Morning mist
Over warm water.
Suicasmo — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Nagono — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tzu-hsun, Hsu — CC BY-SA 4.0 · HyunJae Park — Public domain · STA3816 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · そらみみ — CC BY-SA 4.0 · STA3816 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · そらみみ — CC BY-SA 4.0
A small lake in Yufuin, about 0.8 hectares, some 400 metres round and about two metres deep, and one of the sources of the Ōita River. The morning mist over it is Yufuin's signature view. Hot and cold springs rise from its bed and five streams feed it, one carrying water at about 30°C, so on autumn and winter mornings the water is warmer than the air and thick mist rises off it; it is said to be where the whole basin's morning mist comes from. It was once called «the pond at the foot of the mountain»; in 1884 the scholar Mōri Kūsō named it Kinrin, «golden scales», after seeing fish scales glinting gold in the sunset. A torii of Tenso Shrine stands in the water, and there is an old public bath and cafés on the shore. Walking around the lake is free; it is about 1.5 kilometres from Yufuin Station. Early mornings in autumn and winter, before the crowds and while the mist lies on it, are the best time.
Over warm water.
In the water.
Around the lake.
Yufuin, at the end of Yunotsubo street
Early on autumn and winter mornings, when the spring-warmed water is warmer than the cold air.
