This guide covers Mount Sanbe, the Sanbe sightseeing lift, Sanbe Nature Museum Sahimel, the Sanbe Azukihara Buried Forest, a hot spring bath at Sanbe-so and the practical details of visiting Oda.
You can ride the Sanbe sightseeing lift on a climb of about fifteen minutes toward the summit. Four peaks ring the old crater of Mount Sanbe, and the gazetteer lists them as its rim. Old guidebooks describe a summit view that takes in the Sea of Japan and the Oki Islands to the north.
Ukinuno Pond on the western foot of Mount Sanbe formed when ash and gravel from an eruption dammed the water, and the gazetteer notes a small island in its middle. Sanbe Nature Museum Sahimel is about twenty minutes by car from JR Oda-shi Station. Route buses from JR Oda-shi Station run only two or three times a day.
Mount Sanbe and Its Old Crater
Mount Sanbe straddles the old provinces of Iwami and Izumo, and the gazetteer places it among the noted peaks of the Sanin road. A broad hollow, the floor of the old crater, fills the center of the four peaks, and the survey notes a small pond in its southeastern corner.
Saigyo the poet wrote of Mount Sanbe under snow at dusk and likened it to Mount Fuji, and the gazetteer records the poem as a sign of how long the peak has been admired. No eruption is confirmed within recorded history, and old guidebooks describe the hot springs and carbonic vents as the only traces of volcanic activity that remain.
Pumice from the volcano covers far more than the slopes of Mount Sanbe, and the gazetteer puts its spread across a wide stretch of Iwami and Izumo. The rest of this guide moves from that geology to the lift, the museum, the buried forest and the baths, with the practical details for each.
The Sanbe Sightseeing Lift
Wide highlands spread along the eastern and western feet of Mount Sanbe, and the gazetteer lists them as an artillery training ground in the Meiji years and as pasture for cattle and horses at other times. From JR Oda-shi Station to the Sanbe sightseeing lift is about forty minutes by car.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Sanbe sightseeing lift hours | 8:30 to 16:30 |
| Sanbe sightseeing lift last entry for round trips | 16:15 |
| Sanbe sightseeing lift closing days | Tuesdays, and the winter closure from December to March |
| Sanbe sightseeing lift, adult fare | 900 yen round trip, 500 yen one way |
| Sanbe sightseeing lift, child fare | 700 yen round trip, 400 yen one way |
| Sanbe sightseeing lift, adult group fare (20 or more) | 700 yen round trip, 400 yen one way |
The lift is closed on Tuesdays and does not run from December to March, so check the table above against your dates. From Oda-Chuo-Sanbesan IC on the Sanin Expressway to the lift is about thirty-five minutes by car. From Nima-Iwami-Ginzan IC to the lift is about forty minutes by car.
Sanbe Nature Museum Sahimel
The rock that makes up Mount Sanbe is porous, with a pitted and uneven surface, and the gazetteer says stone lovers once prized it. From Oda-Chuo-Sanbesan IC on the Sanin Expressway, coming from the Izumo direction, to Sahimel is about thirty minutes by car.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Sahimel opening hours | 9:30 to 17:00 (last admission 16:30) |
| Sahimel admission outside special exhibitions | adults 500 yen; elementary to high school students 250 yen |
| Sahimel admission during the winter special exhibition (Dec 19 to Jan 24) | adults 700 yen |
| Sahimel discount with a same-day Sanbe Jomon-no-mori Museum ticket | 150 yen off for adults, 50 yen off for students |
| Sahimel annual passport | adults 1,700 yen; students 600 yen |
| Sahimel exhibition guide | 1,000 yen per group of 10 or fewer, plus 100 yen per person from the 11th |
Sahimel is closed every Tuesday, or the next weekday when Tuesday is a national holiday, and opens daily from July twentieth to August thirty-first. The summer holiday period has no weekly closure. The year-end closure runs from December twenty-seventh, twenty twenty-six to January first, twenty twenty-seven. Check the exhibition calendar before you set out.
Where to stay
Places to stay near Oda, Shimane, Japan →
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The Sanbe Azukihara Buried Forest
The standing cedar trees at the Sanbe Jomon-no-mori Museum, the museum at the buried forest, are planned to be hidden in turn, one tree from October to around the end of December. Both standing cedars are planned to be hidden from around the end of December to early March. Plan your dates around that if the trees are the draw.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Sanbe Jomon-no-mori Museum opening hours | 9:00 to 17:00 (last admission 16:30) |
| Sanbe Jomon-no-mori Museum admission | adults 350 yen; elementary to high school students 100 yen |
| Sanbe Jomon-no-mori Museum closing day | every Tuesday (the next weekday if Tuesday is a national holiday) |
From JR Oda-shi Station to the Sanbe Jomon-no-mori Museum is about twenty minutes by car. From the buried forest park to Mount Sanbe is about ten minutes by car. From the buried forest park to Iwami Ginzan is about forty minutes by car. Check the latest news from the park before you set out.
Hot Spring Baths and Meals at Sanbe-so
Before the great Iwami earthquake of eighteen seventy-two, the waters at Shigaku were too cool for bathing, and the gazetteer states that they ran so hot afterward that they had to be cooled before use. Old guidebooks describe wasabi and soba as the specialties of the Sanbe area.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Sanbe-so day-use hot spring hours | 10:30 to 20:00 (closing at 21:00) |
| Sanbe-so day-use bath, 10-ticket book | 6,000 yen |
| Sanbe-so restaurant Iris lunch | 11:30 to 14:30 (last order 14:00) |
| Sanbe-so shop | 7:00 to 21:00 |
| Sanbe-so Standard kaiseki (main building) | 4,400 yen |
| Sanbe-so Grade-up kaiseki (main building) | 6,600 yen |
| Sanbe-so Sahime kaiseki (annex) | 7,700 yen |
The table above lists the day-use bath, the lunch service and the set dinners. From JR Oda-shi Station to the Sanbe-so area is about fifty minutes by bus. From JR Oda-shi Station to the Sanbe-so area is about twenty-five minutes by taxi.
Getting to Mount Sanbe and Staying Overnight
The route bus from JR Oda-shi Station toward Mount Sanbe makes only two or three runs a day. Drivers from the Izumo direction reach the Mount Sanbe area in about thirty minutes from Oda-Chuo-Sanbesan IC on the Sanin Expressway. From Miyoshi IC on the Chugoku Expressway to Sahimel is about ninety minutes by car, coming from the Hiroshima direction.
| Route | Time |
|---|---|
| Yonago to JR Oda-shi Station by JR | about 1 hour 15 minutes |
| Okayama to JR Oda-shi Station by JR | about 3 hours 30 minutes |
| Hakata to JR Oda-shi Station by JR | about 3 hours 40 minutes |
| Hiroshima city to JR Oda-shi Station by bus | about 3 hours 30 minutes |
If you rely on public transport, build the day around its timetable rather than the other way round. Check the current timetable and fares with the local operators before you set out. Staying overnight near the mountain takes that pressure off the schedule.
Guides to Iwami Ginzan and Izumo Taisha are also on this site. If you would like more time around Mount Sanbe, browse places to stay around Oda.