Japan’s Yufuin is a small, picturesque town that is a fantastic getaway destination from the larger cities in Kyushu Island, such as Fukuoka and Oita.
Why visit? Yufuin town has plenty of shopping, good eats, pretty views, and cultural experience. It’s also one of the top places to relax and spend the night at the onsen (hot spring).
Justin and I had a chance to spend a full day plus an overnight at Yufuin and had a memorable experience.
Most of our family and friends haven’t visited this place, so we wanted to share our recommendation of the 11 incredible things to do in Yufuin. While many attractions are free to visit, some have an admission fee.
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Map
Click on the image to see a larger view of the places to visit in Yufuin. Credit: Map data: Google
1. First Stop – Visit the Yufu City Tourist Information Center.
We recommend starting your Yufuin trip by visiting the Tourist Information Center (由布市ツーリストインフォメーションセンターYUFUiNFO).
Located next to the Yufuin Station, it’s a beautiful two-story building with open windows, gorgeous Y-pillars, and wooden beams. It was designed by Shigeru Ban, a Pritzker Architecture Prize winner (a prestigious world’s architecture award).
What we love about this place is that you can stop by to ask the Customer Service representative questions about what to do in Yufuin, where to eat, and any other burning questions you may have.
You can also pick up a map of the town and tourist brochures. We picked up maps in English, but Chinese, Korean, and other languages are available.
Here, you can book unique rides to get to town – either a horse-drawn carriage or a Scarborough, a vintage British bus. Additional fees are required to take these transportation options.
On the second level, there is a large sitting area where you can relax, go people watching, or read one of the books from the extensive library.
Address: 8-5 Yufuincho Kawakita, Yufu, Oita 879-5114, Japan
2. Experience a free foot bath near Yufuin Station.
We’re huge fans of foot baths and hot springs and love how there is a free foot bath in the back of the Yufuin Confectionery Shop (ゆふいん菓子蔵 足湯).
It’s a public foot bath so you will share the warm water with other visitors.
Please remove your shoes and socks before placing your feet in the water.
All you need to have is to bring a towel or you can buy one from the souvenir shop.
Address: 3-3 Yufuincho Kawakita, Yufu, Oita 879-5114
3. Stay overnight at a ryokan with a hot spring (onsen).
Yufu City is one of the best hot spring towns in Japan.
It received a prestigious award of “National Health Onsen Resort” due to the 800+ hot spring sources and releasing 41,000 liters of water per minute in total. That is a lot of spring water!
If you have the extra time, consider staying overnight at a ryokan (guesthouse) with a hot spring.
Depending on the accommodation, public baths, public onsens, and private onsens may be available.
After spending the day walking around Yufuin or Yufu City, you’ll want to just soak in the hot mineral water and relax.
Ryokans will have either tatami mats or a Western-style bed to sleep on.
In addition, food may be included in the price. We highly recommend trying the kaiseki meal which is a multi-course meal highlighting the local cuisine and flavors of Yufuin.
Click here to see Yufuin accommodation options on Booking.com
Check availability for Yufuin on Agoda here
Our Recommendation
We stayed at Yufudake Ichibo no Yado Kirara for one night. Located on the hillside, it’s a 30-minute walk or less than a 10-minute drive from Yufuin Station. We loved our Western-style room with the private onsen included! The breakfast and dinner were also delicious and beautifully presented.
To learn more about this place:
Check out availability for Kirara here on Booking.com
Click here to see availability for Kirara on Agoda
4. Visit Kinrin Lake.
Kinrin Lake (金鱗湖) is one of the top highlights of Yufuin. Natural hot spring water flows into the lake. Early mornings have a beautiful scenery of mist rising from the lake. It’s free to visit the lake.
Walking around the lake takes less than 10 minutes. There are a few photo spots along the way.
Kinrin Lake is beautiful to visit in the mornings
One of the memorable photo spots is at Tenso Shrine (天祖神社). It’s a forest area with a view of a torii in the lake. Depending on the arrival time, you can see a pretty reflection of the torii in the water. We visited at 7:00am to see the water’s reflection.
The lake is 1.5 kilometers (.93 miles) from the Yufuin Station so it’s easy to walk here.
Justin enjoys the peaceful moments at Kinrin Lake
Address: 1561-1 Yufuincho Kawakami, Yufu, Oita 879-5102
5. Shop and eat your way through Yunotsubo Kaido – Yufuincho Kawakami.
Yunotsubo Kaido – Yufuincho Kawakami is where you’ll spend most of the time browsing boutique souvenir shops, buying confectionary sweets and snacks, and eating at cafes and restaurants.
We took this shot early in the morning before the crowds
If you like soft serve ice cream, many shops sell the delicious dessert. We went to Yufuin Soft Cream for matcha soft serve. Yum.
We stopped by a few snack places, so check out our post about where to eat in Yufuin here.
As with shopping, there are many places to check out. We went to multiple shops to browse, and here are some recommendations:
クラフト館 蜂の巣 – We saw two of these stores on the same street. It’s a beautiful store selling wooden handicrafts, trinkets, and household goods.
Address: 1507 Yufuincho Kawakami, Yufu, Oita 879-5102
Glass Forest Yufuin 由布院ガラスの森 – We loved the decoration in front of the store. It had a teddy bear in the driver’s seat of a car. The shop sells mini glass trinkets of animals and other shapes.
This yellow car with a teddy bear is a fun spot to take photos in Yufuin
Address: 1477-1, 1F Yufuincho Kawakami, Yufu, Oita 879-5102
6. Wander through the fairytale Yufuin Floral Village.
Many travel guides recommend visiting Yufuin Floral Village (湯布院フローラルビレッジ). It’s a mini replica of England’s Cotswold area like going to a Harry Potter world with the architecture. This place is free to visit.
It’s catered to children as there is a petting zoo such as goats, guinea pigs, and owls (additional admission cost is required). There is a section from “The Story of Heidi,” an animated movie, and plenty of shopping for Snoopy and Ghibli character merchandise.
We didn’t care for this tourist attraction as it was too crowded and narrow. The social media photos show whimsical buildings to take photos, but it is challenging to capture due to the crowds.
Yufuin Floral Village always has large crowds, so taking photos can be challenging
Address: 1503-3 Yufuincho Kawakami, Yufu, Oita 879-5102
7. Visit art museums.
Yufuin has two art museums to check out – Comico Art Museum and Yufuin Stained Glass Museum.
We recommend the Comico Art Museum for contemporary art. We spent an hour browsing through the artwork. Our favorites were Yayoi Kusama (known for her pumpkin paintings and sculptures with black dots) and Takashi Murakami’s artwork (known for the colorful smiling flowers).
Note: You cannot take photos of Yayoi Kusama’s art, but photos are okay everywhere else.
Read more about our experience at Comico Art Museum here.
Address: 2995-1 Yufuincho Kawakami, Yufu, Oita 879-5102
Yufuin Stained Glass Museum is recommended for those who love stained glass artwork. It has stained glass works from Europe and Harry Clarke, a famous stained glass artist from Ireland. We didn’t have a chance to visit so we’ll check it out next time!
Note: Unfortunately, you cannot take photos of the artwork.
Address: 2461-3 Yufuincho Kawakami, Yufu, Oita 879-5102
8. Go back in time with retro museums.
Prefer to see what life in Japan was like in the past? There are a couple of museums that may be of interest to you. We didn’t have a chance to visit these places, but snapped a few photos from the entrance area.
Retro Motor Museum (九州自動車歴史館) is best for travelers who love vintage cars and race cars. The front of the building has a few old cars on display.
Address: 1539-1 Yufuincho Kawakami, Yufu, Oita 879-5102
Yufuin Showa Museum (湯布院昭和館) is a fun museum where you can experience what life was like in the 1950s to 1960s. Wander through the exhibits to see retro posters, artifacts, and decor. This place is suitable for children to visit. Check out more on the website.
Yufuin Showa Museum Entrance
Address: 1479-1 Yufuincho Kawakami, Yufu, Oita 879-5102 (There is another sister museum in Takayama)
9. Climbing Mount Yufu (Bungo Fuji).
Mount Yufu, also known as Bungo Fuji or Mount Fuji of the Bungo area, is the most noticeable landmark in Yufu.
This cone-shaped mountain with 2 peaks is 1,584 meters (5,197 feet) high, so it’s doable to climb as a day hike. The hike will take 2-3 hours one way, so some training is required.
You’ll want to spend at least 2 days in Yufuin to dedicate a full day of hiking. Since we didn’t have enough time to hike Mount Yufu, we’ll do this on a return trip.
Read this Yufuin Hiking Map guide for details about the train and where to start the trail. It’s free to visit.
Check out these hiking posts from our site:
10. Take photos of rice fields and Mount Yufu.
For those who do not want to climb Mount Yufu, you can take beautiful photos of the mountain from Sangu Street.
It’s slightly outside the main tourist area and takes only a few extra minute of walking from Lake Kinrin area.
You’ll see many rice fields with Mount Yufu in the background, so choose your favorite spot to snap photos. Depending on your arrival time, you may get a reflection of Mount Yufu in the rice field waters.
Please do not enter the rice fields as these are private property.
We did a short run around Yufuin town and Justin loves the rice fields!
11. Visit shrines and temples.
If you have more time and want to explore slightly outside of the main tourist area, check out these shrines and temples. You can either walk to these places or get there by bicycle.
Unagihime Shrine (宇奈岐日女神社)
This tranquil shrine is also called Rokusho-gu or Rokusho-sama and it’s gorgeous with the tall cedar trees surrounding it. We were in awe at how peaceful this place was. It’s free to visit.
Unagihime Shrine is a slightly out of the main area, yet it’s beautiful to see in person.
According to the legend, Yufuin had a swamp with ruins of Yayoi and other periods, and eels were the spirits of the swamp and revered as ancient deities.
In the past, timber was collected from the shrine to build the Yusuhara Hachiman Shrine. There were a lot of trees planted around the shrine. But a huge typhoon struck down the cedar trees. The trees were around 600 years old and one stump has been enshrined since then.
You can still see the large stump to the right side of the shrine.
Address: 2220 Yufuincho Kawakami, Yufu, Oita 879-5102
Bussanji Temple (佛山寺)
This small Buddhist temple was established 1,000 years ago and was a popular place to worship in the area. It’s a spiritual place to walk around either inside or outside of the temple.
Bussanji Temple
Unfortunately, we didn’t have a chance to visit inside as it was closed when we passed by in the early morning. So we took a glance from the entrance area into the temple grounds.
Free to visit.
Address: 1879 Yufuincho Kawakami, Yufu, Oita 879-5102
Oogosha (Ogosya Shrine 大杵社)
There is a 1,000 year old cedar tree at this shrine. It’s considered one of the “important cultural property of Japan since 1934.” At 35 meters (114.8 feet) high and has a trunk with a perimeter of 13.5 meters (44 feet).
We didn’t have a chance to visit the shrine as we found out about it after we departed from Yufuin.
The shrine is free to visit.
Address: Yufuincho Kawaminami, Yufu, Oita 879-5103, Japan (Google Maps doesn’t have an address but it’s a 40 minutes walk south of Yufuin Station)
Final Thoughts
Which of these places or attractions do you want to experience in Yufuin?
We loved this small and charming town and it was a fantastic escape from the crowds of Fukuoka City. Exploring the Yufuin’s art scene and spending one night at the onsen were memorable parts of visiting Yufuin. We hope you get a chance to visit in the future.
If you have any questions about what to do in Yufuin, please ask in the comment section below.
Read our other blog posts about Yufuin here:
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