Onsen-ning in Oita

Since we would be away from each other on both of our birthdays, Kohei and I decided to go on a little road trip to Oita. From the beginning, I decided that Oita is probably one of the most beautiful prefectures I’ve been to so far. It could have just been the timing, but the lush green mountains and rice paddies were in abundance. 

I’ve never seen so many rice paddies in my life, and I’ll give the farmers credit, they’re very innovative using space. By that, I mean even small areas between the forks in roads were growing rice.

I got a chance to eat some local delicacies, with Kohei taking me to a hidden local joint for some toriten, tempura style chicken popular in the prefecture, before heading to get a special type of pudding cooked using the steam from the local onsen. Creamiest pudding I’ve ever eaten, and the views weren’t bad either.

The Hells of Beppu were beautiful, and wonderfully hell-ish in the heat, but being able to stop at a footbath and cool down was delightful. Kohei almost fell head first into a lily pond too, not that I tried to help or gave him any sympathy. I think he was actually a bit shocked at my true colours coming out when I was instead crying with laughter.

I’ll tell you what the highlight of the drive through Beppu was though. Stumbling across a Jurassic Park themed love hotel that I’ve vowed to return to.

I’ve always wanted to stay at a ryokan, and the experience is one that everyone should have at least once. Upon our arrival at the little hot spring town of Yunohira, we were greeted with sounds of the nearby river, and a cobbled street reminiscent of many years ago. After checking in to our beautiful little tatami room, we went for a little wander (beer in hand of course), then both dressed in yukata and headed for dinner, a rather varied array of tsukemono.

After dinner, we took a little stroll down the street, by which time was lit up by the most beautiful red glow from the lanterns. It truly felt like I’d been transported back in time. Later we headed to the private outdoor onsen, which was so relaxing and an amazing place to clear your head, even if it was just too bloody hot at times. We even got to take another bath the next morning after breakfast, and now I really wish I lived close enough to a hot spring to take a dip every day.

The next day we took a drive to Yufuin, visited the famous floral village and had a mooch around all the little stores. On the way home, Kohei agreed to take me to Sanrio Harmonyland, earning himself some major brownie points. It’s definitely a family theme park, with Kohei and I being the only people there without children (I guess you could say he was chaperoning one of his own all day). I actually really enjoyed myself though, with the simplicity of the ferris wheel, carousel, little teacups and the boat ride adding to the chill vibe of the weekend. I even got to meet Hello Kitty herself, which has been more than a little overdue!

 

Driving home Kohei took me on a little detour to his childhood town, around to his high school and some other spots. We didn’t have time to really explore, but I realised how much of an inaka (countryside) boy he is at heart, especially when he told me as a kid he’d catch frogs near the rice paddies. My heart melted at the thought, and I honestly can’t wait to get a chance to go back to Kanda and have him take me to all of his favourite spots, including his Grandad’s little farm. Wish me luck on that one, I’m sure I’ll end up kitted out harvesting some in-season fruit when I next go.