Travel Guide of Scenic Byway Kyushu Q-❽ Yamanami Highland Parkway Beppu City, Yufu City, Takeda City and Kokonoe Town, in Oita Pref.－Volcano, Hot Spring, Outdoor Activities, and Rich Nature in Highland― The road in the Central Mountain Range crossing diagonally the Kyushu main island is called the "Yamanami Highway" and is a popular drive course in Kyushu. The scenic spots of Yamanami Highland Parkway are distributed in the area along this highway, most of which are located in Aso-Kuju National Park. The relatedn Municipalities are cities of Beppu, Yufu and Taketa, and Kokonoe Town (see the map). [Access] Although various access routes to this scenic area are available, but Oita Airport is the closest, and it takes about 50 minutes by car or bus from the airport to Beppu City, and another 30 minutes to the Yufuin hot spring resort. If you use Fukuoka Airport, it takes about 1 hour 30 minutes by express bus to Yufuin. From Kumamoto Airport, it takes about 2 hours and 30 minutes to drive to Yufuin Onsen via Route 57 and Ya- manami Highway. However, you can stop at Aso Volcano on the way, which is an attractive access route. Alternatively, you can follow the tourist route from the opposite direction from south to north. Q－❽Yamanami Highland Parkway. In the case of railway, there is a limited express "Yufuin-no-Mori", that connects Hakata Station and Yufuin In short, you can access this highland area by various domestic Town. To access by Kyushu Shinkansen, you need to change to the transportations from Oita, Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Kansai Airports and Hohi Line at Kumamoto Station to go to Aso Station, but you can climb so on, so youn can choose your favorite transportation method and have Aso Volcano and its outer ring mountains on the way. fun accessing. Furthermore, if you access from Kansai or Shikoku, you can enjoy a [Main Route] This scenic region is mainly mountainous, but is rela- travel of the ferry connecting Osaka Port in Osaka City or the Uwajima tively calm plateaus formed by repeated volcanic eruptions. From Port in Ehime Prefecture and Beppu Port in Beppu City. Beppu City, you can go to the Yufuin Basin and Mizuwaketoge (Pass) via the Oita Expressway and National Road 210. If going further south on the Yamanami Highway, you will reach the Senomoto Plateau as shown in the map. The Kuju mountain range in winter is the coldest areas in Kyushu, but many people live on this highland. In the 17th century (Edo period), feu- (3) (4) Yamanami Highway in Handa Highland (4) Tadehara Wetland dal clans of “Mori” and 1 “Oka” were established, and each spring resort area called the an- castle town developed. In the adja- nex town of Beppu City. Sujiyu- cent Hita region (current Hita City), Onsen in Kokonoe Town is fa- Saigokusuji-Gundai (magistrate’s mous for the bathing method of office) was set up and became the di- pouring hot water from a high rect control of the Shogunate. place to the shoulders. Nagayu On the other hand, after World Onsen in Taketa City is one of War II, the “Yamanami Highway”, the best carbonated springs in which is part of Prefecture Road 11, the world and is considered to was constructed as the first modern be good for your health. There is toll road in Kyushu. also a rooftop bath of hot spring In the second half of the 20 with a good view, a hot spring in century, three expressways of a cave, sand steam bath and a Kyushu, Oita, and Higashi Kyushu (1) Public Bathhouse, Takegawara-Onsen (Hot Spring). quiet open-air bath along a have been also constructed. stream. Therefore, although all the scenic spots are mountains areas, the road B. Outdoor Activities in High- lands. network is in extrmely good condition. Paddy fields spread in the The scenic area has various en- northeastern part of the Handa trances from the expressways, as in- Plateau. This is the result of the dicated by the large yellow arrows resettlement of people who lost on the map. Under such a road net- their farmland due to the flood work, the main access points are of the Chikugo River in 1889 Prefecture Road 11 and National Monk- head type of Jigoku and the development of cold-tol- Road 422, under which you can fol- erant rice. Besides, in the high- low various drive courses in scenic lands and mountains, various spots (see Map). fields of agriculture and forestry [Regional Resources] Scenic spots industries such as livestock, are divided into 5 zones: Beppu (1), highland vegetables, shiitake Yufuin (2), Makinoto (3), Senomoto cultivation, blueberries and (4) and Taketa (5), depending on the pears have been developed. distribution of landscape resources On the other hand, you can in this road network. Resources enjoy many outdoor activities common to these zones are provided such as mountain climbing, by volcanoes and hot springs, out- golfing, trekking, walking, out- door activities, and views of the plat- door training, and camping. eaus with the average altitude of While Kyushu's largest ski re- 1000 m. sort opens in winter, many peo- Mountain type and Blood Pond type of Jigoku ple visit there for marathons A. Volcanos and Hot Springs. and cycling training in the sum- The active volcanos of Tsurumi- mer. In short, this scenic highway dake, Yufu-dake and the Kuju area is truly Kyushu’s largest mountain range are lined up, but outdoor sports training center. they are not as severe as the nearby Mt. Aso. However, caution is re- C. Rich Nature in the Kuju Re- quired when climbing, as the possi- gion. bility of future eruptions cannot be ruled out. The altitude of the Kuju Of course, these volcanos give us mountainous area has changed the blessings of Onsen (hot spring). significantly from 0 m in Beppu Many types of facilities and resorts Bay to 1791 m in the Naka- of hot springs are scattered through- Dake moutain of Kujyu Sea type of Jigoku out the area along the scenic roads. Mountains, and as mentioned If you plot all the hot springs on the (1) Many Style of Spout, “Jigoku (Hell)”, in Beppu City. above, many hot springs are map, there will be no gaps in some scattered in area with active places. volcanoes. Therefore, the Kuju Plateau is full of interesting scenery. For To give some examples of hot springs under such situations, Beppu example, in spring, you can enjoy pretty wild flowers, and in early City has hot springs with various features, and Yufu City is a quiet hot summer, a beautiful view full of flowers. You can relax in the hot springs, 2 which are good for your health and The foundation of present Beppu beauty, while admiring the scenery of tourism was established in the green carpets in summer, colored leaves middle of the 20th century. This in autumn, and white snow in winter. was promoted by the entrepreneur, In other words, you can fully enjoy the Mr. Kumahachi Aburaya. In honor nature of every seasons, but here are of his achievements, his statue is some concrete examples. installed on the front square of JR ◇ Noyaki (field burning) has been Beppu Station. His slogan was a passed down since ancient times. Its pur- unique phrase: "Mountain is Fuji, pose is not only to maintain pasture, but Sea is Setouchi, and Onsen is also to burn the vast grasslands to pre- Beppu". It emphasizes that Beppu vent pests, promote new shoots and to Onsen is a major tourist destina- maintain afforestation for environmen- tion comparable to Mt. Fuji and the tal protection. Therefore, it has a differ- (2) Yufudake Volcano Mountain in Yufu City. Seto Inland Sea. ent meaning from slash and burn agri- The best scenic item in this area culture. is Beppu Hatto, in which “Hatto” ◇Miyama-Kirishima Shrub is a kind of means eight hot springs. They are azalea that can survive as the dominant scattered all over the city, and their species in the volcanic area. In various water quality is different for each. volcanoes in Kyushu, flowers bloom As shown in Photo (1) on page 2, from late May to early June, and in the Takegawara Public Bathhouse Kuju mountain range, the slopes of Mt. built in 1938 is an important scenic Hiiji-Dake (1643m) are full of pink flow- building as a symbol of Beppu City. ers (see Photo (4)). The front has a Japanese-style of ◇The “Bogatsuru” wetland in Takeda roof, and the lobby with a high ceil- City and the “Tadehara” marshland in ing retains the image of the early Kokonoe Town, which are registered the Showa period. If you follow Japa- Ramsar Convention, are adjacent to two (2) Kinrin-ko Lake on the Base of Yufu-Dake Mountain nese customs in the bath, you can mountain groups of Kuju (1787m) and meet naked citizens. It is a Japa- Daisen (1786m). The former is 1200m nese-style bath with separate men above sea level, the area is 53 ha, and the and women. Please heal your body latter, 1000 m and 38ha. They are valu- in the bath pool with everyone. able habitats for animals and plants and There are many hot springs eve- the largest intermediate wetlands in Ja- rywhere in the city, but the ponds pan. The sidewalks on the wooden deck where the hot springs spout out are are well maintained and you can enjoy diverse, reflecting the differences in walking safely. geology. As shown in Photo (1), ◇On the way from JR Bungo-Naka- there are various types of ponds mura Station to Handa Plateau, you can such as steam smoke pond (Shirai- see the stunning autumn leaves at shi Jigoku), mud pond (Oniishi- Kyusuikyo Valley.