We are off to Yufuin. Yufuin is a resort town in the northeast part of the island of Kyushu. It is in the mountains of the southern most main island of Japan and is a popular resort destination for Tokyo residents. We went by train from Kurume to Hakata and then changed trains to the Yufuin no Mori limited express. The Yufuin no Mori is a "resort" train and it was filled with people going for a vacation. It winds through the mountains and VERY lush forests.
One of the train staff went went through the train taking pictures of the vacationers that wanted to record their holiday. The pictures below show the official train photographer and the picture she took of us.
Below, our photographer is taking a picture of a vacationing couple as the get off the train.
When we reached Yufuin, we transferred by taxi to our ryokan. We were not quite ready for what we found. Our ryokan - the Kamenoi - was MAGNIFICENT!! Each couple had a separate "cottage". Ours consisted of a "living room", an alcove off the living room, bedroom, kitchen area, entry area, bathroom with personal hot spring bath and a small garden with a bamboo fountain.
And our bedroom had Western style beds!!
Of course we HAD to have a BANQUET.
We were going to be in Yufuin for two nights. Our first morning we were free until about 10 when we were going to visit a basket maker. Granny and I decided to take a stroll around the nearby area and see the sights. The sights were beautiful!
Here we are in front of the sign for the ryokan.
One of the thatched roofs was being repaired.
Idyllic streams wandered through the area.
A small portion of the lake.
Couldn't resist a picture of this van.
Click on this picture for a You Tube video of the Yufuin Noddle maker.
What class! A Rolls taxi!
After our short morning stroll, it was time to go the basket maker. It was an amazing experience. It was so outstanding that it deserves a page of its own. You can click here to access the Yufuin - Basket Making page or you can use the link on the Japan 2013 - Part 2 home page.
After our basket making adventure, a few of us walked back to the noodle shop for lunch. Very good as usual.
We didn't realize that for dinner that evening each couple was supposed to dine in their own room. Since there were 7 of us, somebody would be left out and have to dine alone. That didn't seem like a good idea, so we arranged to have all of us eat together in one of the rooms. Since we had the largest "living" room, ours was selected for the group dinner.
We selected Shabu Shabu for our dinner. Shabu Shabu is thinly sliced beef which is cooked in a pot of boiling water along with vegetables. It is served with a dipping sauce. Of course we had to have our share of preliminary courses.
On the left is our shrimp course. On the right is the plate of thinly sliced beef. Below are a couple of pictures of the setting and the pot for boiling the meat and the vegetables. Below right is a look at the complete dinner.
This is the entire group including the two wonderful young ladies that took care of us during our stay. Here we are about to embark on the next leg of our journey - a visit to the Aso volcano.
