Chizu-Cho (智頭町)
A truly beautiful rural town in Tottori, Japan
Chizu-cho is...
• a real Japanese treasure.
• old-style countryside Japan.
• incredibly photogenic.
• one of Japan's most beautiful villages.
• a place you need to see.
It's easy to fall in ♥ love ♥ with this beautiful and scenic town, located up in the Chugoku Mountains.
Chizu has a small downtown area that is surrounded by a number of charming, small farming villages.
Chizu's mountains are covered in cedar and pine trees. There are also many sakura (cherry trees) and a lot of bamboo. The town is blessed with many rivers and streams with crystal clear water.
Chizu has hundreds of traditional farmhouses and thousands of rice paddies. The town has quaint, calm shopping streets; important historic and cultural properties; many colourful and vibrant street festivals, and a whole lot more.
There are also many great cafes and restaurants that serve the most delicious food in wonderfully rustic settings.
And finally - Chizu folk are very relaxed and friendly, and they'll always greet you with a smile. Chizu Town is a very special place.
Getting there
Train: About 2 1/2 hours from Kyoto , 2 hours from Osaka and 1 hour from Himeji on the Super Hakuto express train; 50 minutes from Tottori on the Inbi Line; 75 minutes from Okayama on the Super Inaba express train.
Bus: About 3 1/2 hours from Kyoto; 2 1/2 to 3 hours from Osaka; 50 minutes from Tottori.
Car: About 2 1/2 hours from Kyoto; 2 hours from Osaka; 35 minutes from Tottori; 2 hours from Okayama; one hour from the Tottori Sand Dunes.
Bicycle: About one hour from Tottori (on a road bike). About 10-12 hours from Umeda, Osaka :-) Chizu is a cyclists' paradise.
Chizu is officially one of Japan's most beautiful villages:
http://utsukushii-mura.jp/chizu/
智頭町 (Chizu-cho)
智 - Chi
頭 - zu
町 - cho (town)
A little about Chizu-cho
Chizu has a population of just over 7,000. Around 93% of its area is covered in forests - consisting largely of Japanese cedar and pine trees. The main industries are agriculture, forestry and farming. It's beautiful in every season. It gets a lot of snow in January and February and becomes a winter wonderland. The relaxed town and village folk make this place special. Come visit to see why:
Photos and text copyright of
Chizu-cho.com 2023