Journeys in Japan S2010E07 - Tottori sand dunes, Tottori

In this week's journeys in japan, we visit the Tottori Sand Dunes, the largest in Japan, in Tottori Prefecture. The Tottori Sand Dunes skirt the Sea of Japan in the southwestern part of Japan. The dunes were created naturally over 100,000 years by sediments carried from the mountains down the river and eventually blown up onto the shore. Our reporter Vincent Giry wonders into the land of majestic dunes and meets people who live together with sand. First, he joins the member of the photography club at the Tottori School for the Deaf. Students who have hearing difficulties tend to have a fear of communicating with other people. The activity of taking photographs of the visitors to the dunes, a major tourist spot, began as a way for students to overcome their sense of fear. This club activity encourages students to proactively talk to people who they meet for the first time. Vincent will find out how this activity made a difference on the students. After enjoying a photo session at the dunes with the students, Vincent sets out to see how "suna-tamago", the sand eggs are made. Here, he has a chance to observe "wisdom for living" based on local traditions. In fact, the secret to the creation of sand eggs was this wisdom itself. How did wisdom inspired making of the eggs? During his trip, Vincent also has a chance to learn about art made of sand, a crop which thrives only in the severe conditions of the dunes, and the research on dunes that is beneficial in arid lands around the world. By coming into contact with cultures old and new, we can see a coexistent relationship between the people and the sand which derived from unique geographical features of the sand dunes and the wisdom and the resourceful ideas that still exist today to benefit the local people in their lives.