Yufuin is a small, popular tourist village, we found by accident. The streets are full of little shops with ryokans just outside of them. While staying here, we experienced one of the best meals of our lives, sukiyaki!
DINK Details
Deets: - Population: 3200+ - Vibe: Rural but bustling | Train: - 2.5 hour Fukuoka - 1 hour Beppu |
Plan Ahead: - Reserve a Ryokan, stay overnight¹ - Dinner reservations | Town Highlights: Ryokans, Onsen, Shopping, Korean Tourism, Mount Yufu, Lake Kinrin |
1. Most shops and cafes close by early afternoon.
Sukiyaki is fantastic! No wonder they wrote a song about it.
Why Yufuin
Z and I were looking for somewhere to stay as a way to prolong our journey through Kyushu. After the mad dash from Tokyo to Yakushima, we wanted to take our time. We had a friend we could meet in Beppu so we decided to look for something nearby.
Yufuin seemed to fit what we were looking for: a charming and WALKABLE rural village with small inns, food, and hiking. We realized when we got there that this destination was quite popular with South Korean tourists who have been visiting for years. So much so, that many signs were in Korean as well as Japanese.
Things to Do
Shopping & Food Stalls
There are a surprisingly large number of small shops, charming cafes, and food stands. If you love a theme, this is the place for you. One of the main highlights is Yufuin Floral Village, an outdoor area full of little shops styled like the Cotswold region of the UK. There is even a small petting zoo.
Some of the themed shops we saw were: cats (literally everything was cats), everything dogs, Moomin, Studio Ghibli, and Heidi. There were many themed cafes as well (such as an Owl Cafe).
BE WARNED: most places open around 10am and close by early evening 4:30-5pm latest.
Onsen
Most ryokans have an onsen for guests and offer passes to day visitors. See the stay section for our experience.
Nature
The town is in a beautiful valley. It is hard to walk a couple of streets without ending up over a cute river or across a field. Located at the end of the main street, Lake Kinrin is the crown jewel of the little town along with Mt. Yufu. There are many hiking and walking paths for visitors to enjoy.
Hiking Mount Yufu
Next to the town is Mount Yufu with many trail options. We hiked on day 2 which you can read about in: Mount Yufu: A Land of Frost and Ghosts
Stay
Yawaragi-no-sato Yadoya
Our first true ryokan experience was in Yufuin. We stayed at Yufuin Yawaragi-no-sato Yadoya for two nights. I know I am biased but there was no better place. While our room was small without much of a view, the rest of the ryokan’s facilities more than made up for that fact. Like most ryokans, we were given slippers and yukatas to wear on the inn’s grounds.
Our Onsen
Yawaragi-no-sato Yadoya houses a public indoor onsen (one for men and one for women). In addition, there were 3 private outdoor and 1 private indoor baths that could be reserved by guests for 50 minute sessions. We reserved two sessions in the private outdoor baths during our stay. They were beautiful!
Bites and Sips
Yawaragi-no-sato Yadoya
In true ryokan style, Yawaragi-no-sato Yadoya provided breakfast and dinner.
We decided to do dinner for one of our two nights so we could explore. Z and I still think of this meal as one of the best we’ve eaten in our lifetime. This was our first time trying sukiyaki (a Japanese hot pot dish of meat and vegetables cooked in a savory broth and dipped in raw egg).
As for breakfast, I think the pictures say it all. We learned the joy of a raw egg on rice with soy sauce. We dream of this egg when we are not in Japan. This is a MUST!!!
YunotakeAn
Location: https://goo.gl/maps/bFedapViF7LiM6Y97
This restaurant located in another ryokan close to Lake Kinrin offered a variety of regional dishes. The highlight being homemade ginger ale with real, local ginger.
BAR Yamaneko (mountain cat)
Location: https://goo.gl/maps/iHL9CFBCVL8ntapt9
After dinner, we stumbled upon an older outbuilding belonging to the inn. The upstairs had been converted into an empty bar (yay) where the polite bartender informed us it was once a sake brewery from the Edo period.
With the bar to ourselves, he recommended we sit at a table facing the windows so that we could admire the garden which was lit up at night by a series of spotlights. He offered to make a drink with fresh strawberries. It was like something out of a dream.
Note: During the day this is a cafe / tea house called Sabo Tenjo Sajiki. At night the bar opens up for cocktails.