Yufuin

A hot spring town at the foot of Mount Yufu, with small shops lining Yunotsubo Street. Morning mist drifts over Lake Kinrin, and visitors arrive on the Yufuin no Mori sightseeing train and soak in outdoor baths at their ryokan.

Yufuin lies in Yufuin-chō, Yufu City, Oita Prefecture. It is a basin at the foot of Mount Yufu, about 25 km west of Beppu, and has one of the highest hot spring outputs in Japan. Unlike Beppu's 'Hells' and its large hotels, Yufuin has been led since the 1970s by several old ryokan. It has refused to build high-rises or large facilities, and its style combines rural, forest-set detached inns with small shops. This makes it one of the hot spring towns most favored by Japanese women travelers.

The main sightseeing area is Yunotsubo Street, about 1 km between Yufuin Station and Lake Kinrin, lined with general stores, dessert shops, and small art museums. Early-morning mist over Lake Kinrin, the Unagihime Shrine south of the station, and walks through the rice fields are classic sights. For a panoramic view of the basin, go to Nagirigadai on the mountainside to the east. For a secluded hot spring, try Tsukahara Onsen, or visit the old street of Yunohira Onsen to the southwest. For Lake Kinrin, Mount Yufu, and other sights, see the 'Beppu & Yufuin' entry.

The best season: early mornings from October to February are when fog is most likely, and November brings autumn foliage. Spring is good for climbing Mount Yufu when it turns green, and hot springs can be enjoyed all year round. Getting there: from Hakata Station, the JR limited express 'Yufuin no Mori' sightseeing train takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes (all seats are reserved, so book in advance), or a highway bus takes about 2 hours. From Beppu, a bus takes about 50 minutes. Plan to stay one night in a ryokan to enjoy outdoor baths and kaiseki meals, and one day is enough for daytime sightseeing. Note that daytime tour groups are large and the main street gets crowded, so walk early in the morning or in the evening. Most shops close around 5–6 p.m.

Top sights

• Yufuin Yunotsubo Street – The main street running from Yufuin Station toward Lake Kinrin, lined with gift shops, sweets, Kinsho croquettes and B-speak roll cakes, wi…
• Yufuin no Mori Train – A dark-green retro sightseeing limited express from Hakata to Yufuin, with wooden carriages, large windows, and onboard bento and sweets; o…
• Yufuin Floral Village – A village beside Yunotsubo Street modeled on England’s Cotswolds, where stone cottages house theme gift shops and petting areas for owls, h…
• Sagiridai Observation Point – A viewpoint on the mountain road from Beppu into Yufuin, overlooking the Yufuin basin and Mount Yufu; on autumn and winter mornings, a sea…
• Unagihime Shrine – Yufuin’s chief guardian shrine, an ancient shrine recorded in the Engishiki, with a large torii on the main street framing Mount Yufu and a…
• Shitan-yu Public Bath – A thatched-roof public bath beside Lake Kinrin, semi-open-air and mixed-gender, paid by coin box with no staff; one of Yufuin’s surviving o…
• Tsukahara Onsen Kakō-no-Izumi – A mountain hot spring at the foot of Mount Garan beside the Kakō crater, with strongly acidic, iron- and aluminum-rich water said to be Jap…
• Yunohira Onsen – An old mountain hot spring street about 12 km southwest of Yufuin, with a stone-paved slope laid in the Edo period along the Hanaawano Rive…

Where to eat

• Yamaga Ryōri Yunotakean – A mountain-village restaurant within the renowned inn Kameino Bessō, with a thatched roof and garden views, best known…
• Yufumabushi Shin Kinrinko Main Branch – A specialty shop for yufumabushi near Lake Kinrin, offering clay-pot rice with a choice of Bungo beef, eel or local chi…

Itineraries

• Fukuoka, Yufuin & Beppu Hot Spring Getaway – A short hot spring route starting and ending in Fukuoka, connecting Dazaifu, Yufuin, and Beppu entirely by rail and bus
• Northern Kyushu Road Trip: Yufuin, Aso & Takachiho – A loop starting and ending in Fukuoka without backtracking, passing through Beppu, Kokonoe, Kurokawa, Aso, Takachiho, a…
• Kyushu Rail Grand Loop (No Car) – A car-free loop around Kyushu: Nagasaki on the west, Aso in the center, Beppu and Miyazaki on the east, ending in Kagos…