Nature Travels in Nakatsu Oita Japan

  Nakatsu Oita Prefecture, Ōita, Japan
Saturday, July 18, 2009

Nakatsu is known for its fried chicken (kara-age から揚げ）  and being the home town of the famous educator Fukuzawa Yukichi who is pictured on the Japanese 10,000yen bill.
I had heard that there were opportunities for outdoor adventure here so my friend and I decided to go there from Oita City so we could find a bit of peace in nature for two days and one night.

We took the Sonic (fast train) from Oita City to Nakatsu on the JR Nippo Line , it takes about one-hour, and is a nice ride as you can buy food and drinks from a lady who comes by each car with a cart of snacks. Since there were two of us going round-trip we bought the special discount 4-tickets for 9,800yen total (thats 2450yen or about 25dollars for each ticket) It would certainly be a better deal with the JR passes but I cant get that since I am living in Japan.

We got to Nakatsu City and stayed at a local business hotel called the Route Inn. (097-985-0050)It was close to the station and included breakfast for about 50$ a person. A typical deal. Staying in the city gives you the chance to check out Nakatsu Castle and some local museums and shrines, which I would say are points of interest for those into Japanese history or religion.
You can get a bike from the information desk at Nakatsu station for free for three hours which would give you enough time to do this, so staying in Nakatsu City isnt necessary if you are visiting there to do outdoor activities. There is a big shopping center near the station called YouMe Town (pronounced You-May Town)which could be somewhere to stock up on neccessities before going out of town.

From Nakatsu Station you can venture out to Yabakei Town which offers relaxing accomodations and outdoor activities.As in most rural areas of Japan renting a car gives you the most freedom in travel, but I can imagine that renting a car might provide a headache for those who cant read Japanese, as most road signs dont appear in English. For this reason I recommend taking a bus out to Yabakei Town where you can stay at a place called Yabakei Cycling Terminal. (097-954-2655)

This facility rents out bikes for free to people staying there and can serve as a good point for local activities. There is a special cycling path called "Maple Yaba Cycling Road" (about 40km long) that goes from Nakatsu station down to an area called Yamakuni. This path is especially scenic in the fall when the leaves are changing colors. Throughout the year it provides a fresh breath of nature lined by rice paddies, mountains and the river that connects to the Yabakei Dam, which is known for being on of the best water-skiing and wakeboarding spots in the country.
Along this cycling road there are camping facilities so travelers with their own bikes could ride from Nakatsu station. However the information desk at Nakatsu station doesnt rent bikes out to use along the path so those without bikes would be best off going to cycling terminal first.

To get to the cycling terminal from Nakatsu station, buses leave every 40minutes or so from 730 am to 630pm (get a time table from the Nakatsu station information desk). Take the bus to Kakisaka  柿坂 , it takes about 40minutes. I would suggest getting there before sundown since the cycling center is a short walk from the bus stop (probably about 10mintues) but the country roads could be confusing. Calling the cycling terminal and asking someone to pick you up might work also. This picture shows the sign that leads you to the cycling terminal.

At the cycling terminal there are dozens of bikes to choose from. A couple of mountain bikes and your traditional Japanese mama-chari (which is a bike with baskets that mamas use to go shopping) not much more than a one gear beach cruiser. They even have two-person bikes, which was the bike of our choice. For three hours bikes cost 360yen (less than $4), free to people staying at the terminal.

Sites to see along the path include Ao-no-domon 青の同門　 a tunnel which was chizeled by one man for 30 years to repent for killing a man, and Yabakei Bridge 耶馬溪橋, an eight arch stone bridge spanning 116meters, the longest in Japan. Not far from the path is a road stop called Michi-no-eki Yaba Topia 道の駅耶馬トピア　(097-952-3030) where you can learn to make buckwheat noodles and eat them.


At the end of the path is a modern looking building called "Core Yamakuni" コアやまくに (097-962-2140) where you can ice skate in winter and roller blade during other seasons. Also there is a resort called Yasuragi-no-sato Yamakuni (097-962-2186) where you can do different hands on activities like making local dumpling soup, or traditional Japanese products out of straw. 
 Be sure to call first and make a reservation if you are not staying at the resort because it seems they might do the classes based on demand and might not have classes planned without a reservation. The oldest wooden house in Kyushu is also nearby, built in 1771, and still has a thatched roof!

Not far from the cycling center are places to enjoy water activites. You can probably get to the the Yabakei "Aqua Park" (097-954-2655) by bicycle. It is open year round for water-skiing and wakeboarding but as it is one of the few spots in Japan to do this the reservations were booked for the weekend. We stopped by anyway and they let us ride on the boat so we got to see locals doing wakeboarding up close. They were pretty goood. The West Japan Open Water Ski Tournament is held here in the fall. But dont let the word "Aqua Park" fool you. Its basically just a floating raft on the water where local surfer types hang out. They all seemed pretty absorbed in getting their own turn at wakeboarding that it would be really hard for a someone just passing by to get a real chance without a reservation. Plus at 3000yen ($30 for 15minutes) its not exactly a once in a lifetime opportunity. Im sure there are much better chances to do this kind of thing outside of Japan. Its probably just a good deal for locals.

Because we spent too much time just trying to get our foot in at the "Aqua Park" we didnt get to go to the Natural Canal Pool 源流河川プール which is a natural water park, a bit up the road from the cycling terminal. It is quite a bit off the bike path so it may have been difficult to get to without a car but in the pictures it looked like an awesome place to go to in summer. With a car there are other things in the area to enjoy like hotsprings, a strawberry farm, and a mushroom house. But even without a car I think the cycling terminal serves as a good spot for enjoying the bike trail, or a starting point for a camping trip if you rent the bikes and stay at the camping spot not far from the trail. Apparently you can leave the bikes here for an additional 800yen or so, but I dont know how you would get back to the station, I imagine there must be a bus back.
Fuu-sui-en Camp Spot 風水園キャンプ場 (097-952-2108)
there are bungalows and river houses for rent here but  I couldnt find much information but there are some pics on this website http://www.doumon.com/fuusuien/