04/03/2025
1.5 hr car ride or 2+ hr express train ride (Yufuin-no-Mori) is Yufuin, Ōita. An onsen (natural hot mineral spring) town with streets lined with food & vendor stalls. There’s Lake Kinrin that's famous, supposedly reminiscent of Spirited Away, with morning mists in the winter. There were very few clean bathrooms & garbage containers!
We also hit Yufuin Floral Village with tiny cottages modeled after Cotswolds, England used for gift shops & cafes. Reminds me of the shops they have at RenFaire in Tuxedo, NY.
Highlight was this cute cafe that charged 1,500¥ ($10) for awesome matcha lattes, towel, and use of their piping hot foot bath.
We got those the Yufuin Station an hour early (it's a 25 min walk) so we ended up at Daiso & the supermarket that was around the corner. The train station does have a good view of Mt. Yufu with its double peaks. Although we saw the art room, we didn't realize until after was the free hot spring foot bath behind platform 1.
Although it was a pleasant afternoon, I found it too touristy. Unless you got a lot of time, really love onsens (in top 3 of Japan's medicinal natural springs) or want to hike, I'd give this Instagram popular place a skip.
