The giant salamander is regarded as a living fossil. The Daisen-Oki National Park is inhabited by the world’s largest amphibian, and here, visitors can observe its habitat and experience a preservation activity.
In this observation and preservation experience, participants first listen to a lecture from a leading expert/researcher of the giant salamander, and after having studied its biology and the local protection activity, walk around the headwaters of the Hino River and satoyama (community-based forest areas and the surrounding countryside) while looking for giant salamanders in order to study their biology and experience the preservation activity.
After the observation and preservation experience of the giant salamander, participants will stay in a traditional folk house and experience old-style countryside living while enjoying a view of the excellent natural scenery of Nichinan Town.

This is an activity of climbing Mt. Daisen, the highest peak in the Chugoku region (1,729 m above sea level). The difference in elevation from the entrance of the climbers’ route to the summit is about 930 m. For the first half of the path, you walk through one of the largest natural beech forests in western Japan, and from around the sixth station, you walk amidst alpine flora.
The panoramic view from the summit is just stunning. Enjoy the special sense of achievement!
When descending, you take a climbers’ route that is said to have once been used by mountain practitioners, along which you will visit a historical area to see the Ogamiyama Shrine, Daisen-ji Temple, and the Japan’s longest natural stone path, as well as a forest path.
Along the path to Daisen-ji Temple, there are hot-spring and foot-spa facilities, rest houses and shops, and the Sunset Cafe, allowing you to sooth your fatigue from mountain climbing.

Preserved as a national park, Mt. Daisen still offers an abundant and wide variety of plants and animals as well as a natural environment.
There also are many seasonal changes to the scenery: including the fresh verdure of spring, the brilliant deep greens of trees of summer, the colored leaves of autumn, and the snowy landscape of winter. Because visitors can see different appearances even at the same spot depending on the season, you’ll never get tired of visiting this area.
This walking course lets you stroll through a refreshing beech forest and visit paths, streams, and historic sites while embraced in the power of the vastness of nature.
As you can enjoy learning about the mountain foot’s natural environment and history from the guide’s explanation, the course will be recommended to families as well.

While cycling along a country road from the middle of Mt. Daisen down to the Sea of Japan, participants will enjoy scenery that includes the deep blue Sea of Japan just below your eyes, beautiful satoyama, and beech forests beside the road.
Another attraction of this activity is visiting such enchanting spots as a fresh stream and refreshing forest, yogurt factory, workshop of local artists utilizing a building of a former elementary school, a vast lawn, and places where you can encounter animals or communicate with local people.
You can make your cycling tour more fulfilling with an escort by a guide.

This scenic driving course, which runs vertically through the Daisen-Oki National Park, starts from Mt. Hiruzen, passes Mt. Daisen, Yonago City, and then Sakaiminato City, and gets to Mihonoseki.
Along the course, there are many scenic points representing the Daisen-Oki National Park, including the Hiruzen Highland, which boasts magnificent scenery; Kimendai Observatory, a scenic spot standing on the boundary between Tottori Prefecture and Okayama Prefecture; Kagamiganaru, a highland resort surrounded by mountains that form a basin; the Mitsukue Area embraced by an idyllic rural scenery; Kagikake-toge Pass, the best scenic point overlooking the southern wall of Mt. Daisen; Kitanizawa Stream that offers a mysterious atmosphere surrounded by waters and a beech forest; and Mihonoseki where you can enjoy the view of the Sea of Japan.

The cycling courses, which are about 30 km long in total and where bicycle rental is available at many places, let you casually enjoy the magnificent land and idyllic atmosphere of the Hiruzen Highland.
You can choose from two courses in different tastes: one that lets you mainly enjoy the magnificent mountainous scenery of the Hiruzen Three Peaks, and the other where you cycle amidst rural scenery and pasturelands.
Each course has many attractive stop-off points including a cheese factory, winery, places where you can eat mutton barbecue and Hiruzen yakisoba (pan-fried noodles), the Horse Park, Shiogama Cold Spring where natural water out wells, and an amusement park.
Additionally, areas around the courses are well-developed with campgrounds, accommodation facilities, and hot-spring baths. Because fat-tire bikes are available in winter, you can enjoy cycling throughout the year.
You can make your cycling tour more fulfilling with an escort by a guide.

Mt. Mitoku (about 900 m above sea level) is located almost at the center of Tottori Prefecture, and along with Mt. Daisen, used to be an object of mountain worship as a mountain where the gods resided, providing the entire mountain as its precinct.
The innermost building commonly known as Sanbutsuji Temple’s Nageire-do Hall is extraordinary in a sense that it is built in a pocket on a sheer cliff, and is designated a national treasure.
Arduous paths following the hall used by practitioners, as well as a number of historical buildings let you feel the mysterious nature and history and spiritual culture. Climbing up to the Nageire-do Hall is a form of zen meditation. When climbing the mountain, be sure to be fully prepared since there are dangerous spots on this trail.
You can experience zazen (seated meditation) in the morning and ascetic training of hand copying a sutra. You can also travel the surrounding area by bicycle.

Mihonoseki, located at the eastern tip of the Shimane Peninsula, is a small port town where visitors can experience the history and rich local atmosphere.
You’ll find Miho Shrine after passing through Aoishidatami Street, where there remains the old townscape. The shrine is dedicated to Ebisu, who is worshipped as the god of fisheries and commerce, and is the grand head shrine of 3,385 shrines nationwide dedicated to the god. By participating in one of the every-morning rituals where you serve with the Shinto priest and make offerings to the deity, you may be able to discover new thoughts while experiencing an enchanting space and deep Japanese spiritual culture.
Additionally, this area is well equipped with footpaths stretching from Gohonmatsu Park, where beautiful azalea flowers are seen in spring, up to around the Mihonoseki Lighthouse, which commands a 360-degree panoramic view of the Sea of Japan. In summer, visitors can enjoy watching numerous isaribi (fires for luring fish at night) sparkling on a lot of squid-fishing boats and also experience scooping of flying fish.

Nakaumi is located in Yonago City at the foot of Mt. Daisen and is the largest wintering spot in western Japan for groups of the tundra swan.
Although there once were many dens of the tundra swan in Nakaumi, shallow waters that functioned as their dens gradually disappeared due to reclamation. The precious wetland that was developed in the Hikona reclaimed ground area in Yonago City became the last den for the swan.
Currently, it is one of the best habitats for wild birds in western Japan where more than 10,000 wild birds with a maximum of about 100 species are identified. It is also a registered wetland under the Ramsar Convention.

The Oki Islands consist of more than 180 small and large islands located about 40 to 80 km off the coast of the mainland.
The natural coast of bold cliffs sculpted by the wild waves of the Sea of Japan and the scenery of pasturelands spreading above them with cows and horses boast one of the most magnificent and beautiful sights in Japan.
In many places on the Oki Islands, visitors can experience the rich natural environment with their five senses, and they can experience a variety of marine sports to their heart’s content, including trekking, camping, cruising to view cliffs and bizarre rocks, as well as sea bathing, sea kayaking, standup paddle boarding, and diving.

Located almost at the center of Shimane Prefecture, Mt. Osanbe (the highest peak of Mt. Sanbe, about 1,126 m above sea level) provides a wide variety of scenes, including a calm appearance consisting of a group of circularly distributed lava domes, an idyllic grassland scenery spreading at its foot, surrounding ponds, and natural forests on the hillside.
Here, you can find fun activities suited to your purpose from trekking using a sightseeing lift for beginners or climbing to the summit and walking along a peak-to-peak route for the experienced.
At the foot of the mountain, you can join outdoor activities, including camping and starry-sky observation, visit natural museums, or enjoy quality hot springs, Sanbe Onsen, boasting one of the largest amounts of discharge in western Japan.

The Shimane Peninsula provides commanding views of the varied and beautiful coastline, along which you can see a wide variety of cliffs, tunnels, caves, and sand beaches. You also can savor the view of magnificent scenery overlooking the Sea of Japan, enjoy sea bathing in clear water, and ride a sightseeing boat on which to enjoy viewing tunnels from the inside (Kukedo Course and Takobana Course).
The peninsula also boasts human landscapes such as the Izumo-Taisha Grand Shrine and Hinomisaki Shrine, letting you feel mythological tales and traditions still alive through their local events.