JJapan Trips

Traveling to Kyushu during GW, have questions about Beppu Sand Baths, Hamanoura Rice Terraces and Kawachi Wisteria Garden

As the title says, I’d appreciate if anyone has insight on the following places:

In Beppu, I’ve asked in the stupid questions thread and it seems there’s a lot of sand baths, though redditors advise getting there as early as possible. Coming from Fukuoka, we won’t be in Beppu until at least 10:30 am. not to mention that it’s GW. Is that too late? Are there any capacity and Covid restrictions recently?

How about Yufuin? If Beppu’s sand baths are a no-go, is the city still worth visiting over Yufuin?

The Hamanoura Rice Terraces in Saga are supposed to be flooded in early May. Does anyone know if it would be flooded during GW?

The Kawachi Wisteria Tunnel in Kitakyushu, does
anyone know if the shuttle buses are operating
between Kokura station and the garden this year?

TIA!

5 comments

  1. So you can get a sand bath at 3 different spots in Beppu and they aren’t super close walking distance. Hyoutan onsen, takegawara onsen, and beppu beach sandbath. I’ve actually only been to the sand baths at the two onsens. Since sand baths aren’t as long as an onsen soak its faster turnaround for the staff. I imagine the spot solely dedicsted to sand baths would have the fastest turnaround and that hyoutan onsen would have the slowest turnaround with how popular it is. Takegawara has the history stuff on its side but just isn’t as nice and actually now borders Beppu’s red light district.

    I have also been to kawachi gardens but from the local train station I took a taxi. No clue what they are doing this year. I will say the experience was fantastic and the smell of the wisteria was so powerful it shocked me. If you have a bee allergy I would think twice because the bees are out enjoying it almost as much as the humans.

  2. 1) travelling anywhere in Japan during golden week is a bad idea, expect ridiculously crowded trains, and accommodation booked out months in advance
    2) unless you’re already in Japan, they’re not letting in foreign tourists

  3. I used to live in Beppu, so I can fill you in on Yufuin/Beppu. AFAIK there is only one sunayu in Beppu, it’s called Beppu kaihama sunayu, and yes it can get very crowded, so it is probably a good idea to go as early as possible. If you are planning to be in Beppu it is definitely a good place to visit and a very refreshing experience if you have never done it. Yufuin is one of my favorite places in Oita, so you should definitely visit if you have a chance. When I was living there, it was always super crowded with Korean and Chinese tourists, so it might not be so bad now that foreign tourists are not allowed into the country. There is a hotel with a rotenburo on the outskirts of town that has a stunning view of Yufudake called nanairo no Kaze. I highly recommend a trip there. One of the best rotenburo I have been to.

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