Woke up 5:30. We packed a second luggage to ship ahead to Osaka and only keep our smaller luggage and backpacks for our one night stay at an onsen. Breakfast at 7. Near the entrance to our gate at the Hakata Station there is always a long line of customers waiting for food from il Forno del Mignon. Every time I passed by this eatery I thought to myself that these people must really be into their filet mignon because my only connection with the word mignon is with that special cut of meat. That's because I don't know Italian. Anyone versed in Italian would tell you that il Forno del Mignon means "the oven of small and pretty". Because there was always a line no matter what time of the day it was, I had to satisfy my curiosity by checking out their menu. There was no way that people would be lining up for filet mignon at 9 am. What they were in line for were petite size croissants sold by this shop which has been popular for the past thirty years at the Hakata station. It is now a chain but the shop originated in Fukuoka. An interesting note is that the pastries are sold by weight. 
JR Kyushu, part of the Japan Rail group runs most of the sightseeing trains in Japan. We are going on one of those trains today, the Yufuin No Mori. It departs from our Hakata station. There are 9 stops with Yufuin and Beppu being the most popular destination. Unlike most trains, in order to board Yufuin No Mori you need to reserve your seats in advance. We have a reserved time of 9:17 am. 
The train is a special edition celebrating their 35th anniversary.
This fern green train with vintage details travels through the woods of Kyushu at a slower pace than the bullet train to allow you to take in the lush mountain scenery.
The retro interior is a throwback to the 50's and 60's with green fabric, gold accents, and wooden details. The wooden and green design elements reflect the train’s namesake Yufuin No Mori. Mori in Japanese means forest. It has four reserved cars. They have a cafe car that sells bento box lunches, and desserts provided by famous local restaurants along the train line, the only caveat being that the lines for the food items were long. The Gees buy commemorative souvenirs. 
An observation car with panoramic windows allows you to take photos of the passing scenery. 
There are announcements during the train ride to inform you of upcoming sights to check out. We pass by the Jion waterfall. 
Norm and Shirley buy cheesecake in small cups for us to enjoy. 
Since we are travelling in a group of four, we were allowed to reserve Booth Seating. It comes with a table that can be easily put away, which is quite handy for dining or in my case, using a laptop.
The cafe offers box lunches that you can pre-order but we have brought snacks from Mr. Donut. There is a long line for food. The ride takes two hours, but on this special train the time flew by very quickly. The little train station is so small that an actual attendant is there to verify your train ticket instead of a ticket reading machine. Once outside the station we go in search of a storage locker. There are many tourists this morning and we are fortunate that Norm found a deep one to hold everything. Standing in the front of the station gives you a great view of Mount Yufu, a twin peaked active volcano. 
For lunch Shirley recommended checking a restaurant that sells clay pot rice. There is one right near the station. There is a queue in front so we bypass it. 
A horse clip clops pass on the way back to the station. 
Tsuji Basha horse and carriage
Soon a rickshaw pulled by a strong young fellow passes by.
Yufuin’s allure is Yunotsubo Street, a long street lined with shops selling whimsical items and Japanese souvenirs. It is one of the most charming shopping streets I have visited. 
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Some of the specialty shops prohibit photography so I had to take a photo of a cat clock with a swinging tail from outside the entrance. 
Had there been a place on my walls at home for yet another clock I would have bought one. Yufuin Floral Village is a themed fairy tale park inspired by the Cotswolds region in England where the famous Harry Potter movies were made. 
The shops are very small but adorable, selling any number of Ghibli themed items. In addition there is a duck pond, a rabbit garden and goat petting zoo. 
A booth selling “crab legs” was doing brisk business. We tried the 400 yen legs which are really imitation crab. They warm the legs with a torch. 
Strawberry desserts were everywhere during our travels, Shirley had to try this one. 
Back near the beginning of Yunotsubo Street, Shirley buys Ghibli souvenirs for her daughters. 
As shopping took priority to eating we found the a ramen place on our way back towards the station. When it was time for Norman to order, he said "Skinman" and pointed to the menu item that read Tsukemen. 
Pronouncing Japanese words written in English is not easy! Shirley and I wanted a small rice ball with chicken. They were out so we opted not to order anything. Back at the Yufuin station we board the Kyushu Odan Tokkyu train bound for Beppu. 
The beautiful wooden floors give it a warm atmosphere. Large windows allow you to fully enjoy the scenic beauty of the countryside. We eat our egg sandwich aboard the train to Beppu. I enjoy a tuna and mayo onigari. We informed the Nagomitsuki Ryokan when we would be arriving at the Beppu train station and they had a very nice roomy shuttle meet us as soon as we stepped outside. The service at the ryokan was equally attentive and accommodating. There was the typical ryokan tradition of slippers, yukata, and our own private onsen.
After settling into our room, it was time for a relaxing soak in the onsen before dinner. The temperature of water in our onsen was very hot so we cooled it off with cold shower water to it to make it tolerable. This ryokan serves dinner at five. The dinner was extraordinary. We are about to enjoy kaiseke, a type of multi-course Japanese meal featuring creative and artful dishes. The meal showcases seasonal ingredients in its elaborate dishes which are also paired with sake and tea service. We upgraded to waygu beef shabu shabu in order that those of us who like our foods cooked would not miss out. The staff speaks limited English and they did their best to explain each dish as they were served. 
Explaining the Dish
Even so, we did use google translate to understand what our dishes were. Every dish that I partook of was delicious, particularly the dessert.
Saki and Appetizers
Sake
Uncovering a cold dish
Seafood
Shiso Leaf
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Braised Beef Hot Dish
Pork wrapped asparagus
Meat and Vegetable for Shabu Shabu
Shabu Shabu
Sea Urchin
Dessert
It was 8:45 by the time our extraordinary meal concluded.This featured blog entry was written by Helen K. from the blog Japan Trip 2024.
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