Tottori Sand Dunes

Hi.
Will be visiting the sand dunes in June.

1) How many hours should we allocate for a visit to the dunes (excluding the sand museum) ?

2) Is the Umanose Dunes the 'top' of the dune and the best place to be at for good views ?

3) Is it recommended to walk up the dunes or take the chair lift ?
I read on this website that there are good views from the Sakyu Centre, what building is that ?

4) As we have a car, would it be better to park it near the west or east entrance ?

5) I see from a tourist map that there is a 'pear picking street' near the sand museum; anyone knows what is this street ?
Are there literally pear trees along the street for tourists to pick pears freely ?

Thanks.

1) How many hours should we allocate for a visit to the dunes (excluding the sand museum) ?

The average tourist spends 20-60 minutes on the dunes themselves.

2) Is the Umanose Dunes the 'top' of the dune and the best place to be at for good views ?

Yes, by far. The typical tourist just makes a round trip there and back. The above estimated time spent is based on that thought.

3) Is it recommended to walk up the dunes or take the chair lift ?

The chairlift does not go up the dunes. It stands next to the dunes and leads up a hill. There is no need to take it.

I read on this website that there are good views from the Sakyu Centre, what building is that ?

If you actually walk the dunes, I don't think there is a need to additionally go to the Sakyu Center:
https://www.google.co.jp/maps/@35.5414058,134.2387652,3a,75y,286.86h,8...

4) As we have a car, would it be better to park it near the west or east entrance ?

It is best to park in this area:
https://www.google.co.jp/maps/@35.5435423,134.2368895,189m/data=!3m1!1...

Thanks very much Uji.

Incidentally, I see some photos showing local tourists wearing some sort of 'boots' presumably to prevent the sand from getting into their shoes when walking on the dunes.
Are those 'boots' available for rent at the information centre or ?

Thanks.

The Fukube pear picking road is a road lined with pear farms. If you go to the Sand Museum gift shop, there is a tourist information centre where you can ask for a map detailing the various pear farms. We visited the following orchard:
https://www.japanhoppers.com/en/chugoku/tottori_kurayoshi/kanko/1923/
The following page gives you a discount on the entrance fee:
http://www.mikaen.jp/nasigari/coupon.html

For the entrance fee you can pick up to four pears and eat them in the orchard. But for two of us, we could only managed one each (they were large pears). When left, we said "goodbye" to the proprietor and she gave us two more pears to take with us.

Are those 'boots' available for rent at the information centre or ?

I do not see boots would be needed for the dune. I did the climb just wearing sneakers, no issue at all. I assume boots/ rubber boots would make the climb awkward.

You don't need to wear boots if you go to the building with the shoe washing faucet. They have a washing faucet with mat to rub sand off outside that is designated for you to wash your shoes off outside of the building on the hill where the lifts are, not the museum building itself but the second building with the lifts (where you go to get onto the lifts, which also includes a restaurant and souvenir shop) is where the shoe washing area is.

Thanks v much everyone for the information.

Good to know about the shoe washing faucet.

Incidentally, I think June is not the season for pear picking yet ?
The site seems to suggest from end July onwards.
Wonder what fruits are in season when we are in Tottori....

As for the Sakyu Center, it's basically a large restaurant/souvenir shop on top of the hill above the Sand Museum. The views of the sand dunes aren't anything great since it's partially obscured by the electrical wires and poles that run along the main street below.
The chairlift was also extremely underwhelming. It basically takes you across the street and you get off at the start of the dunes, so don't expect some grand panoramic view. Save your yen and get a pear ice cream instead!

Thanks Shawn.

I read in a brochure that the night view of Tottori city in the West Sand Dunes is very popular.
Where exactly is this spot ?
How far is it by car from the Karoichi seafood market ?

Thanks.