Sakaiminato - Yokai and Seafood
Sakaiminato is a port city located in the western part of Tottori Prefecture. The city faces the Japan Sea, and has the Sakai port, one of the most famous fishing ports in Japan. It is the best place to try fresh and delicious seafood. Recently, Sakaiminato city attracts many tourists as a city where one can meet Youkai. Youkai are a class of supernatural monsters in Japanese folklore. The prominent manga cartoonist, Shigeru Mizuki, is from Sakaiminato. He is mostly known for "GeGeGe no Kitaro", in which a one-eyed youkai boy named Kitaro fights for peace between humans and youkai.
Mizuki Shigeru Road is a street dedicated to the characters that appear in his manga works. Approximately 150 bronze statues of Youkai line both sides of the road. Many seafood restaurants and souvenir shops such as "Yokai Paradise", "Mizuki Shigeru Museum" and "Yokai Shrine" can also be found on the street.
Yokai Train runs through Sakai Line which connects JR Yonago Station and Sakaiminato Station. There are 15 stations on the Sakai Line, and each station has a name of yokai characters such as "Nezumi Otoko Station" for Yonago Station and "Kitaro Station" for Sakaiminato Station. The wall of the Yokai Train is decorated with many yokai characters of Kitaro, Nezumi Otoko, Neko Musume, Medama Oyaji, Konaki Jijii and Sunakake Baba.
境港は夏はマグロ、冬は蟹と日本一の水揚げの漁港で、豊富で新鮮な海の幸は、手軽な価格から楽しむことが出来ます。