Kimono in Oita: Where to Wear It, Best Photo Spots and How to Plan the Day

Yufuin: the lake and the street

Yufuin (湯布院) is the elegant sister: a hot-spring village under Mt. Yufu with a main street of galleries and cafes running to Lake Kinrin (金鱗湖), where warm springs feed the lake and mist rises off it on cold mornings. The mist photograph needs to be taken before 8:00 in autumn or winter. Yufuin's inns are among the finest in Kyushu, and their yukata are the evening outfit on the street.

Usa, Kunisaki and Usuki

Usa Jingu (宇佐神宮) is the head shrine of the forty thousand Hachiman shrines in Japan, with vermilion halls in a forest and a bridge across a pond; it is calm and rarely crowded. The Kunisaki peninsula behind it has the Futago-ji temple in the hills and the Kumano Magaibutsu, two Buddhas carved into a cliff at the top of a rough stone stairway that is not a kimono climb. Usuki (臼杵), south of Oita city, has sixty stone Buddhas carved into a hillside a thousand years ago and a samurai lane, Nioza (二王座), of stone walls and temples that is one of the quietest preserved streets in Kyushu.

Best kimono photo spots in Oita

Seasons

• Spring: cherry blossom at Kitsuki Castle and along the Beppu river in early April; Yufuin's cherry at the lake.
• Summer: hot in Beppu, cooler in Yufuin. Yukata, sand baths in the morning, and the Beppu fireworks over the bay in late July.
• Autumn: the season for Kitsuki and Usuki, dry and warm, and for the mist on Lake Kinrin from late October.
• Winter: cold mornings mean thick mist at Kinrin and thick steam at Kannawa; a lined kimono with a haori is right, and the baths make sense of the cold.

Plan your kimono day in Oita

1. Base at Beppu or Yufuin. Beppu for buses and scale, Yufuin for the inn. Both reach Kitsuki in under an hour.
2. Morning: Kitsuki. Train to JR Kitsuki, bus into town. Dress before you go (or use the town's dressing services), then the slopes, the samurai houses and the castle. Lunch in the merchants' street.
3. Afternoon: Beppu Hells. Bus to Kannawa, Umi Jigoku first, then the lanes as the light drops and the steam shows.
4. Evening: inn yukata. In Beppu, the Kannawa lanes at dusk; in Yufuin, the street after the day visitors leave.
5. Day two: Yufuin mist at dawn, then the train or car to Usa Jingu and the Kunisaki temples, or south to Usuki.
6. Day three, by car: across the mountains to Kurokawa Onsen and Aso in Kumamoto; this is the classic Kyushu loop.

Where OlaChill fits in

OlaChill's kimono rental shops are in Tokyo Asakusa and Kyoto Kiyomizu. We have no shop in Oita, and Oita is too far from either to carry a rental kimono with the next-day return option (¥1,100) on a normal itinerary.

Our advice is simple. Wear the kimono at one of our shops earlier in the trip, where dressing is included, hair is ¥1,500, make-up ¥5,000, and online booking is 10 percent off across the 14 plans. In Oita, use Kitsuki's own kimono welcome for the castle-town day and the inn yukata everywhere else; between them you will be in traditional dress more here than in most of Japan.

For Kitsuki, Usa and the Kunisaki peninsula in one day, which the trains do not manage, or for the mountain road to Kurokawa and Aso, a private car with driver from Beppu or Yufuin is the comfortable option. We quote by route and hours.

FAQ

What does Kitsuki offer people in kimono? Free entry to the samurai houses, the castle and other public sites for visitors wearing kimono, and small discounts at some shops. Confirm the current terms at the tourist office by the bus stop; they have been generous for years.

Are the Kitsuki slopes hard in zori sandals? They are stone-paved and moderately steep, with shallow steps. Take them slowly and use the handrails where provided; in rain they are slippery, so choose a dry day.

Can I wear a kimono to the Beppu Hells? Yes. The pools are viewed from paths and railings; the only hazard is steam on silk, so keep back from the plumes at Umi Jigoku and Kamado Jigoku.

When is the Lake Kinrin mist best? Cold mornings from late autumn to early spring, before the sun warms the air, roughly 6:30 to 8:00. In summer there is little mist.

How do I get between Beppu, Yufuin and Kitsuki? Beppu to Yufuin is about an hour by bus over the pass or by train via Oita. Kitsuki is 15 minutes by train from Beppu toward Kokura, then a 10-minute bus. A car covers all three with less waiting.

Ready to plan it?

Kitsuki is the one Japanese town that will thank you for arriving in kimono. Wear the outfit first in Kyoto or Tokyo at OlaChill Kiyomizu or OlaChill Asakusa, read our Beppu Hells guide and Kyushu onsen comparison, and book your kimono online.