Beppu and Yufuin Scenic Tour

Marvin Z.United States

Excellent tour guide- very personable and knowledgeable. Met all our expectations.

We have chosen to disregard our cruise excursions and plan our own local trips tailored to our interests. And what a great decision! We met Jin who is the full package. Not only did he show us the 7 Hells and a fabulous private onsen but he also included an exclusive Japanese dining experience. Jin is Japanese Canadian. His English is perfect as is his Japanese. He is very bright and gifted us with his knowledge of differences in dogma between Shintoism and Buddhism as well as Japanese attitudes and understanding of WWll. He is very curious and was profoundly thoughtful in answering our delicate questions. Jin is pursuing a PHD in tourism hoping to creatively improve friendships within international relations. This was a day we will never forget. Don’t miss it.

Jin was an amazing guide, his English, spoken & written, is perfect. His youth and energy made him the perfect guide for us. Correspondence to set up the tour itinerary was effortless & timely. It was also very unique that he is the guide and driver, he uses the tour company's vehicle. which was very comfortable for four of us. We started at the train station in Yufuin and walked along the quiet river, away from many tour buses loaded with Korean and Chinese tourists. He explained how the water from the river, mountain & underground water stoked the hot springs and plumes of steam throughout the landscape. I read about an unagi restaurant and asked that we have lunch there. It was as delicious and authentically prepared on charcoal as the reviews described. After lunch we continued walking through the main street and kitschy Ghibli buildings. We were not prepared for the streets to be inundated with hoards of tourists and locals. It was overwhelming and an experience not to be repeated. Yufuin has no quaintness and we could not get out of there soon enough. Jin is an entertaining and knowledgeable guide, he is studying certain aspects of tourism. It was interesting & refreshing to hear his ideas, opinions and theories of over-tourism and ideas of making Japan a better place for tourists and citizens of Japan. We concluded our tour at the Beppu train station, where Jin helped us get the tickets and set us on the correct path to get back to Hakata Stn. Do not hesitate to book a tour with Jin.