Yufuin was one the most anticipated destination in our trip. Especially the famous “Yufuin No Mori” Train ride and the traditional hot spring hotel. However, we have also made a huge mistake.
Day 3 Itinerary
- Fukuoka
- たんや Tanya
- Kushida Shrine
- Kawabata Shopping Arcade
- Yufuin
- Yufuin No Mori
- Yawaragi-no-Sato Yadoya
1st Stop： たんや Tanya x Pablo
Mouth-watering beef tongue with very economic price – our breakfast for day 3. Eating beef in the breakfast is really an awesome feeling. Since Big is a huge starch lover, she loved this restaurant as you can refill your rice for free. Even though there was a long queue for more than 10 people, we did not spend more than 10 minutes to wait.
Restaurant Information：
Address： 1-1 Hakataekichuogai, Hakata Ward, Fukuoka, 812-0012 Japan
Phone： +81 92-415-1114
Opening Hours： Everyday 07:00 – 22:00
After our breakfast, we bought a cheese tart in Pablo. It is a huge tart with a size close to Big’s hand and a scrumptious taste. The store is conveniently located inside the Fukuoka Station.
2nd Stop： Kushida Shrine
Originally we planned to go to Kushida Shrine on Day 2. Since we still have the whole morning and noon before the anticipated train journey “Yufuin No Mori”, so we decided to reschedule it to today.
For your information, this grand tutelary shrine of Hakata is widely known and people warmly refer to it as “Okushida-san.” It is dedicated to the gods of Ohatanushi-no-mikoto, Amaterasu-omikami and Susanowo-no-mikoto. According to tradition, in 757, when Emperor Koken was in the reign and Tairano Kiyomori designated Hakata port as a base of Japan-China trade, the shrine was built on the emperor’s order to share a god with Kushida shrine of Ise province (the present Mie prefecture).
It was a great destination for photo shooting. We are going to provide the shooting guide later on.
Infromation：
Address： 1-41 Kamikawabatamachi, Hakata Ward, Fukuoka, 812-0026 Japan
Phone： +81 92-291-2951
Opening Hours： Everyday 04:00 – 22:00
3rd Stop： Kawabata Shopping Arcade
Around 5-10 mins walk from Kushida Shrine, we went to the Kwabata Shopping Arcade. We highly recommend you to go to these two location consecutively in your itinerary as they are super close! There are various kinds of groceries, clothes and food shops in the street but not much restaurants here. We saw most visitors are locals and not many tourist.
Information：
Address：10 Kamikawabatamachi, Hakata Ward, Fukuoka, 812-0026 Japan
Fee: Free Entry
Opening Hours：Everyday, opening hours varies for different stores
Official Website (including transportation information)：https://kawabatadori.com/tw/about-cn/
4th Stop：Yufuin-No-Mori
Time to talk about the biggest mistake we made in this trip, that is: miscalculating the time for reservation of seats of Yufuin No Mori.
Yufuin No Mori (Mori) is a very popular excursion. There are three trains a day, 2 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon and the JR Kyushu Pass includes the ticket for Mori. The reservation of seats are available only 3 days before the departure date and you must go in-person to the JR service counter for reservation. We planned to took Mori on day 3 while we arrived in the evening on day 1. Although we rushed to the counter, we could not reserve seats for the morning trains so we could only take the afternoon train at the end.
Why are Yufuin No Mori so well-liked?
- The Mori is designed beautifully with the vintage vibes. From the wooden tiles, classic interior and seat details and are so delicately designed.
2. You will experience perfect service on the train. Even the uniform design of the staff is unique and different from other routes.
3. The scenic journey takes around 2 hours for you to admire the fields, gardens and mountains. Along the journey, you will see the Minou Mountains when traveling between Kurume and Hita.
4. You can enjoy an extraordinary experience ranging from the Japanese style service to the exclusive food and drinks served on board.
5. The duration of the train is just right, not too long or not too short. Unlike the scenic trains in Europe that we took before, Mori gave you sufficient time to admire the scenic fields as well as keeping it not too long to avoid ‘aesthetic fatigue’.
5th Stop：Yawaragi-no-Sato Yadoya
Kyushu is famous for its hot spring. Therefore, we decided to spend one in one of the most luxury hot spring hotel. We would write another detail hotel guide for further explanation. Let’s start with a brief introduction.
Address
It is located a bit far from the JR station (around 15 mins walk) . No shuttle bus or transportation directly to hotel. You can either walk or take a taxi. The hotel is still located conveniently close to the Yunotsubo Kaido and Lake Kinrin (both are 7-8mins walking distance).
Price
$3000 HKD For one night，Breakfast and Dinner are included . The quality of hot spring and the food are extraordinary. We believe the price is very reasonable for the whole package offering.
Meals
The breakfast and dinner is amazing. For breakfast, we had mini version of Kaiseki. For dinner (Please see the picture below), we have Kaiseki and Sukiyaki Beef.
Hot Spring
There is an area for bath and shower. There is also a smaller public hot spring that opens till midnight. Guest can enjoy two session (each 50 mins) of private room of hot spring. The hot spring area is designed with high privacy and traditional Japanese Garden style. We highly recommend the hot spring.
We would write another detail hotel guide for further explanation.
Hotel Information：
Address：2717-5 Yufuincho Kawakami, Yufu, Oita 879-5102 Japan
Booking Website：Hotels.com | Expedia | Agoda
Other blog post for this Japan journey：
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