Outdoors | Oita, Japan | Tourism Information

Yamanami Highway

The journey along the Yamanami Highway from Yufuin to Aso, in neighbouring Kumamoto Prefecture is one of Japan’s greatest scenic drives.

At a glance

A three-hour drive through beautiful and multi-varied, rural countryside

Yabakei, is an extensive, scenic area centred on a valley carved over 2. 5 million years by the Yamakuni River. Riven by forested valleys and interspersed with numerous cliffs and rock formations, the Yabakei area is renowned nationally for its beautiful spring foliage and autumn leaves.

Uchinari Tanada Rice Terraces

Uchinari Tanada are a spectacular and extensive series of more than 1,000 terraced paddies that recall an older age when rice was planted and harvested by hand.

Tour de Kunisaki

Kunisaki’s quiet country roads through verdant countryside and aside the Seto Inland Sea are ideal for cycling and each year, over 2,500 cycle enthusiasts enter Oita’s largest cycling event, the Tour de Kunisaki.

Tashibu-no-Sho

Tashibu-no-sho, a charming district with some of the most picturesque countryside found anywhere in Japan, was once under the direct control of Usa Jingu.

Takasakiyama Natural Zoological Garden

Famous throughout Japan, Takasakiyama for is a reserve for wild Japanese macaques. The dominant monkey’s personalities and the dynamics of the troops they lead make national news. So, not surprisingly, it is one of Oita’s most popular destinations that is especially busy during holidays and on the weekend.

Oka-jo Castle

Only the ramparts of Oka-jo remain, but their scale and impressiveness allude to the power that this hill-top citadel once held over the surrounding region.

Nagasakibana Resort & Camping Ground

On the north side of Kunisaki betwixt Matama Sunset Café and Imi lies Nagasakibana, a long, finger-like peninsula jutting out into the Seto Inland Sea.

Mt. Yufu-dake

The twin-peaked Mt. Yufu-dake soars to 1,583 metres dominating its surroundings. It is also a popular and relatively easy mountain to climb, taking about 2~2. 5 hours from the main start point, on the road running between Yufuin and Beppu, at 700 metres.

Monjusen-ji

For anyone fortunate enough to be at Monjusen-ji at dawn, the deep, resounding sound of bell echoing across its tranquil setting, a remote valley deep in the heart of Kunisaki, heralds the start of the temple’s day.

Maple Yabakei Cycling Road

The Maple Yabakei Cycling Road follows the beautiful Yabakei Gorge from Ao-no-Domon to Morizane Onsen along the old route of the Yabakei Railway, the trains of which once threaded their way up the valley.

Kunisaki Peninsula-Usa GIAHS

Kunisaki and Usa was recognised as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) by the United Nations in 2013. Look at a map of the Kunisaki Peninsula and neighbouring Usa area and the preponderance of lakes and ponds inevitably catches the eye.

Kunisaki Peninsula - a cycling haven

In years past, the professional Keirin cyclists from the velodrome in Beppu used the roads of Kunisaki to train on until the fixed-wheeled Keirin bikes where made illegal on the public highway in Japan.

Kunisaki Long Trail

The Kunisaki Hantou Minemichi Long Trail, to give its full name, is a meandering, 134km-long hiking route that weaves through the Kunisaki Peninsula following in the footsteps of the Rokugo-Manzan monks, who first came here for their ascetic practices 1,300 years ago.

Kuju-Renzan Massif

Kuju-san is a 13km-long massif consisting of more than ten volcanic peaks including Mt. Naka-dake, which at 1,791m is the highest mountain in Kyushu. Each peak is dormant except Mt. Hossho-zan (1,762m), which suddenly erupted in 1995, 333 years since the last eruption in the massif.

At a glance

Volcanoes atop Kyushu. A variety of trails open around the year for the beginner and seasoned hiker.

Itsutsuji Fudo

Itsutsuji Fudo marks the furthest and highest extent of Kyu-Sento-ji’s grounds. A small shrine clings to the sheer rock face, from which panoramic views across Kunisaki over the Seto Inland Sea beyond to Honshu are a fitting reward for making the climb.

Hotojima

Hotojima, an island off Tsukumi, is an outlier both geographically and culturally when compared to the rest of Oita, even Japan, making it an intriguing place to visit. Usually, however, there are not many visitors amongst the passengers aboard the ferry to the island from Tsukumi harbour.

Himeshima

The ferry across the placid Seto Inland Sea only takes 20 minutes to sail from Imi to Himeshima, an island lying off the Kunisaki Peninsula’s north coast.

At a glance

20 minute ferry ride from Imi

Ideal for cycling

Interesting Geology

Beppu Ropeway

For panoramic views over Beppu and Beppu Bay to the east and Mt. Yufu-dake to the west ride the Beppu Ropeway, which whisks passengers up almost 800 metres to the summit of Mt. Tsurumi-dake.

Ao-no-Domon

In the 18th Century, Zenkai, a monk at Rakan-ji, witnessed a person falling into the waters of the Yamakuni River from the dangerous, cliff-hugging path it was necessary to negotiate to reach his temple.