I’d never been on a horse before I booked a beginner lesson at Crane Yufuin (乗馬クラブ クレイン湯布院), a riding club tucked into the hills above Yufuin on Nov 12, 2022, with Mt. Yufu rising right behind the arena. This is a one-on-one beginner course — no group lessons, no assumed experience — and that’s exactly what made it approachable for someone who’d genuinely never sat on a horse.

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One thing we want to be upfront about, since this site is written for visitors from abroad: Crane Yufuin’s own site states that, for safety reasons, this lesson is limited to people who can understand Japanese and who are residents of Japan. We couldn’t find any English-language booking or instruction option. So we’re sharing this as a genuine first-hand account of what the experience is like — not as a “book this” recommendation for every reader, since access depends on your Japanese ability and residency status. If that describes you, it’s a lovely way to spend a morning in Yufuin.

A Beginner Lesson, One-on-One

The lesson started with the basics — how to approach the horse, how to hold the reins, how to sit — before moving into the sand arena, which has a low practice course set up with painted poles and stools marking the jumps (we didn’t attempt any jumping ourselves; that’s clearly for more advanced riders). What stood out was how patient and detailed the instruction was: the staff walked through everything step by step, correcting posture and grip in a way that made a complete beginner feel safe rather than rushed.

Under Mt. Yufu

The arena itself is the real setting here — a wide sand ring ringed by low fencing, with Mt. Yufu filling the skyline on one side. Between the mountain view and the horse’s fly-veil bonnet (a small mesh hood to keep insects off its ears), it didn’t feel like a generic riding-school setup; it felt distinctly like Yufuin.

Getting to Know the Horse

The best part of the lesson, honestly, wasn’t the riding itself — it was the time before and after, just being close to the horse: leading it, brushing it, standing at its head while it looked back at you with those enormous, calm eyes. It’s a big animal up close in a way photos don’t quite prepare you for, and the staff clearly know each horse’s personality.

Visiting Crane Yufuin

Getting There

Crane Yufuin is about 3 minutes by car from Yufuin Smart IC on the Oita Expressway — it’s a car-access location, not something you can easily reach by train or bus from central Yufuin. Renting a car is the practical way to get here, and the same International Driving Permit rules apply as anywhere else in Kyushu — see our Yamanami Highway rental car guide for the details.