Yufuin and Beppu Bus Tour Review 2026: Fukuoka Day Trip
Discover the easiest way to visit Yufuin, Beppu, and the Kyushu African Safari from Fukuoka with this comfortable, family-friendly day tour bus review.
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Discover the easiest way to visit Yufuin, Beppu, and the Kyushu African Safari from Fukuoka with this comfortable, family-friendly day tour bus review.
Fukuoka Yufuin Bus Tour
Beppu African Safari & Kamado Jigoku
Hello, fellow travelers!
I'm travel influencer Nabongsoon.
While planning a week-long Kyushu family trip
with my brother's family, I wanted to make traveling with kids
as smooth as possible. I was trying to figure out how to
easily visit both Yufuin and Beppu
from Fukuoka, and that's when I decided to book
a Yufuin-Beppu Bus Tour!
I've been to Japanese hot spring towns several times,
but since this was my first time visiting the
African Safari, Kamado Jigoku, and Umi Jigoku,
I was super excited for this bus tour.
Moving a big group around the outskirts of Fukuoka
can be quite a hassle, so being able to
rest in the bus between stops made our
Yufuin bus tour so comfortable and packed with fun.
Today, I'll share all the details on how to book
your Fukuoka-Yufuin bus tour and what our
exciting Yufuin-Beppu itinerary looked like.
01. Booking and Setting Off
I originally looked into taking a train or public bus
from Fukuoka to Yufuin. However,
the distances between the main sights are pretty far,
and I figured it would be too exhausting
for a large family traveling with kids.
Choosing the bus tour was definitely the right call—
traveling in comfort saved us so much energy!
And with that, we set off on our action-packed
Yufuin-Beppu day trip from Fukuoka!
The price per person for the Yufuin bus tour
seems to vary depending on the travel season
and the exchange rate.
When I booked, this specific tour
had the most reasonable price and fantastic reviews,
so our family of five booked it with confidence.
You can get it at a discounted rate on Klook!
Fukuoka Day Tour: Yufuin, Kyushu Natural Animal Park, Umi Jigoku & Kamado Jigoku - Klook
In the end,
booking this Fukuoka-Yufuin bus tour was a lifesaver.
If we had tried to navigate public transport on foot,
it would have been nearly impossible with a child.
Thanks to the tour, we covered a packed Yufuin and
Beppu itinerary safely and comfortably.
Departure is right in front of the Lawson convenience store
at the Oriental Hotel, just outside Hakata Station's Chikushi Exit.
This spot is the ultimate meeting point for countless
travel agencies, so you'll see lots of tour guides
standing around holding up various flags.
Just look for the guide holding the flag
of the agency you were notified of beforehand.
They'll check your name off the list and guide you
to your designated bus.
There was an extra fee for front-row seats,
but I found the seats further back perfectly comfortable!
02. Yufuin and the African Safari
First, let me share the schedule and
the beautiful scenery we enjoyed during our
Yufuin and African Safari stops on the bus tour.
We departed from Fukuoka at 8:30 AM.
By 10:30 AM, we arrived in Yufuin for a 2-hour
free exploration and lunch session.
This town is incredibly popular with travelers,
featuring a wonderfully calm, cozy atmosphere
with charming little shops, pretty cafes, and
picture-perfect streets that make exploring a delight.
Since we visited on a public holiday,
the lines for the popular snacks were quite long,
making 2 hours feel a bit short. But we strategically
split up to wait in different lines!
Thanks to that, we successfully devoured Gold Medal Croquettes,
Ringo-en apple tanghulu, the highly popular grilled mushrooms,
karaage, and some rich matcha green tea. Mission accomplished!
We even squeezed in a relaxing stroll around
the peaceful and serene Lake Kinrin.
From 13:10, we spent about 1 hour and 50 minutes
at the Kyushu Natural Animal Park (African Safari),
which my nephew had been looking forward to the most!
If there are spots available, you can pay an extra fee
to ride one of the park's official safari buses.
But since we visited on a public holiday,
the crowds were massive! So we ended up enjoying the African Safari
right from the comfort of our original tour bus.
The perk of the official safari buses is that
you can feed the animals directly through the wire mesh.
However, because you're surrounded by wire grids,
it can be a bit challenging to take perfect photos.
It’s massive in scale, home to a wide variety of animals
like lions, tigers, cheetahs, bears, elephants, and giraffes.
It felt so vast and open, almost like we were on a real African savanna!
It was such a fascinating highlight of our Beppu trip.
After the drive-through safari tour,
you can get off the vehicle to see the smaller animals.
We met mostly gentle herbivores like guinea pigs, sheep, rabbits, and horses.
It was a ton of fun because we got to feed them ourselves!
We even got to take photos
with kangaroos roaming freely around us.
We got super lucky with the weather, so our entire schedule
went smoothly without any issues.
However, African Safari often closes depending on the weather,
so it’s good to keep that in mind.
If a visit isn’t possible on your scheduled day,
the itinerary is typically replaced with the Oita Umitamago Aquarium.
That was also on my bucket list and seemed like somewhere the kids would love,
so we would have been perfectly fine with either option!
03. Sea Hell (Umi Jigoku) & Oven Hell (Kamado Jigoku)
Our next Beppu destination was the Japanese hot spring (onsen) tour,
which the adults were actually looking forward to the most!
Beppu is exceptionally famous in Japan
as a premier hot spring resort city.
The hot spring destinations on this tour
were Sea Hell and Oven Hell.
At 15:40, we headed to
Sea Hell (Umi Jigoku / 海地獄).
Sea Hell features a stunning cobalt-blue hot spring.
It's said to have gotten its name because of its striking ocean-blue color.
Even in the spring weather, the billowing white steam rising up
created an incredibly mystical atmosphere.
There was plenty to see, with a charming little garden,
souvenir shops, and a cafe surrounding the hot spring.
If you walk up just a little further, there's a foot bath area.
However, we decided to pass on this one because we heard
the foot bath at our next stop, Oven Hell, was completely free!
At 16:20, we checked out
Oven Hell (Kamado Jigoku / かま도地獄).
Oven Hell is a super popular spot in Beppu where you can see
vibrant red hot springs, grey thermal pools, and even bubbling mud pots!
It's such a unique destination among Japan's hot spring sites,
showcasing several totally different kinds of thermal pools in one single spot.
On top of that, there are so many mouthwatering snacks available,
like hot spring eggs, local cider (Ramune), fresh milk, corn, and steamed buns!
We had the best time relaxing in the free foot bath while snacking to our heart's content.
04. Wrapping Up
Our Yufuin bus tour is scheduled to arrive
back in Hakata around 6:45 PM.
However, depending on the traffic that day, it might get delayed,
so I'd highly recommend avoiding tight dinner reservations
or train bookings right after the tour!
For your reference, standard adult admission prices are:
African Safari: 2,600 yen
Jungle Bus (inside the safari): 1,300 yen
The admission for Umi Jigoku and Kamado Jigoku
can vary depending on the season,
but they are usually around 500 yen each.
Since local attraction entry fees are not included,
make sure to bring along some extra cash!
During the trip, our guide explained the different
ticket prices for each age group, collected the cash,
and bought all the tickets for us at once. Super convenient!
Exploring Yufuin and Beppu on this bus tour with my brother's family
was such a fun, comfortable, and well-paced journey.
We got to visit so many spots, but thanks to the relaxing bus rides
in between, we didn't feel tired at all, and even
the kids stayed energized and had a blast
until the very end.
Keep this Yufuin & Beppu bus tour itinerary in mind
when planning your next trip!
There are various Fukuoka-departure bus tours
offering different course combinations,
so be sure to compare them and pick
the perfect one for your travel style.
Fukuoka Day Tour: Yufuin, Kyushu African Safari, Umi Jigoku & Kamado Jigoku - Klook
Our guide was multilingual, speaking Japanese, Chinese,
and fluent Korean! They took such great care of everyone,
making our journey incredibly comfortable and rewarding.
📍 Yufuin Onsen
Yufuin Onsen, Yufu, Oita, Japan
📍 African Safari
2-1755-1 Ajimumachi Minamihata, Usa, Oita 872-0722, Japan
📍 Umi Jigoku (Sea Hell)
559-1 Kannawa, Beppu, Oita 874-0045 Japan
📍 Kamado Jigoku (Cooking Pot Hell)
621 Kannawa, Beppu, Oita 874-0840 Japan
Fukuoka Hakata Station Hotel Recommendation: Yaoji Hakata Hotel (Hot Spring & Public Bath)
Beppu Private Ryokan: Nogami Honkan - Affordable Japanese Hot Spring Ryokan
Top Things to Do in Fukuoka: Marine World Uminonakamichi Family Trip
Fukuoka Travel Essentials: Japan SIM Card & eSIM Guide (USIMSA)
Japan Travel Checklist: Plug Adapters, Voltage, and Essentials
The tour departs at 8:30 AM in front of the Lawson at the Oriental Hotel, located outside the Chikushi Exit of Hakata Station. If you look for the designated travel agency flag, they will check your name on the list and guide you to the boarding vehicle.
In Yufuin, there is a free time schedule for lunch starting from 10:30 AM for about 2 hours. The article recommends local specialties such as Ringoen's apple tanghulu, Gold Medal Croquette (Kinsho Korokke), and grilled mushrooms.
If visiting the African Safari on the day is impossible due to weather conditions, the itinerary will be replaced with a visit to the Oita Umitamago Aquarium. The alternative aquarium is also a tourist attraction that children will love.
The African Safari admission fee of 2,600 yen for a regular adult is not included in the tour cost. If you wish to ride the Jungle Bus inside the zoo, an additional fee of 1,300 yen is required, so you should prepare cash.
Both locations have spaces provided for foot baths. In particular, Kamado Jigoku offers free hot spring foot baths, and you can also enjoy a variety of snacks there.
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