 1,446.2 meters, the "Eshima Ohashi Bridge" (江島大橋) is known as a "Betabumi-zaka" (ベタ踏み坂) as it seems impossible to climb the slope without stepping on the accelerator. However, this is simply due to an illusion effect. In reality, the top is 45m high to accommodate 5,000-ton class ships passing under, but you don't have to go full throttle to reach its top. Moreover, there is no place near Eshima Ohashi Bridge where you can take such pictures of steep slopes.
In fact, in order to photograph the seemingly steep bridge, it is necessary to move to the coastline of the neighboring "Daikon Island" (大根島) and move to a particular position where the base of the bridge and the top can be seen in a straight line. Then, enlarge it with the zoom function of the camera function. Only by doing so can you take pictures of dynamic steep slopes.
Spot Information
- Address: The bridge runs from Yatsukacho, Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture to Wataricho, Sakaiminato City, Tottori Prefecture
- Access: About 10 minutes by car from JR Sakaiminato Station
Sakaidaiba Park
"Sakaidaiba Park" (境台場公園) is located about five minutes by car from JR Sakaiminato Station. One of the eight gun batteries built in Tottori Prefecture during the Edo period, it is designated as a national historic site. In spring, the 240 cherry blossom trees in the park are in full bloom, and the "Cherry Blossom Festival" (桜まつり / Sakura Matsuri) is held every year. The oldest white wooden hexagonal Western-style lighthouse in the San'in region has been restored in the park for toursist to admire surrounding cherry blossoms during the festival. The chalk-white lighthouse decorated with cherry blossoms is also recommended as a photo spot.
Spot Information
- Address: Hanamachi, Sakaiminato City, Tottori Prefecture
- Access: About 5 minutes by car from JR Sakaiminato Station
Japanese festivals and events unique to fishing ports in Sakaiminato
In Sakaiminato, where the fishing industry is thriving, fishery-related festivals and events are held throughout the year. In particular, the "Minato Matsuri" (みなと祭) in summer is held on a grand scale. Followed by a spectacular parade of about 50 fishing boats, portable shrines, and fairs, the finale - fireworks display serves as the dramatic climax with about 2000 fireworks.
Another summer festival is the "Sakaiminato Tuna Thanksgiving Festival" (境港まぐろ感謝祭 / Sakaiminato Maguro Kansha-sai - *cancelled in 2022). You can enjoy a bluefin tuna cutting show and various tuna dishes. Autumn comes the "Sakaiminato Fisheries Festival" (境港水産まつり / Sakaiminato Suisan Matsuri - *cancelled in 2022). Crab soup is served, and you can enjoy events such as auction experience and fishing boat experience boarding. At the "Crab Thanksgiving Festival" (カニ感謝祭 / Kani Kansha-sai - *canceled in 2022) held in winter, Kitaro and other participants parade along Mizuki Shigeru Road in crab-filled carts. Crabs are then offered to Yokai Shrine and pray for a good catch.
How to get to Sakaiminato
It takes about 20 minutes from Yonago-Airport Station on the JR Sakai Line, or about 45 minutes from JR Yonago Station to JR Sakaiminato Station. If you take the "Hama Loop Bus" from Yonago Kitaro Airport, you will arrive at Sakaiminato in about 25 minutes.
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