Winter Vacation 2016: Yufuin, Japan

The next morning, we pulled ourselves together and headed for brunch at Yoshizuka Unagiya (博多名代 吉塚うなぎ屋), which specializes in unagi (eel) dishes.  It was incredibly well seasoned and full of classically Japanese flavors.  The restaurant opens at 11AM, and while we couldn’t get a reservation, we were told that if we came and waited right when they opened, we could get a table.  When we arrived at 10:50, they were already open and had many tables seated!  We were able to get one right away at 11AM.

Eel and miso soup for breakfast. Really tasty!

Our bus to Yufuin left at 12:30, so we ended up timing things perfectly.  We had pre-purchased bus passes to use that allowed us to pre-reserve seats for all of our trips.  I highly recommend getting them, as they allow you to hop on and off the inner city buses as well all throughout the Northern Kyushu area!

What had been an overcast morning turned into a steady drizzle by the time we boarded out bus.  It made for a rather pretty ride though, creating rolling waves of mist and fog between mountain peaks.  I love the glimpses of traditional Japanese villages nestled into the crooks of mountains as well.

On the bus to Yufuin!

On the way out to Yufuin.  The fields are still brown as it's winter.

There were lots of heavy clouds and fog that day as well, though it made everything more picturesque!

After our two and a half hour bus ride, we finally reached Yufuin.  Oddly enough, it almost felt like we were back in Korea!  Located right across the sea from Busan, Fukuoka is a top tourist destination for many Koreans.  Yufuin is one of the most popular places to visit outside of Fukuoka City itself!  We slipped away from the main crowds and dropped our bags with a delivery service.  Free of luggage, we then began to explore the town.

Welcome to Yufuin!

Yufuin has become known for roll cakes, which are also popular in Korea.  We stopped for a quick bite in a quieter shop called Yufufu (ゆふふ), but soon many other patrons filtered in.  Actually, we found that any time we walked into an empty shop, others would see customers inside and follow suit.  We made a stop at a Studio Ghibli shop as well, but sadly photos weren’t allowed inside.  I managed to walk away with most of my spending money, buying only two small charms.
The rain picked up as we walked, and I eventually caved and bought an umbrella.  There’s a very cute side road that leads to the Yufuin Floral Village, which is a loop filled with many adorable themed shops, animals, and has a European feel.  Even in the rain it was quite charming.

Roll cake for everyone! 

Some shops on the (rainy) streets of Yufuin.

Croquettes (or croquetas) in Japan!?

Cold and now fairly soaked, we reached the area our hotel was in.  Right in front of our hotel we had read about a soba shop, so we stopped there for an early dinner.  The shop is simply listed as Towari Soba Nukukawa (十割蕎麦 温川) and is very tiny! There was only one other couple finishing up their dining as we entered, so we were initially worried about being a bit of an intrusion.  However, the owner was an incredibly kind and enthusiastic Japanese woman who was thrilled to have us.  She passionately explained to me the multiple ways to eat my soba: plain, dipped in a soy soup (that could be seasoned and spiced to taste), seasoned with Himalayan salt, or seasoned with a sulfuric salt that had a distinctly hard-boiled egg taste.  They specialize in hand-made buckwheat soba noodles, which you can see them making through a glass window that looks into the kitchen.

The inside of the soba shop--very tiny!  There were only four tables total.

My cold soba, which I dipped in hot soup.  Across the top in bottles: chili powder, pepper, Himalayan salt, and sulfuric salt.

J's noodles: hot soba!

Full and ready to warm up, we finally checked in at Nurukawa Onsen (ぬるかわ温泉).  Our room included a free booking of a private onsen (family hot spring room), so we scheduled that for 7PM and went up to our room to settle in.  The room itself was fairly simple, and classically Japanese in style.  A large traditional table with a tea set and chairs took up the center of the room, while the bedding was stored in the closets. 

Our tatami mat room, without the beds laid out.

In my yukata on the left and with the overcoat for winter on the right.

We made tea and relaxed for about an hour (flipping through the four available channels) until our private onsen was available.  We dressed ourselves in the provided yukata and gathered our toiletries before grabbing the key at the front desk.

                       

The private onsen has a quick changing area, where you can put your yukata and belongings in baskets.  This area has a sink, mirror, and hair dryer as well for when you finish bathing.  Inside the bathing area, the main room has a washing area as well as the hottest hot spring bath.  The hot spring we booked had both an indoor and an outdoor bath, so after washing up we began outside.  Even though it was still raining and quite cold, the outdoor bath was hot and refreshing. 

The indoor private bath.  The wooden box in the lower right pumped in water straight from the hot spring!

The outdoor bath, which wad fed by a burbling waterfall.  (Sorry it's so blurry and foggy, it was really dark!)

When we finally moved inside, we were adjusted enough that we could tolerate the indoor bath.  I was so pink by the time we got out!  Our booking was only for an hour, so soon we had to wash up and head back to return the key.  Walking back to the room didn’t feel anywhere near as cold this time, as we were still warmed up from the onsen!  We set up our beds, but realized we were both still quite hungry.  J braved the rain and cold to go on a snack run to the local Lawson store, and came back with a variety of drinks, chips, instant noodles, and candies.  Not a bad way to end the evening!

All the cold and rain made us a bit lazy about keeping things organized....

Ramen, udon, fruit gummies, flavored waters, and some other various chip/snack type things to nibble on.

Read about our next day in Kurokawa HERE!

Read about our day yesterday in Fukuoka HERE!