Yonago vs Okayama: Which for a First Trip?

The short answer

Yonago is the main city of western Tottori Prefecture. It is the base for Kaike Onsen, a seaside hot spring town; Mizuki Shigeru Road in Sakaiminato, lined with yokai statues; and Mt. Daisen, the highest peak in the Chugoku region. If you want a hot spring stay with mountains and sea in the same trip, Yonago suits you.

Okayama is the main city of Okayama Prefecture. Okayama Korakuen, one of Japan's three great gardens, sits close to the black-walled Okayama Castle, and the old merchant town of Kurashiki is about 30 minutes west. If you want slow walks through a garden, a castle and old streets, Okayama suits you.

Best for: Yonago if you want to combine a hot spring stay, a mountain hike and a yokai street, or try Matsuba crab in winter. Okayama if you want a garden, a castle and old Kurashiki, or love white peaches and fruit parfaits.

• Full Yonago travel guide →
• Full Okayama travel guide →

From the airport, and getting around

From Yonago Kitaro Airport, the airport bus reaches Yonago Station in about 25 minutes for JPY 640. You can also take the JR Sakai Line from Yonago Airport Station to Yonago Station (JPY 240) or Sakaiminato Station (JPY 190), and a bus runs from the airport to Matsue Station in Shimane Prefecture (about 45 minutes, JPY 1,200). If a flight is suspended or cancelled, the airport bus may not run either.

From Okayama Momotaro Airport, the airport limousine bus reaches Okayama Station West Exit in about 30 minutes for JPY 1,000 (children JPY 500). An airport bus via the expressway also goes to Kurashiki Station North Exit (about 35 minutes, JPY 1,400). Airport bus service may change if your flight is late or due to weather and traffic.

Getting around works quite differently. From Yonago, Sakaiminato is about 45 minutes on the JR Sakai Line, Matsue about 30 minutes by JR, and Kaike Onsen about 20 minutes by local bus. The Dandan Bus city loop costs JPY 150 for adults, and the Tottori-han Norihodai Tegata (3 days, JPY 1,800) covers local buses in the prefecture and the Yonago Station–airport bus (JR not included). In Okayama, streetcars are a flat JPY 160 for adults with a JPY 400 one-day pass, and Korakuen is about 25 minutes on foot from Okayama Station. For Kurashiki, take the JR Sanyo Line.

How many days, and what budget

Plan on 3 days / 2 nights for Yonago (including Daisen and Matsue) and 2 to 3 days for Okayama (with Kurashiki). A Yonago route covers Sakaiminato and Kaike Onsen on day 1, Daisen on day 2, and the Yonago Castle ruins and Matsue Castle on day 3; an Okayama route covers Okayama Castle and Korakuen on day 1, then Kibitsu Shrine and Kurashiki on day 2.

For budget, a Japan Tourism Agency survey (2025) allows a comparison on the same basis: Yonago uses the figure for Tottori Prefecture, Okayama the figure for Okayama Prefecture. Here are the details.

Some individual prices: Yonago has the Mizuki Shigeru Museum at JPY 1,000, Daisen-ji at JPY 300, a rental bike at JPY 1,000 a day and the Matsue Castle keep at JPY 1,200 (adults, from 1 July 2026); Okayama has Korakuen at JPY 500, the Korakuen + Okayama Castle combined ticket at JPY 800 and the Bizen-yaki workshop at JPY 1,250. Hotel and food costs vary by date, so check booking sites.

• Yonago (Tottori Prefecture): According to a Japan Tourism Agency survey (2025), foreign leisure travellers visiting Tottori Prefecture spent an average of about ¥43,000 per person per visit (excluding travel between prefectures). This is the average for all of Tottori Prefecture, not just this city. Actual costs vary widely with itinerary and accommodation.
• Okayama (Okayama Prefecture): According to a Japan Tourism Agency survey (2025), foreign leisure travellers visiting Okayama Prefecture spent an average of about ¥47,000 per person per visit (excluding travel between prefectures). Actual costs vary widely with itinerary and accommodation.

Yonago: yokai street, Kaike Onsen and Mt. Daisen

Mizuki Shigeru Road in Sakaiminato, created in 1993, runs about 800 m and is lined with 178 bronze statues of yokai from manga such as GeGeGe no Kitaro. Every night from sunset until 10 pm the statues are lit up. The Mizuki Shigeru Museum at the end of the street costs JPY 1,000 for adults.

Kaike Onsen, a seaside hot spring town, was found in 1900 when fishermen saw bubbles rising from the sea, and Mt. Daisen rises beyond its white-sand, pine-lined beach. Daisen is the highest mountain in the Chugoku region and is called Hoki Fuji. Its highest peak, Kengamine (1,729 m), is off limits, but you can climb to Misen (1,709 m) in about 3–5 hours round trip. Daisen-ji, founded in 718, and Ogamiyama Shrine Okumiya are about 50 minutes by bus from Yonago Station.

In the city, climb to the Yonago Castle ruins: only the stone walls remain, and from the keep site at about 90 m you get a 360° view of Mt. Daisen, Nakaumi and the Sea of Japan (about 20 minutes on foot from Yonago Station). Matsue Castle in Shimane Prefecture, whose keep is a National Treasure, is about 30 minutes from Yonago by JR, so it works as a day trip. Major repairs to the keep are planned from June 2027 to December 2030, so check official information for that period. To eat: Matsuba crab, caught from early November to March; red snow crab and June–August tuna in Sakaiminato; and rock oysters from early summer to around Obon.

Okayama: garden, castle and old Kurashiki

Okayama Korakuen was built about 300 years ago by Ikeda Tsunamasa, lord of the Okayama domain, and is counted among Japan's three great gardens (JPY 500 for adults). Paths and streams link wide lawns and ponds, and red-crowned cranes are kept here. Nearby Okayama Castle is nicknamed U-jo (Crow Castle) for its black walls, and at the workshop below the castle you can try Bizen-yaki pottery (JPY 1,250, about 60 minutes).

The Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter is a riverside street of white-walled storehouse mansions, Western-style buildings and willow trees. Boats show the town from the water, and you can stop at the Ohara Museum of Art, founded in 1930 as Japan's first private museum of Western art. Kibitsu Shrine, which enshrines Kibitsuhiko-no-Mikoto, said to be the model for the Momotaro legend, has a corridor of about 400 m.

To eat: Okayama barazushi topped with Seto Inland Sea seafood and seasonal vegetables, demi-katsudon (pork cutlet with demi-glace sauce), kibi dango as a souvenir, and white peaches from late June through the summer. By season, Yonago's Matsuba crab runs from early November to March and Okayama's white peaches from late June through the summer, so the time of year can help you choose.

Weather by month, side by side

Spring and October–November are good for walking in both: Yonago April–May and October–November, Okayama March–May and October–November, so April–May and October–November overlap.

The figures below are Japan Meteorological Agency 1991–2020 normals, from Yonago station for Yonago and Okayama station for Okayama: average high / average low / monthly rainfall.

The biggest difference is rainfall. Yonago gets more than Okayama in all 12 months, and the gap is especially large in January: 152 mm in Yonago against 36 mm in Okayama. July is the wettest month of the year in both cities, and in Yonago September follows July with 214 mm.

Temperatures differ less than rainfall. The average high in August is 32°C in Yonago and 33°C in Okayama, and the average low in January is 1°C in Yonago and 0°C in Okayama. December–February is cold in Yonago and chilly in Okayama.

• January: Yonago 8°C / 1°C / 152 mm · Okayama 10°C / 0°C / 36 mm
• April: Yonago 18°C / 8°C / 106 mm · Okayama 20°C / 9°C / 90 mm
• July: Yonago 30°C / 23°C / 227 mm · Okayama 32°C / 23°C / 177 mm
• August: Yonago 32°C / 24°C / 128 mm · Okayama 33°C / 25°C / 97 mm
• September: Yonago 27°C / 19°C / 214 mm · Okayama 29°C / 20°C / 142 mm
• October: Yonago 22°C / 13°C / 131 mm · Okayama 23°C / 13°C / 95 mm
• November: Yonago 17°C / 8°C / 118 mm · Okayama 17°C / 7°C / 53 mm

How to choose, and what to check before you go

Choose Yonago for a hot spring stay with mountains, sea and a yokai street, and Okayama for slow walks through a garden, a castle and old Kurashiki. Check the rail operators' official information for routes and times between the two cities.

We have also written separate itineraries and airport guides for each city, plus a comparison of Okayama and Hiroshima.

• Entry to Japan: check the Japanese government's official information before you travel
• Yonago airport buses: buses timed to international flights run on set days only, so check the official timetable
• Yonago local buses: only JPY 1,000 notes can be changed on board, so carry coins
• Mt. Daisen: the highest peak, Kengamine, is off limits; check official information for the latest trail conditions
• Okayama streetcars: no change is given, so use a transit IC card or the coin changer
• Okayama cherry blossoms and autumn leaves: timing changes every year, so check the official forecasts

• Incheon → Yonago route info →
• Incheon → Okayama route info →
• Yonago 3-day route →
• Yonago Kitaro Airport to the city →
• Okayama and Kurashiki in 3 days →
• Okayama vs Hiroshima compared →

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