was a town located in Ōita District, Ōita Prefecture,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Yufuin is now a district () within the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Yufu is a city in Ōita Prefecture, Japan. The modern city of Yufu was established on October 1, 2005, from the merger of the towns of Hasama, Shōnai, and Yufuin (all from Ōita District). , the city has an estimated population of 33,120, and ...

. Its elevation is approximately 400 meters above ground. As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 11,342 and density of 88.77 persons per km². The total area was 127.77 km². On October 1, 2005, Yufuin, along with the towns of Hasama and Shonai (all from Ōita District), was merged to create the city of

. This controversial decision resulted in the recall of the mayor and a snap election in which he regained office. Located in a green valley beneath the spectacular Mount Yufu ( 由布岳, ''Yufudake''), a short walk from the town centre is a mix of

paddy field A paddy field is a flooded field (agriculture), field of arable land used for growing Aquatic plant, semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro. It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in sout ...

s, housing and upmarket ryokan, with a few temples. Mount Yufu, or Yufu-dake, can be hiked in about 90 minutes. A common evening sound is the rhythmic ringing of temple bells. Although still connected to its rural roots, Yufuin is a tourist town and a popular destination for

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

tours. There is the picturesque Lake Kinrin and rivers flow down and across the valley. Some hotels have outdoor baths called

rotenburo In Japan, are the country's hot springs and the bathing facilities and traditional inns around them. As a volcanically active country, Japan has many onsens scattered throughout all of its major islands. There are approximately 25,000 hot ...

with a view of Mount Yufu.

Hot springs

Yufuin is famous for natural , resulting in a local economy based on domestic tourism, gift shops and hot-spring bathing. Some ''onsen'' are available to day tourists, but many are strictly for overnight guests. There are also " sento", which are the traditional public baths used by locals. One of these, the Shitanyu, can be used by tourists, while the others are for use by local residents only. International tourist visits to Yufuin are increasing, especially by Koreans.

Sightseeing

The two- peaked Mount Yufu and Lake Kinrin (金鱗湖, ''kinrin-ko'') are commonly viewed and photographed by tourists. Lake Kinrin is known for its

fall leaves Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Sout ...

the

steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

that rises from the lake's surface on cold mornings. Yufuin Floral Village's small houses Yufuin Floral Village (湯布院フローラルヴィレッジ) is another well-known tourist attraction in Yufuin. It features many small houses (acting as gift shops) modeled after the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jur ...

region of England.

Annual events

* July: Yufuin Music Festival ( ゆふいん音楽祭) * August: Yufuin Film Festival ( 湯布院映画祭) * October: Ushikurai Shouting Tournament ( 牛喰い絶叫大会)

Transportation options

Kyushu Railway Company The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan and the JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait ...

Yufuin Station is a passenger railway station located in Yufuin neighborhood of the city of Yufu, Ōita Prefecture, Japan, operated by JR Kyushu. Lines Yufuin Station is served by the Kyudai Main Line and is located 99.1 km from the starting point of ...

( 由布院駅) * Highway bus from Fukuoka

TV drama

* Yufuin is the setting for the NHK Japanese television drama " Kaze no Haruka"

References

External links

Yufu official website
Dissolved municipalities of Ōita Prefecture Spa towns in Japan Tourism in Japan Yufu, Ōita {{Oita-geo-stub