Without further ado, we were on a plane from Haneda heading south. Easily accessible from Tokyo with daily minute flights from Haneda, it is also the least populated prefecture in Japan, which, coming from the capital, is welcome. Our journey started at Yonago Airport where we were welcomed by multiple yokai inspired by Gegege no Kitaro , the famous manga written by Tottori native Shigeru Mizuki.
This small airport was an attraction in itself. We stopped by to take a photo with Kitaro and his medama oyaji father on the second floor, captured a panoramic view of the anime-inspired glass in the lobby, and had fun tracing hidden anime objects. From there we drove for about 20 minutes to Kaikegama , a pottery studio run by Yuzo Ando who has been managing the family business for over 50 years.
He invited us to come in, placed a 1. From Yonago, we drove for about an hour to Kurayoshi. We were there to try its signature mochi shabu shabu course, a colorful and delicious set of thinly sliced mochi blocks. We ordered an upgraded set version, which came with udon , beef, chawanmushi savory egg pudding , a mochi appetizer, and 12 different flavors of mochi slices.
Inspired by the gorgeous layer kimono worn by the imperial family in the Heian Era, this mochi on parade was the dream meal of any Instagrammer. It was here where we tried chili, sesame and blueberry-flavored mochi for the first time, and loved every sticky bite of it. Full and satisfied, we headed to our next adventure: a walking kimono tour around Kurayoshi.
Located just a five-minute walk from Seisuian, we stopped at Akagawara Bldg. We rented Kurayoshi-gasuri , a traditional handmade indigo kimono woven by women only in this region. Our walk tour included the full package of being helped to wear the kimono, having our hairstyles done the right way for the first time in ages , and renting a kimono bag and tabi socks. After getting ready, we went for a stroll along the nostalgic streets of Kurayoshi, imagining this is how Pretty Woman would have looked if she were living in Edo-era Japan.
