natural wonder
Beppu Hells (Jigoku Meguri)
A collection of spectacular hot spring vents in Beppu producing steaming pools of vivid blue, red, and milky-white water.
16 km · about 20 min drive
AsiaJapanOita
Yufu
Oita, Japan · Asia
About Yufu
Yufu is worth a stop: 25 minutes from Beppu, 16km from Beppu Hells (Jigoku Meguri).
Yufu is in Oita, Japan, with about 33,000 people. You drive on the left here. The nearest town is Beppu, about 14 km away.
Yufu (由布市, Yufu-shi) is a city in Ōita Prefecture. As of 30 November 2023, the city had an estimated population of 33,556 in 15,883 households, and a population density of 110 inhabitants per square kilometer (280/sq mi). The total area of the city is 319.32 km2 (123.29 sq mi).
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Yufu?
Within an hour or so of Yufu: Beppu Hells (Jigoku Meguri) (16 km), Kurokawa Onsen (26 km), Tsuetate Onsen (32 km), Nabegataki Falls (33 km).
Where is Yufu?
Yufu is in Oita, Japan, about 14 km from Beppu.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 32,772
- Continent
- Asia
- Country
- Japan
- Region
- Oita
- Timezone
- Asia/Tokyo
- Coordinates
- 33.1956, 131.3783
Emergency & Services
Essential numbers in Japan
Japan Helpline (24h English assistance): 0570-000-911. An International Driving Permit (1949 convention) is required to drive.
Full driving guide for JapanTags
Worth the detour from Yufu
8 notable places within an hour's drive.
landmark
Kurokawa Onsen
A hot-spring village in the Aso highlands that banned neon and concrete facades, so wooden inns and stone-walled riverside baths dominate. A single wooden pass grants entry to three open-air baths of your choice.
26 km · about 30 min drive
landmark
Tsuetate Onsen
A narrow ravine village straddling the Kumamoto–Oita border where steam vents rise between old wooden inns and footbridges. In spring hundreds of carp streamers are strung across the gorge.
32 km · about 35 min drive
waterfall
Nabegataki Falls
A broad, low curtain of water falling from an overhanging ledge, allowing visitors to walk along a path behind the entire span of the fall. A short descent from the car park in northern Kumamoto.
33 km · about 40 min drive
tunnel
Aonodōmon
A tunnel hand-cut through a cliff on the Yamakuni River, begun by the monk Zenkai in 1735 and reputedly dug over three decades to spare travellers a lethal chain path. Sections of the original chiselled bore survive alongside the road.
39 km · about 45 min drive
racetrack
Autopolis
A hillside circuit on the island of Kyushu in Japan, known for dramatic elevation changes and hosting Super GT and Super Formula.
41 km · about 50 min drive
natural wonder
Mount Aso Caldera
One of the world's largest volcanic calderas in Kyushu with an active smoking crater and vast green grasslands.
43 km · about 50 min drive
photogenic
Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine
A moss-covered stone stairway of roughly 100 steps climbing through cedar forest to a shrine below a rock face pierced by a huge natural window. Reached by a short walk from a small car park in the Aso caldera.
43 km · about 50 min drive
Driving roads near Yufu
- 39 kmAonodōmonA tunnel hand-cut through a cliff on the Yamakuni River, begun by the monk Zenkai in 1735 and reputedly dug over three decades to spare travellers a lethal chain path. Sections of the original chiselled bore survive alongside the road.
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