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Spend Time in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Town in Oita, Japan

If there’s one thing I could do over from our recent trip to Japan, it would be to spend more time here in Yufuin. We stayed just one night in February and it was too short to appreciate a place with as much charm as Yufuin.

Yufuin is a small onsen community in Oita prefecture, just ten kilometers inland from Beppu, a much larger and more developed onsen city. Surrounded by mountains, there are no tall buildings here. Instead, it has a wealth of boutiques, cafes, and art museums in a laid back, idyllic atmosphere. Apart from bathing in its hot springs, travelers come to Yufuin to aimlessly stroll about, perusing its many artisanal curiosities and enjoying the town’s relaxing vibe.

That’s exactly what we did in the half day we got to spend in Yufuin. The thing is, we enjoyed it so much I wish we had time to do more of it.

Where to Stay: Ryokan Kotonokashin

Yufuin is a popular onsen town so there are plenty of ryokans and hotels to choose from. We stayed at Ryokan Kotonokashin, a lovely ryokan with two kashikiri or private onsen baths. If you’d like to soak with your significant other and/or have a tattoo, then a private hot spring bath is the way to go. We booked through Agoda and paid USD 96.45 to stay a night here in February 2017 without breakfast. You can check out my post on Ryokan Kotonokashin for more pictures and booking information.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Yunotsubo Kaido Shopping Street

Soon as we checked in to our ryokan, we went out to do some exploring. We cut through this street to get to Yunotsubo Kaido, which is the main strip here in Yufuin. Yufuin is a small town with just two or three major streets.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Yunotsubo Kaido is a long street with boutiques, cafes, and food stands on either side. This place is rife with charm.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

A Snoopy matcha stand
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

It was drizzling that afternoon so there’s Reneelicious withh a parasol. The town is charming enough as it is but it was misty when we were there too, making it even more enchanting. Based on what I’ve read online, it seems to be misty a lot in Yufuin. I don’t mind.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Many shops here sell sweets and dairy products. This place was selling all kinds of delicious-looking cheese pastries and desserts.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

In this beautiful building was a store selling handcrafted goods.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

You can’t get fresher OJ than that!
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

We don’t usually bother with shops when traveling but many of the stores in town were so interesting. They felt like artisanal boutiques that sold one-of-a-kind gift items. This shop, as you can probably tell from the signs, carried unique pet-inspired products.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Like these lamps shaped like dogs wearing vests. Cute right?
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Nothing much to see here, just a teddy bear driving a tiny yellow car.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Yufuin is located on a flat river basin surrounded by mountains, most notable of which is the twin-peaked Mt. Yufu. Being an onsen town, you could see steam clouds rising from hot spring sources in the mountains. It was a beautiful sight.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

There are no tall buildings in Yufuin to obstruct your view. Just traditional Japanese houses and snow-capped mountains all around. ♥
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

We didn’t have much time in Yufuin so we quickly breezed through everything. If I could do it over again, we would stay two nights. That would give us enough time to explore the area and check out interesting spots like this samurai museum.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

This looked really cool too. We didn’t have time to go in but I think it was a museum for vintage paraphernalia. I would have loved to spend a couple of hours here!
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Cups made with ♥
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Doesn’t this shop look cute? It was closed at the time but I think they sold handcarved wooden toys.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

The light rain made it harder to take photos but it did make for a magical atmosphere.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Yufuin Floral Village

In the middle of town is this magical little enclave called Yufuin Floral Village. It has a cat cafe and petting zoo and appears to have been inspired by Alice in Wonderland.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Yufuin Floral Village looks straight out of a fairy tale.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

As described, Yufuin is an onsen town so there are many hot spring resorts here. You’ll find these hot foot baths as well. I don’t remember if this was free or not but you can take off your shoes and soak your feet in the mineral-rich hot spring water.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

I told you this place was inspired by Alice in Wonderland. We stopped at this cat cafe to warm up with coffee and play with some beautiful felines.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Isn’t this place cool? For JPY 780, you can get a drink and play with pussies all day.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

I don’t know much about cats but the ones they had here were stunning. I think they’re Bengal cats? They look like little ocelots or bobcats. Gorgeous!
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

You can have your pick of beverage from this machine.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Most of the cats at the cafe were chestnut-colored, except for this little fella. He or she was more silvery white with stripes, like an albino tiger.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

They had hedgehogs here too! I didn’t see anyone taking them out so I’m not sure if you can play with them.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Aside from the cat cafe, there’s a petting zoo and an an owl forest here as well.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

I’m not sure how I feel about these owl cafes/zoos. Exploding in popularity since the Harry Potter movies, you can pay a fee to interact with owls. As far as I know, all owls are nocturnal so I don’t know how much of an effect these human interactions have on them. I’m assuming it can’t be too good so as tempting as it is, we choose to stay away.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Squirrels and farm animals though are a different story. For JPY 100, you can buy these little globes of food that you can feed to the little critters.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Cute litte wabbits. ♥
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Yufuin Floral Village is a magical place. If you’re quiet enough and approach slowly, then a faerie may just let you take her picture.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Lake Kinrinko

One of Yufuin’s most popular landmarks is Lake Kinrinko. It’s located at the end of Yunotsubo Kaido so you can continue there after exploring the shops.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Such a lovely atmosphere here. I think many of these buildings were ryokans.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Here’s Lake Kinrinko. Around the lake are walking paths and a few small shops and cafes. There’s a small shrine located at the lake’s southern end as well. If you’d like to soak in an onsen, then there’s a public hot spring here called Shitanyu which foreigners can use for JPY 200.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

That building is in every picture of Lake Kinrinko but I don’t know what it is. See the shrine to the right of it?
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Where to Eat

It was already past noon when we arrived in Yufuin from Nagasaki, so we were pretty famished by the time we got to Yunotsubo Kaido. Japanese food was the only thing on our minds at that point so we walked around looking for the best places to eat. It wasn’t hard. We just had to look for the stalls with the long lines.

Bakudan Yaki Hompo Oita Yufuin Restaurant

We were looking for a famous croquette stand when we came across this place. People were lining up for their bakudan-yaki which is like a giant takoyaki ball without octopus. They’re typically 8 cm in diameter and are filled with all sorts of ingredients like shrimp, squid, corn, cabbage, and mushroom. The name bakudan-yaki translates to “grilled or fried bomb”.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

They offer many types of bakudan-yaki here, ranging between JPY 370-490 each.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

I don’t remember what kind we got but it was delicious. Topped with bonito flakes, it really was like eating a giant takoyaki ball. I didn’t realize it at the time but Bakudan-yaki Honpo is a popular bakudan-yaki chain with branches throughout the country.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Yufuin Kinsho Croquettes Restaurant

This was the croquette restaurant we were looking for. I had read it was popular so we made sure to look for it. As you can see, there was a long line of people waiting here as well.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

They have many different types of korokke or Japanese croquettes, each around JPY 180 if I remember correctly.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

This one had octopus or squid I think. It was really good.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

This one had crab. It was good too but not as good as the other one. Korokke is coated with panko breadcrumbs so they’re super crispy.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Yufumabushi Shin Ekimae

This was where we had dinner. Yufumabushi Shin Ekimae is a mabushi specialty restaurant located close to the train and bus stations.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Hitsumabushi is an eel dish that’s a specialty of Nagoya in Aichi. It entails eating eel in three different ways. If you love eel like we do, then you have to try this. It’s so good. You can check out my post on Yufumabushi Shin Ekimae for more pictures and information.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Along Yunotsubo Kaido, a lady was shredding squid with a machine and packing them into bags. I love squid so we picked up a pack to munch on while walking around. It was delicious.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

We didn’t try it but this honey shop was super popular too. People were lining up for their honey soft serve ice cream.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

Onsen

People go to Yufuin mainly to soak in an onsen. This was one of two private hot spring baths at Ryokan Kotonokashin. It’s beautiful right? The other one was made with concrete and tile so we chose this one. For just JPY 150 each, you can have up to three one-hour sessions in their onsens. This was our first onsen experience and we fell in love with it, so much so that I think we’ll be looking for it on every winter trip to Japan. Soaking in an onsen just makes you feel so amazingly good after. You can refer to my post on Ryokan Kotonokashin for more information.
Spend the Night in Yufuin, a Charming Onsen Resort in Oita, Japan

As described, an overnight stay wasn’t enough to fully appreciate Yufuin, especially since we arrived a little past noon. If we could do it over, we would stay for two nights. That would have given us enough time to really explore the place. I would have loved to spend more time in the shops and check out the museums as well. From what I understand, there’s a Marc Chagall museum here along with a few other art galleries. I don’t know how its art community came to be but the place reminded me of a Japanese version of Carmel in California. It has the same vibe.

Being an onsen town, Yufuin is known for its hot springs but it has so much more to offer than that. If you ever find yourself exploring Kyushu, then I suggest spending a couple of days here. You’ll love it. ♥

HOW TO GET THERE:

Assuming you’re already in Kyushu, then you can get to Yufuin by train or by highway bus.

BY TRAIN: You can check Hyperdia to learn how to get to Yufuin by train from wherever you are. Just enter “YUFUIN” as the destination.

BY BUS: You can refer to the Kyushu Highway Bus reservation site to learn how to get to Yufuin by highway bus. Just select “Oita” as the arrival prefecture. In our case, we were coming from Nagasaki so the trip took about 3 hours and cost JPY 4,110. Our bus didn’t take us to Yufuin directly but dropped us off at Yufuin Interchange which is about a 10-minute cab ride from town. If you’re on the Kyushu Highway Bus reservation site and can’t find “Yufuin” as an arrival bus stop, then be sure to select “Yufuin Interchange”. It’ll drop you off near a highway rest stop where you can call a cab to take you into Yufuin town.

It’s important to keep in mind that highway buses in Japan require advanced reservations, so I suggest purchasing a ticket from the Kyushu Highway Bus reservation site to guarantee yourself a seat. You can reserve as early as 30 days before your trip. Be sure to bring the ticket printout with you as you won’t be allowed to board without it.

Found this article useful? Help us help other travelers by sharing it!

hayden

Wednesday 12th of February 2020

HI, do I need to stay in the ryokan to enjoy the private onsen? Can public use the private onsen?

JB & Renée

Saturday 15th of February 2020

Hi Hayden, I think that depends on the ryokan. You may have to go from ryokan to ryokan to ask. Sorry I couldn't give you a more definitive answer.

Melanie Putra

Wednesday 28th of August 2019

Hi!

At the end of November we will be doing the first night at Kurokawa Onsen then catch the bus to Yufuin. Should we spend more hours at Kurokawa or Yufuin? In Kurokawa we won’t be doing any onsen hopping since our ryokan in the center of town has onsens. Just interested to walk around the shops and riverside. In Yufuin will do Lake Kinrin, Yufuin Floral Village & the shopping street. Arriving into Kurokawa Onsen at noon and departing Yufuin as late at 5pm. Hoping to get some feedbacks from you..

Tq, Mel

JB & Renée

Thursday 29th of August 2019

Hi Mel, as much as we loved Kurokawa Onsen, there's actually more to see and do in Yufuin. It's a bigger town with more shops, restaurants, and cafes so you'll probably want to spend more time there. Hope that helps and enjoy your trip!

Esther Teo

Monday 29th of July 2019

Hi, I am planning a trip to Yufuin in October and would like to know how did you travel to Yufuin?

I will be staying at Hakata and will be taking a train down, currently finding out the fastest train to get to Yufurin.

JB & Renée

Monday 29th of July 2019

Hi Esther, we took a highway bus from Nagasaki to Yufuin. It was fast and very comfortable. Plus, it's cheaper than trains and may actually be faster. Hope that helps. :)

Lizzie

Monday 22nd of July 2019

Thank you for sharing! Now I'm determined to extend my stay in Yufuin to 2 nights! :)

JB & Renée

Monday 22nd of July 2019

You're welcome Lizzie! We enjoyed Yufuin. We'll definitely go back. :)

Nitin Khanna

Tuesday 13th of June 2017

Pictures are amazing and it gives me a reason to visit at Charming Onsen Town .

Great one! Thanks.