What to do in Yufu

Activities, attractions and tours
Yufu
Yufu
Yufu
Yufu
Yufu

Yufu Tourist Attractions & Activities

If you’re searching for an exciting holiday, count on Expedia.com.au to help you find interesting attractions, enlightening experiences, and tons of other fun things to do in Yufu AU$52. From first-rate tours to incredible deals on sightseeing trips – our extensive selection of local things to do and places to visit is just a few clicks away.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re travelling alone, alongside your main squeeze, or with your favourite friends or family members, Expedia has the inside scoop on what to see and do while in this corner of the world. And our search tool makes it simple to score the best deals around. So regardless of if you are on a tight budget or prefer to spare no expense, you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for by browsing over 10 activities in Yufu, Oita Prefecture.

The intuitive booking system here on Expedia.com.au makes planning your holiday easier—and more affordable—than ever before. And not only can you discover all the best Yufu attractions from AU$52, but you can also book flights, hire cars, and reserve hotel rooms all in just a few moments. A world of wonder awaits you and your travelling companions. Count on Expedia.com.au to help you plan the holiday of your dreams, and you’ll have the time of your life.


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Top places to visit

1. Kinrin Lake

When mist creates a cloud over the surface of the warm water, Kinrin Lake seems like a portal to another world, suffused with a potent magic. Fed by a volcanic spring at its base and other springs whose cooler streams pour in, the lake stays warm year round with the same geothermal energy that feeds the onsen baths throughout Yufuin. Knowing how it works doesn’t make it any less magical in early morning, when the contrast between hot water and cold air creates the lake’s signature fog. Start the day here to be full of the relaxing energy that makes Yufuin such a popular destination.
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The picturesque emblem of Yufuin, this geothermal lake has a remarkable beauty that is best appreciated when the air is chilly.

2. Mount Yufu

Yufuin’s natural protector, Mount Yufu, is one of the town’s most distinctive sights with its camel-backed peak. The perfect backdrop for camera shots of Yufuin’s main street, Mount Yufu is also a great place for hiking. The walk is rather long, at 5 miles (8 kilometers), taking about 4 or 5 hours round-trip. Do the moderate hike relatively easily with a basic level of fitness and strong motivation.
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A long hike up the volcano pays off, both from the beauty of the walk and the stunning sea and valley views from the peak.

3. Yufuin Stained Glass Museum

Everything in the Yufuin Stained Glass Museum, from the bricks to the furniture, was imported from Europe. Japan’s first full-scale stained-glass museum is a celebration both of this distinctly European art form and of European culture more generally, perfect for a town modeled on the continent’s spa towns. Visit for the art and the pleasing cultural dissonance.
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Soft light streaming through colored windows suggests the north of England, but this museum is in the thoroughly Japanese neighborhood of Yufuin.

4. Showa Retro Park

Although the Showa Retro Park is a blast from the past, in many ways it celebrates change. It is seemingly dedicated to the entire Showa Period, during the reign of Emperor Hirohito, from 1926 to 1989. In particular it celebrates the Showa 30s (1955-1965), an era of radical shifts in Japanese history.
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Japan of the 1950s is reproduced in remarkable detail in a museum celebrating the daily life of a recently passed era.

5. Bussanji Temple

With its heavy thatched roof, Bussanji Temple announces its heritage at first glance. Though the history is hazy, legend says that a monk founded the shrine more than a thousand years ago after receiving an oracle at Kirishima Shrine, at the southern end of the island. He carved a statue of Kannon bodhisattva and placed it on Mount Yufu, where a monastery grew up around it. There it remained until the late 16th century, when an earthquake brought the statue down to the valley and the people of Yufuin built a temple where it fell. Sense the deep spirituality of the space, which has been a center of religious life in the village for a very long time.
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Set in a shaded forest, this 16th-century temple with a long history offers relaxation and meditation to visitors of any faith.

6. Norman Rockwell Yufuin Museum

Yufuin may not be the most obvious place to celebrate midcentury American illustration, but the Normal Rockwell Yufuin Museum serves this role quite nicely. The art here is made up of private works owned by several Yufuin families, who saw captured in the illustrations a common sensibility.
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Best known for his covers of the Saturday Evening Post, a great American illustrator is the subject of this small but enthusiastic collection in Japan.

7. Yufuin Retro Motor Museum

The founder of Yufuin Retro Motor Museum, a town local, has amassed quite an impressive collection of motor vehicles. With a collection of 70 cars, 30 motorcycles, tricycles, small airplanes and retro buses, he is one of the region’s biggest amateurs and opened the museum in 1988. Get a sense both of his own idiosyncratic tastes and the history of Japan’s mechanized transport at a museum right off Yufuin’s main street.
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Examples of some of the world’s best-known sports cars appear alongside motorcycles, a bus and even a few small planes in this private collection.

What to do in Yufu


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Yufuin Onsen

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Unique features of Yufuin Onsen include the hot springs and lake views. Make a stop by Yufuin Stained Glass Museum or Kyushu Yufuin Folk Village while you're exploring the area.

Yufuin Onsen

 

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