Yufuin: Lake Kinrin, Hot Springs and Art Museums in Oita

This guide covers the lake, the main street and its horse carriage, the hot spring baths, the art museums and the viewpoints of Yufuin, with opening hours, fees and the way in from Fukuoka.

Quick Facts

The table below lists the first figures to know.

Item	Detail
Time on foot from JR Yufuin Station to Lake Kinrin	30 minutes
Length of the main street Yunotsubo Kaido	About 800 m
Adult fare for the sightseeing horse carriage	2,500 yen
Highway bus ride from Fukuoka (Tenjin) to Yufuin Ekimae	About 2 hours 25 minutes

Lake Kinrin and Its Rising Water Vapor

From late autumn to winter, when the air cools, water vapor rises from the surface of Lake Kinrin because of the temperature difference. Spring water and hot spring water flow into the lake, so the water temperature stays high throughout the year.

A walking path is laid out around the lake, and fish and waterbirds can be seen swimming there. The lake was named by a Confucian scholar who saw the fish scales in the lake shine in the setting sun.

The table below lists the walk to the lake and the loop around it.

Item	Detail
JR Yufuin Station to Lake Kinrin on foot	30 minutes
Loop around Lake Kinrin	About 400 m per lap

Yunotsubo Kaido, Yufuin Station and the Horse Carriage

On arrival, a clip-clop hoof sound is heard. The sightseeing horse carriage leaves from Yufuin Ekimae, passes a temple and a shrine, and returns to Yufuin Ekimae in about an hour.

The foot bath on the platform and the Art Hall cannot be used during the repair work. A temporary building beside the existing building handles operations while the existing building is sealed off.

The table below lists the horse carriage, the station repair work and the services at the tourist information center.

Item	Detail
Station building repair work	Until around winter of fiscal 2026
Horse carriage fare for adults, junior high school students and older	2,500 yen
Horse carriage fare for children, ages 4 to elementary school	1,800 yen
Horse carriage course and ride time	Via a temple and a shrine and back to Yufuin Ekimae, about 60 minutes
Horse carriage ticket sales	From 9:00 on the day, at the Yufu City Tourist Information Center counter or by phone, first come first served
Horse carriage regular closure period	January 1 to March 1
Coin lockers at the Yufu City Tourist Information Center	9:00 to 17:00
Coin locker fee per day	600 yen for the large size and 500 yen for the small size
City cycle rental at the tourist information center	1,000 yen for 2 hours, plus 500 yen per extra hour
Cross bike rental at the tourist information center	2,000 yen for 2 hours, plus 1,000 yen per extra hour
Bicycle rental hours at the tourist information center	9:00 to 17:00, with the last reception at 16:00

Visitors who would rather have the route planned for them can browse tours around Yufuin.

Public Baths and Day-Trip Hot Springs

The large outdoor bath at Yufuin Tsukanoma is known for its cobalt-blue water. Sodium chloride springs in the Yufuin area take on a blue or cloudy white tint over time.

Yunotsubo Onsen is a public bath along the Oita River, right next to Yunotsubo Kaido. Its bathtubs are made of cypress.

The table below lists the fees and hours of the baths.

Item	Detail
Yunotsubo Onsen admission for adults and children	200 yen
Yunotsubo Onsen opening hours	10:00 to 17:00
Yufuin Tsukanoma bathing fee	800 yen for adults and 500 yen for elementary and junior high school students
Yufuin Tsukanoma day-trip bathing hours	9:30 to 18:30, with reception until 18:00
Yufuin Tsukanoma closed days	Wednesdays and Thursdays, plus December 31 and January 1
Couage Yufuin bath zone (swimwear needed) plus large bath, adults	930 yen
Couage Yufuin bath zone (swimwear needed) plus large bath, high school students and under	460 yen
Couage Yufuin opening hours	10:00 to 21:00, with reception until 20:30
Couage Yufuin closed days	Thursdays (the next day if Thursday is a public holiday) and December 31 to January 2
Yamano Hotel Musouen day-trip bathing hours	10:00 to 14:30, with last reception at 14:00
Yufuin Sansuikan day-trip bathing hours	13:00 to 16:00
Bathing tax for lodging at 4,000 yen or less per night, excluding consumption tax	100 yen per person
Bathing tax for day-trip bathing with a usage fee of 400 yen or more, excluding consumption tax	70 yen per person

Art Museums and Galleries

At the Yufuin Stained Glass Museum, works in the church building are viewed by natural light, so the impression of the works changes greatly with the day's weather and time of day.

The museum consists of the church building, where works are viewed by natural light, and a house, where works are viewed under lighting. It exhibits antique stained glass made in Europe from the eighteen-hundreds onward.

The table below lists the hours and fees of the museums.

Item	Detail
Yufuin Stained Glass Museum adult admission	1,000 yen
Yufuin Stained Glass Museum opening hours	9:00 to 17:00, with admission until 16:30
Yufuin Artesio admission	600 yen for adults and 300 yen for elementary school students
Yufuin Artesio opening hours	10:00 to 16:30, closed on Wednesday, with the cafe closed on Wednesday and Thursday
COMICO ART MUSEUM YUFUIN opening hours	9:30 to 17:00, with last admission at 16:00
COMICO ART MUSEUM YUFUIN works on display	46 works by 7 artists
COMICO ART MUSEUM YUFUIN guided tour	About 1 hour

Sagiri-dai, Mount Yufu and the Oto-ike Spring Pond

From the Sagiri-dai observation deck, the whole Yufuin basin can be seen. Sagiri-dai is located along the Kyushu Odan Road.

The foot of Mount Yufu is burned off every year, so the mountain is covered with low grass. In autumn, pampas grass covers the base of Mount Yufu, and in winter dead grass takes on a golden color.

The spring pond at Oto-ike has a pale blue color. The water that has just welled up forms a stream that becomes a small river meandering through the primeval forest.

The table below lists the climbing time for Mount Yufu and the fee at Oto-ike.

Item	Detail
Climbing Mount Yufu from the start of the climb to the descent	About 4 to 5 hours
Cleaning cooperation fee at Oto-ike Park	100 yen for junior high school students and older

Getting to Yufuin from Fukuoka

The list below gives the highway bus time in each direction between Fukuoka and Yufuin.

1. From Fukuoka (Tenjin), the Yufuin-go highway bus takes about 2 hours 25 minutes to Yufuin Ekimae.
2. From Yufuin Ekimae, the Yufuin-go bus takes about 2 hours 20 minutes to Fukuoka (Tenjin).

Item	Detail
Regular one-way adult fare on the Yufuin-go bus from Fukuoka	3,250 yen
Distance from JR Yufuin Station along the street in front of the station to Shirataki Bridge	About 800 m

Visitors continuing in Oita can also read about Beppu Kannawa.