A Day in Yufuin

Leaving Hakata

We had breakfast at the hotel that morning. Our Yufu 3 train was booked for 12:14 p.m., so we stayed until checkout time before leaving.

Back at Hakata Station, we collected our tickets from the counter.

If you buy your tickets through the official website, you will be directed to the Midori no Madoguchi ticket office. It is on the left before the ticket gates. Inside, I queued at the counter on the far left and followed the instructions. You need the credit card used for the booking, your passport, and the reservation number.

After entering the platform, we found the correct carriage position and queued according to the markings on the floor. It took us a little while to work them out.

The scenery along the journey is worth watching.

See the journey from Hakata to Yufuin on the Yufu 3

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Arriving at Yufuin Station

We spotted a gold-coloured train at the station.

We had not booked the hotel’s shuttle service, so our only option was to walk uphill. The journey took around 30 minutes.

We saw a horse-drawn carriage soon after setting off.

Further along the road, we passed a place that looked a little like a military camp.

The sun was strong and there were no clouds that day, so pulling our luggage uphill was tiring. The slope was manageable, though, even for my mother.

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Checking In at the Hotel

We stayed at Yufuin Besso Shikisai Hotel.

You can find the hotel on Google Maps:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/dGF6eYgU93tenVjg8

Read the Yufuin Besso Shikisai Hotel stay notes

After leaving our luggage at the hotel, we headed towards Yufuin’s best-known sight, Lake Kinrin.

Google Maps suggested a different route downhill. Fortunately, there were trees along the way that gave us some shade.

There appeared to be two ducks resting on rocks in the middle of the river. See if you can spot them.

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Lake Kinrin

After walking for around 15 to 30 minutes, we passed through this small path and finally arrived at Lake Kinrin.

To be honest, it is simply one lake. Google Maps makes it look as if there are several separate viewpoints, but they are all around the same place.

Here is the full view.

The evening light really did make the surface of the lake shimmer like fish scales.

There are one or two flashes on the left during the first few seconds of the video. The effect was clearer in person.

The water is shallow, and some of the larger fish create small hollows for themselves.

We also saw koi in the lake.

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Dinner Back at the Hotel

We saw some beautiful flowers on the walk back to the hotel. Flowers in Japan often seemed larger than the ones we usually see in Hong Kong.

We also passed an interesting-looking motor museum, although it appeared to be closed.

We had booked dinner at the hotel.

This was the dinner menu.

There was not much to do later that evening, so we walked back down the hill to explore.

On the way towards the station, we found a pachinko arcade with manga inside. We sat there for a while and read some of the comics.

There were very few street lights along the route, which made it a pleasant place to walk while looking at the stars.

I took this photo of the night sky from the hotel car park. It did not turn out perfectly, but it captured the quiet end to the day.