Kyushu 2023 - Yufuin Train to Beppu

When the time arrived, we made our way inside the Yufuin station platform. It was a quiet train station, so not many people around. Our train was the yellow one parked there. It was a short train, maybe just 2 or 3 carriages. 

Above is the Yufuin station sign. Isn't it cute and unique? I wouldn't have noticed it if I didn't have so much time on my hands! Lol. One of the great joy of my travel plan, is having a lot of time on hand to just be bored and look at everything! These are the small things and moments that made my trip worth while too! I don't like to rush with just a check-list to tick off. I like to linger, and wander, and just be.

Ok, time to board the yellow train! Yellow submarine on tracks!

It's a one ma diesel train! Looks like a retro train. 

My ticket. Looks like I was still paying for my ticket instead of utilising  my JR Pass....

A view of our seats. There is a reason I took this photo. When I'm traveling via train, I like to know whether the seats are wide enough for my luggage to fit with me, cause I don't like to put my luggage at the luggage storage area, or over the head compartment. So if you are researching on your next trip in Japan and happens to want to know how wide the seats are, I hope you find my photo useful for your planning!

The one man diesel train captain room. I also love this shot. I am not a train nerd, but for some reason, I love travelling on train. I think it's a very old fashion romantic way of travelling. Slow and steady, with a lot of time on hand. And somehow, I've ended up on a lot of train on my trip in Kyushu! 

Got to have snacks when you're on the train! Since this is just a short to our next destination Beppu, we didn't get a bento box. We got snacks to munch along the way instead :) Above is a traditional brown sugar  snack. 

Me with the yellow train :P

Me on the platform with the cute yellow train again :P 

I like this photo, cause it also have my cute luggage in the shot! Haha. 

Off to Beppu!

Kyushu 2023 - Yufuin Breakfast, Checking Out to Yufuin Station Library

 

Next morning, I woke up early to enjoy a nice hot green tea while catching the sunrise.

My breakfast: Onigiri rice ball which we got from the nearby Aeon MaxValue supermarket, as well as some Japanese strawberries. Super value for money breakfast. I like eating like this when I'm travelling. I like eating the local food that doesn't cost a bomb, instead of dining at some fancy breakfast cafe or fast food joint. Having my first meal like this allows me to relax in the room first thing in the morning, instead of searching for a place and queuing for food outside. Plus, I can eat in my sleeping clothes!

We were checking out, and it seems a lot of people were also checking out early in order to make use of the free transport to the train station that the ryokan provided. (hmmm, maybe they provide this service to encourage guest to leave early so that they can clean the room!). Since we have to wait our turn, we hung around the lobby and found some interesting reading materials about the places around here. Unfortunately they are all in Japanese! I had wanted to go to the nearby lake in the morning, but my husband was having none of those 20mins plus 20mins walk before checkout time :P

A local map of the area we were staying at. Perhaps I could have stayed an extra night to enjoy the nature around the place, instead of wasting half a day visiting the Floral Village....

View of the train station where we were dropped off. Looked kinda like a modern cowboy town!

They even have horse carriage ride you could take around the town. 

Left side, the train station, and right side is where all the tourist shops start. It was a rather quiet town, so not much cars on the road. I would say more people than cars on the road.

But on my list of things to do, was actually to visit the free library right next to the train station. Above is the view of the 2nd floor of the library. Isn't it a nice place to sit and wait for your train? We were there rather early, so we sat here until it was time to head down to the station. There are books to read in the library, as well as free wifi! There is also a luggage storage counter at the ground floor. It was almost a pity there were no cafe here. 

This photo was taken inside the library, from the 2nd floor looking towards the train track. So you could actually see when your train pulls into the library! I thought the yellow train there was rather nice looking and provided contrast to this photo. It was actually our train out of Yufuin!

Sitting area inside the library 2nd floor looking towards the town side.

The library with books, everything wooden, and lovely ceiling design. Actually, the whole library was beautifully designed! Highly recommended that you stop by if you have time to spare while waiting for your train. 

Kyushu 2023 - Yufuin Mebaeso Ryokan Dinner

A Japanese ryokan booking usually comes with dinner and breakfast provided. For this ryokan we were staying at in Yufuin, being one of the cheapest, only came with breakfast. With the ample numbers of convenient stores in Japan and supermarket with ready-to-eat food abundance, I though doing without breakfast would still be ok for this ryokan. So after coming back from our walk and having some relaxing time at the onsen, we went down to the main dining area for our dinner. The entrance looked just like a stage! 

Leaving our shoes outside and walking in, were private dining rooms and halls inside.

We were seated at a small dining hall area, but there weren't anyone around except us. The hall could probably fit just 3 table of four. The cold and ready-to-cook meal were all already laid out on the table.  First, a ume plum wine to start the meal. 

It was spring time when we were there, so the kiseki meal is served based on season. The available ingredient and the dishes all reflect the place and season. Kiseki meals are the best meals to experience in Japan. I always try to stay in a ryokan for every trip so that I can enjoy this beautiful traditional meal.

Here is a zoom out look. I was eyeing the yakiniku beef on the side !

The sashimi was delicious, as was the appetising seaweed and sea-grapes and other stuff served in a cocktail class behind. Absolutely refreshing!

My love, yakiniku. I know some people hate this dish cause they can't cook, lol. But I love this dish cause it means I can cook the meat as raw as I like!

I also love this salted bbq fish, and how they serve it. It reminds me of those fishes sold at the market or road side in Japan. 

Chawamushi and some western looking salad with beets. Refreshing, but kinda out-of-the-place looking.

And lastly, rice with pickles and soup, ensuring that you are full at the end of the meal. 

But not forgetting dessert, a strawberry panna cotta (again, out-of-place here). All in all, it was kinda confusing as a kiseki meal goes, and I wasn't used to having all the courses served all at once for me in a ryokan. So it was just a so-so experience for me in terms of dinner.  But for the price we were paying, I guess it was about right? I will try to show you a proper kiseki meal (in my humble opinion) in my 2024 Kansai-Hiroshima trip soon! That ryokan cost a good 100sgd+ more than this one :P

Beautiful flower arrangement at the dining area. 

And here is me in my yutaka with the full meal in front.

Kyushu 2023 - Yufuin Town Part 2

We finally exit the Yufuin Floral Village , but it was still another 20mins walk back to the ryokan! I think we spend more than 1hours on the roads of Yufuin that day! Along the way back more Totoro Shops!

I don't know whether the Japanese themselves love this very much, or are these shops specifically catered to tourist? When we were there, the  majority of the tourist were actually Thai!

Kiki's cat Jiji, and the witch's broom! 

Ate more snacks on our way back. These are dango (glutinous rice ball) with different flavour. I like the sign a lot, so I decided to go in and try. We also like sweet dango.

We got 2 just to share, and I think these were more savoury than sweet.

Since it was a long walk home, the husband also decided to stop for some cold drink.

Ginger ale here are actually made of real ginger instead of just flavouring. So although expensive, I think it's so much better!

On our way back, above is a small Italian restaurant. I though it's super cute. Just a solo restaurant in the middle of a field by the road side. I would eat here!

At the Aeon MaxValue, I also saw this Yufuin Cider. I really love the bottle. But it was ridiculous to bring it home with me, so I guess I must have let it go..... They also sold these inside the Yufuin no Mori train. 

Us taking a break and photo taking at one of the shop.

Me with Mei and Totoro by the roadside. 'A' for my name 'Ai'!

Kyushu 2023 - Yufuin Floral Village

 

After filling our stomach with snacks, we went in search for our next destination, the Yufuin Floral Village. I had high hopes for this attraction, plus the entrance was free! And it looked really nice on the internet. We found it, but I was quite disappointed with the place. It was designed to look like Cotswolds in England, but it didn't feel anything like it! (I would know since I've visited Cotswolds before :P  )

The whole place was filled with small village looking houses like the above, but they were pretty much packed together along the narrow alley. Add that with the visitors there, it was pretty crowded.

Every single village house was actually just a shop. So basically the whole village was just a giant shopping area, which didn't quite catch my fancy! I would rather they were cafes and bookshops, but no, everyone was selling merchandises to cater to tourist. So you have a Totoro shop above.

A Kiki's Bakery shop that doesn't sell any baked goods! I think if they have sold some baked goods here, then I might be less forgiving of this whole place. But no, they were selling more merchandises.

Shops selling Peter Rabbit items above.

A flower fountain area with Heidi character. At this point, I have forgotten about Heidi in my life, and this suddenly reminded me of this character, which was interesting, lol. For some reason, Japanese seems to like Heidi. I secretly suspect they like everything European.....

Moomin shop. I love Moomin, but usually everything is too expensive for me.

Here is a photo showing how nearby the shops are to each other. Not a pleasant walk at all.

Here's me with a souvenir shot.

And me in a super narrow alley. Nope, didn't like this place at all. Love the real Cotswolds though. Please go visit the real thing! But all in all, it was an interesting place to visit if it was less crowded, or if you just want to feel like you are in a really small English village.....