Foggy Mount Aso, Oita, Yufuin stay

 22Apr~6May2023 Around Kyushu in 2 weeks - day 5

We did not include breakfast in the package,

hence we ate the food we bought the night before.

We hit the roads early, around 730am, in the hope that we can complete all itinerary and 

reach Yufuin by 5pm. Kumamoto is about an hour's drive to Mount Aso, our first destination in the morning.

It seemed to be getting foggy as we moved higher and higher up.

Realised the sea of clouds we saw the day before could be this same mountain. 😢

Screenshot from google map - we were supposed to see this beautiful green cone

Instead the fog was so thick we could not see a thing at Komezuka, 米塚

We decided to still get off for photos since there were hardly any cars.

We had to move ahead instead of turning back since we gotta cut through the mountains to get to our next destination. Drove slowly as we could not see clearly in the fog.

Kusasenri 草千里ケ浜 next.

We were supposed to see this:

We saw nothing like the above.. 🤣

It was also very cold, probably less than 10 degrees

We were supposed to see a lake and horses grazing on the fields.

While we were thinking to look for toilets, we drove passed something that look like a car park.

The map shows us we were in the position of Aso Volcano Museum

Less foggy as we head down the mountains

We stopped by the roadside to take a view of the mountains.

It was quite disappointing that we could not view the Mount Aso crater due to the fog.

Always check this link before going:

http://www.aso.ne.jp/~volcano/eng/

We could see the Kuju mountains on one side

And on the other side, it seems the fog had cleared around Mount Aso,

and we were able to see Komezuka

Arriving for lunch before noon.

Found this very nice and quiet place - 溶岩石窯ピッツァ轍 (Wadachi Pizzeria)

It's like a dream retirement house 😍

Take off shoes before entering

The food was very good! 😋

We added on our own dessert (cheese tart from HTB)

SK showing off her muscles 💪😎

While heading to Tadewara wetlands,

we drove past Senbatsurushika park, and found it very fascinating.

The park is filled with animal-shaped trees.. we cannot resist but to stop to take photos.

The dandelions here were big!! 😍

Arriving at Tadewara Wetlands, Oita,

with boardwalks and Kuju mountains in the background

11mins drive next to

Kokonoe Yume Otsuribashi 九重“夢”大吊橋 - tallest suspension bridge in Japan

It wasn't so easy to get to this next hotel.

Google has led us to drive through narrow roads making it difficult to maneuver the car.

In the end, the only way to the hotel is down a steep slope and more narrow roads.

David no Yakata - it's more like an Airbnb with several rooms in one big house.

We require to get a passcode to unlock the door of our room.

And each of us need to do the electronic self check-in outside the room.

Booked this house because of its close proximity to Lake Kirin and Yunotsubo street.

We get a very large house with 2 very large rooms. One of the room comes with 2 beds, a living room, dining table and kitchen, while the other room houses 3 beds, a tatami area and hot bath and toilet.

The plus point is the price, which costs us less than S$60/pax to stay for one night.

It's the only cheapest around the area, most of the hotels in the area are ryokans which costs at least S$180/pax.

Lake Kirin,

just around the corner of our house, in less than a minute's walk.

Early dinner in case the places get fully booked.

Yufumabushi Shin 由布まぶし[心]金鱗湖本店

Yummy unagi with rice cooked in the pot.

Shops along Yunotsubo street has already closed at 5pm, so we were just taking a walk after dinner.

Tenso shrine is just beside the lake (near to the steep slope which we drove down)

We arrived just as the sun was setting.

We need to feel how steep this slope

Yunotsubo street at night