Oita: Popular Horse-Drawn Carriage Tours Begin in Japan’s Yufuin Hot Spring Area

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:09 JST, March 21, 2026

YUFU, Oita — Horse-drawn carriage tours, a popular tourist attraction in the Yufuin hot spring area of Oita Prefecture, have kicked off this year’s services.

They are scheduled to run about eight times a day through the end of December.

The carriage service began as an effort to highlight to tourists the area’s reconstruction after a major earthquake struck the central part of the prefecture in 1975.

Departing from and returning to JR Yufuin Station, the carriage travels the 4-kilometer course in about an hour, allowing passengers to enjoy views of the countryside and Mt. Yufu.

The annual opening event to start this year’s services was held in front of JR Yufuin Station on March 1. After a Shinto ritual ceremony, two carriages carrying local children and others set off, with clip-clops echoing through the town as they traveled along the course.

“The horse went faster than I expected, and the wind felt great,” said a 6-year-old kindergartener, who rode in a horse-drawn carriage for the first time.

Fares are ¥2,500 for junior high school students and older, and ¥1,800 for 4-year-olds through elementary school students.