A Japanese countryside getaway

A couple hours’ drive east of Fukuoka is the town of Yufuin, a popular onsen destination at the foot of the twin peaks of Mount Yufu. We ended up renting a couple of cars to make our own way across the interior of Kyushu instead of taking the more famous train options, mostly to avoid the hassle of trying to get tickets but also to give us some flexibility in determining our itinerary over the three days we had devoted to this portion of our holiday.

At about the midway point between Fukuoka and Yufuin, there’s another town called Ukiha where we stopped to stretch our legs and get some lunch. We had thought about doing some fruit picking in the area, but early July is a bit of a weird empty stretch in between strawberry season and peach season, and it was also just too hot for the kids (and the adults) to be outside for too long. It worked out though, because we stumbled upon Budou no Tane, a tiny restaurant and shop that is part of a collection of other cafes and F&B outlets at the foot of Mount Ukiha. What was supposed to be a bathroom break turned into a restful, leisurely lunch and stroll up and down the hillside.

Yufuin

We rented a house in Yufuin about a 10-minute walk from the town’s popular Yunotsubo Kaido Street so we could all stay together – a rare treat for the grandparents. During the day we went out to eat and walk around and enjoy the local atmosphere, and when we got too hot and tired we retired back to the house and chilled in the air conditioning or soaked in the property’s outdoor onsen. The slower pace suited everybody, and the kids loved having a house to themselves – they probably remember that more than any particular thing we did or ate in the town itself.

There’s no shortage of food and snack recommendations for Yufuin out there, but a few things stood out to me. The lemon udon at 元祖豊後肉汁うどん was a perfect lunch on a hot summer’s day. I think the fruit is actually the native kabosu citrus, which gives the noodles a refreshing, zesty flavour, but not to the point of overpowering the dish. Our post-lunch snack was this incredible honeycomb ice cream from Sugi Bee Garden just down the street, and the adults got some much-needed iced coffees from Yufu Coffee. The cheesecakes from Milch come highly recommended, but opinions were split among our group. We also bought a cake from B-speak to eat at home later, and that was well worth it.

It was a summer

In the end, the Japanese summer heat was a big X factor for us. I do think living in Hong Kong has inured us to unpleasantly hot and humid weather, but it’s not something to which the Vancouver side of our family would necessarily be accustomed. But while we definitely could have spent more time in town and even the surrounding countryside, it was also the case that we had a good time together just chilling at the house during the hottest part of the day. The onsen also had pipes to adjust the flow of hot spring water and cooler water, so we were able to get it to a comfortable temperature for the kids to just soak in as well.

We spent the greater part of three days on the Yufuin leg of our holiday before going back to Fukuoka for the rest of the week. By the end of it, Ashley and I were quite ready to head back home, with the added bonus of the grandparents also flying to Hong Kong to spend July together with us. My sister and her family still had another week or so in Japan, mostly in Okinawa but also some days in Osaka, so on our final morning together we said our goodbyes and talked about potential future reunions.

And with that, our first family holiday together in over 16 years was over and done with, and I think everybody was pleased with how it all turned out.