Yufuin is located in Oita Prefecture, 10 Kilometres from Beppu, this charming Onsen town is spread across the foot of Mt.Yufu, and the view of this very extinct volcano just takes your breath away. It’s also an amazing place for anyone to visit as there are no tall buildings here, only boutiques, café, and mother nature. To enjoy your trip further, do catch the Yufuin […]

June 2020 Destination, Kyushu, Michelle, Onsen Hot Spring

Onsen (hot springs) are my favourite places to visit whenever I am in Japan. I make a point of going to one or more and if I can combine this with a stay in a Japanese ryokan then that is even better. Kyushu is known for its volcanoes and with the volcanic activity comes a huge variety of wonderful onsen that you can visit and appreciate. […]

April 2020 Beth, Culture, Destination, Kyushu, Onsen Hot Spring

  Recently, I spent a day in Beppu, in Oita prefecture, Kyushu, and I loved it so much, I had to write about it! Beppu Onsen, as the name suggests, is well known for being one of the largest onsen towns in Japan! The hot spring water of hundreds of public baths is sourced from eight different springs! The eight springs are named Beppu Onsen, Kannawa […]

April 2020 Beppu, Carly, Kyushu, Onsen Hot Spring

Hi Paul, Just got into Tokyo, and back into the world of free hotel WiFi. The ryokans may be terrific, but wi-fi isn’t one oftheir strengths.. So far, it has been terrific! All connections worked really well. Everything is so much easier than when I was in Japan last time, about 100 years ago. Lots of English spoken; buses, trains, subways all do signs and announcements in English now. Before there was none […]

April 2014 Countryside, Hiroshima, Hotel, Onsen Hot Spring, Ryokan, Tokyo

Hey Akiko,   I had no idea about the tattoos in the baths! That’s so strange (hello Japan lol)   In that case – we will go western style rooms throughout all of the trip if that is ok, anything on free-sell around the 200-240 per night would be great!   I will tell him the sad news and will get the payment as soon as […]

February 2013 Onsen Hot Spring

Hi Kathy,   How have you been?  Just want to thank you for having organised such a great trip to Japan for us  again!   Everything went so smoothly , this time, we specially enjoyed the stay in hotels as the breakfast was 100 times better than the youth hostel ones. We didn’t need to carry luggage as often as we used to, what a relief! […]

October 2012 Food, Hotel, Onsen Hot Spring

Dear Yoko-san   I hope you are well. The trip was fabulous. I had a very enjoyable time. Everything went well, the food was delicious and the hot springs were soothing. I had no problems driving in Hokkaido and saw a fox, deer and squirrels. It was very hot though. I did see the Hiroshima vs Yokohama game and enjoyed it very much. It was nice […]

September 2012 Food, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Onsen Hot Spring

Hi Clement!It was AMAZING!!!! Such a beautiful resort. All the staff were extremely helpful and attentive. The food was superb! The services available at the resort were good too. You could have dinner in your PJ’s! I mean come on, how cool is that. Of course the highlight was the hot springs. The views were beautiful, and oh so relaxing!!! Ahhhhh…I’m imagining I am there now!! […]

July 2012 Onsen Hot Spring

We felt blessed when we were greeted by the lovely guide at Osaka airport after a long queue for fingerprinting, face recognition etc. Of course we were weary, and it was a great luxury to be swept to the hotel in a very flash Toyota limo. Hyatt very good. Room on first Japanese second floor, so a good view of the roof below, but it was […]

May 2012 Hotel, Kyoto, Museum, Nature, Onsen Hot Spring, Osaka, Ryokan, Sakura Cherry Blossoms, Temples and Shrines, Tour

Dear Eri, I would also like to thank you for selecting such excellent hotels especially Keio Plaza hotel in Shinjuku (ichi-ban) because of the variety and best quality of food at the buffet restaurant –  and the quad room which we understand is very special size in Japan.   and Biyu No Yado with beautiful onsens and snow Monkeys were special and Yukki our host is […]

April 2012 Food, Hotel, Nature, Onsen Hot Spring, Osaka, Sakura Cherry Blossoms

Hello Olivia,   We thoroughly enjoyed our 3 weeks in Japan. Just to recap a little, we spent the first 4 nights in Tokyo (Shiba Park Hotel); the next 2 in Yudanaka (Ryokan Biyu no Yado); 4 nights in Kyoto (Ryokan Hatoya); 4 nights in Osaka staying with Japanese friends; 3 nights in Hiroshima 1 in Kurashiki and, our final 2 nights in Tokyo at Shiba […]

November 2011 Castle, Food, Hiroshima, Hotel, Kyoto, Museum, Nara, Onsen Hot Spring, Osaka, Ryokan, Temples and Shrines, Tickets, Tokyo, Tokyo Disneyland, Tour

Dear Olivia,Could you please pass the message on to Takeda San.The taxis were waiting for us at the right time at Toya Station, the weather was brilliant, the scenery was magnificent and the accommodation (Kohantei) was superb. We all tried the onsen and some of us were able to sit in the rotemburo and gaze out across the lake at Yoteizan. How magnificent! We were all […]

May 2011 Nature, Onsen Hot Spring, Sakura Cherry Blossoms

Dear Ryoko,I have just returned from an exciting and blissfully indulgent holiday in Japan. I was overwhelmed by its beauty, its cultural richness, its varied, delicious and healthy cuisine, by the remarkable efficiency with which everything ran, and by the exceptional level of service and the generous hospitality of the Japanese people. Japan is extremely safe, with the only damage from the earthquake (for which the […]

May 2011 Onsen Hot Spring, Skiing and Snow Boarding, Tour

Dear Lily, We had the most wonderful time in Tokyo and Kyoto. Thank you so much for your help in finding the right accomodation and guided tours. I am sure we will be back to explore more of this beautiful country. We absolutely enjoyed our stay at Keio Plaza Hotel in Tokyo. Everything was just perfect from the room service to the room itself. We would […]

July 2010 Food, Hotel, Kyoto, Nara, Onsen Hot Spring, Tokyo, Tour

Dear Noriko Just an e-mail of thanks and to tell you how much we enjoyed our holiday, Re-your itinerary you customised for us.We would jump at the opportunity to do it all over again!. Unfortunately the expense would not enable us to do it again so quickly!. The break between City life at Hakone and to enjoy the onsen (Volcanic spring baths) was an awesome experience, […]

June 2010 Hotel, Mount Fuji, Onsen Hot Spring, Osaka