tottori dune

This may look like a location from the original Star Wars, but what you’re actually looking at here is none other than the Tottori Sakyuu sand dunes, the only ones of their kind in the whole of Japan.

Tottori, Japan’s least populous prefecture, has finally joined the vast majority of the country in being featured on Google Maps’ Streetview service, which takes ground-level images of the areas surrounding major roads. Of course, this being Tottori, there weren’t always roads to drive on…

Despite having a population of just 584,982 (to put that into perspective, the Tokyo area alone is home to more than 13 million), the Google team evidently thought it was about time Tottori Prefecture showed its face on the popular service, aiming to cover some of its more remote areas like the stunning sand dunes and coastlines.

tottori dune 2

As well as adding a number of the Tottori’s towns and villages, Google also ticked off Ishikawa, Shimane and Toyama Prefectures, taking the opportunity to include some of their more picturesque sights from the new locations in a special “Streetview Gallery” which can be viewed, as ever, through Google’s site.

▼ The Streetview Gallery: discover somewhere new today!

google special menu

▼Picturesque Ishikawa.

google ishikawa

▼Back to Tottori’s vast sand dunes.

google tottori dunes

▼Toyama’s Kurobe Dam

google toyama

It’s at times like these, as we sit back in our chairs or prop ourselves up in bed with a laptop (yes, we see you!), taking in the sights of our vast world with just a few clicks, that we have to realise how fortunate we really are. Enjoy the view, guys!

Source: Internet Watch (Japanese)
Images via Google