The weekend before last, one of my good English teacher friends and I decided to take a mini-trip to one of Miyazaki's neighboring prefectures, Oita, to explore, eat and generally check things out. There was tons to see and do, but by far, my favorite spot that we stopped by was Yufuin.
A tiny town about two and a half hours from Kadogawa, Yufuin is absolutely adorable. It's known all over Japan for it's amazing outdoor onsen, which are public hot spring baths. I was surprised to learn however that it also has an amazingly cool little downtown area. It reminded me of a Japanese Nevada City, CA. Yufuin is petite, but not lacking in character, chock full of hip little shops and natural beauty. Just make sure to get into town early, as most of the public onsen close at 3pm!
First stop in Yufuin was "Shoya no Yakata" onsen, located on a scenic hillside about ten minutes outside of Yufuin. The drive up was breath-taking, and we could even see the steam from the natural hot spring rising up from the site. The actual baths themselves are incredible. Since Shoya no Yakata sports a natural hot spring, we were basically bathing on the mountainside, in warm, milky blue water, surrounded by trees. It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences that I really tried to relish in the moment.
Next it was lunchtime. Julia and I visited Siesta, a organic/vegan cafe in downtown Yufuin, which serves vegan versions of traditional Japanese set meals, along with a nice little cup of coffee and a small dessert. Not to mention it was actually the cutest cafe I've ever seen.
After that, it was time for onsen #2, which was called Musoen. Another outdoor wonderland, we found ourselves with an view overlooking Yufuin town, the mountains, and the big open skies. The resort area was really beautiful as well. I can't get over just how scenic everything was. I think every four minutes I was just screaming, "Wow! I've died and gone to heaven!"
After that, we had a final stroll around downtown Yufuin before it was time to pack it in and head home. We had a lot of nice chats with friendly Oita folks and tried many, many free samples.
We were treated to a lovely Yufuin sunset as we drove our two and a half hour drive back to Miyazaki. I truly couldn't recommend Yufuin highly enough. Honestly, I wouldn't mind going back. There are still so many treats to try and so many onsen to relax in! Thanks for an amazing day Yufuin!
If you're planning on visiting Yufuin anytime soon, I used the Japan travel guide for information on places to visit and it was incredibly helpful.
Thanks for reading!
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