We had spent the night in Aso, so that we could get an early start to a day exploring Aso Kuju National Park.
We caught the sunrise from the hotel room window
Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine
The first spot we were visiting this day was the very atmospheric Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine. Hidden in the woods, a lantern lined stairway led up to the main building.
Aso Visitor Centre
Next we drove into the centre of the large Mount Aso caldera. We started by stopping at the visitor centre. From here we could look over to the Nakadake crater.
In the opposite direction it was clear enough to see Mount Unzen in the far distance, where we had been the day before.
Mount Aso Crater
If conditions are safe enough, it is possible to drive up to Nakadake crater and walk around certain paths. It was open today, so we went to take a look around the volcanic landscape and steaming crater.
Shiroyama Scenic Overlook
We then drove through to the other side of the Aso caldera – one of the largest in the world with a circumference of 75 miles. The jagged peaks of the Nakadake craters are in the centre, surrounded with rolling grassy hills, towns and rice fields.
We stopped at the Shiroyama Scenic Overlook, which had for a great view over the northen half of the Aso caldera and illustrates quite how massive the volcano is. Since it was also lunch time, we got some ramen from a small restaurant at the viewpoint.
Kuju Mountains
After lunch we carried on our journey through the Kuju Mountains.
At Makinoto Pass we went for a short but steep walk up to an observation spot overlooking the national park
From the view point we could see the yellow grassy area of the wetlands we’d be visiting next, and also got our first look at the spikey peak of Mount Yufu, which is next to the town of Yufuin, our end-point for the day.
Tadewara Wetlands
Back down from the mountain, we went for a walk along the boardwalks at Tadewara Wetlands
Kokonoe Yume Otsuribashi
The last stop on our journey was the touristy pedestrian suspension bridge Kokonoe Yume Otsuribashi. At over 170m high, it has lovely views over the mountains, the autumnal valley below and two waterfalls. The sun was getting low which made it even nicer.
Rakuten STAY x will style Yufuin
As the sun was now setting, we carried straight on to our accommodation. We would be spending the next three nights in another Rakuten holiday home, just on the outskirts of the onsen town of Yufuin
For dinner I had managed to book a very popular Yakiniku restaurant. We had a mixed platter of various cuts of local wagyu steak and veggies that you cook on a tabletop charcoal grill.
