Kyushu 2015 Autumn Self Drive Trip - Day 12

Day 12 : Yufuin/Beppu

Woke up early this morning again as we wanted to catch the view of Kinrin Lake (金鱗湖) cos in the morning , usually there will fog/steam on top of the lake , this is especially more obvious in the Autumn/Winter month. This is because the lake itself has water coming from a hot spring that is why during cold morning , the fog will form on the surface of the lake , then in afternoon , you can see the lake actually reflecting the sunlight when the wind blows thus look like "golden scale" of fishes , that is why called in chinese "金鱗".

view from room

supper cold and foggy next to the lake

web think frozen at night and defrost in the morning

The lake is super foggy that morning and very cold so did not managed to take any nice photo , and it was about 15 min walk from the hotel we stayed so actually wanted to visit again in the afternoon the next day but weather is not very good so we skip. ( if from the station maybe closed to 30 min walk )
After the visit to the lake we went back hotel for breakfast ( do note that usually meals in Japan can take some time cos too many dishes so don't be surprise a meal can takes up to 1-2 hours ). Our next destination is Kokonoe Yume Suspension Bridge 九重”夢”大吊橋 , It is the highest bridge in Japan for  pedestrians. The bridge is good for viewing autumn colours and winter colours BUT again the red are gone only to be replaced by all the yellow and bare trees but still the view is quite nice that morning. The ticket allows you to walk from one end of the bridge to the other and back so there is no need to buy 2 tickets. Also the Bungo beef stick at one side of the entrance is not bad though it was not BBQ on the spot.

Part of open view on the center of the bridge

View from the open view part

To view the whole bridge , you have to walk up/drive to this place near "ここのえ茶屋" There is a viewing deck there.
Next we visited the Hells of Beppu 別府地獄 ， there are total of 8 Hells , 6 of which is together and the last 2 is about 5 min away. Refer to the map here. If i remember correctly , the entrance fee for each Hell is about 400 yen , but if you buy the booklet which allows entry to all 8 Hells , only cos about 2200 yen. Please allows about at least 2 hours to complete all 8 Hells. If you do not have enough time then just select the one you are interested based on reading online. Do note that "龍卷地獄“ only spray like once every 30 min , the staffs at the "血の池地獄" actually informed us that the geyser is spraying soon so we took a quick look and went over so we do not have to wait for another 30 min if we missed it.
There is a place in one of the hell ( Kamado Jigoku i think ) that has place for you to try the "Hell" water , do note that you have to dilute with cold water by the side before you try cos the spring water is 80 deg C. This area also have a place for you to buy come snacks like steam food/egg using the steam from the hot spring water also you can had free foot bath here. Do try the ice cream here , think there is a few types , the one I tried is with black pepper ( taste bit salty as well ) , it is very nice ! there is also another think with chilli powder/spices which I did not try.

There is a viewing deck nearby called 湯けむり展望台 which allows you to see the Beppu town with steam coming out , it looks like a burning town with smoke ? but we did not go to due to not enough time and day light problem again. Another place we skipped was the Beppu ropeway It is actually between Beppu and Yufuin if not going by the highway.
We did stop by a viewing spot nearer to Yufuin called Sagiridai 狭霧台 , you can actually see "Sea of Clouds" in the morning and also night view here.  You can even catch a picture like this if you come in the night before day break.

Nice but a bit Expensive Ryokan

Living room leaning to the outdoor bath

View form the bedroom

Our own private outdoor onsen

Dinner from the 2 supermarkets and some snacks from the main shopping street. Note : The shop closes really early in winter , most will closed by 7 pm. Also this is our last night with onsen , the last 3 nights we will be staying in the city, that is also they main reason why we choose to splurge on this ryokan though it's a bit over our budget. this is about 2.5 times of what we paid the night before and that comes with breakfast too. ( this one cost us about SGD $300/night with no meal but the host is really nice and friendly and the stay was great , no regret)