Beppu
Japan'S Largest Hot Spring Resort By Volume; The Hells Are A National Place Of Scenic Beauty · Beppu, Oita
A seaside city on the east coast of Kyushu that sits on one of the most active hot-spring areas in the world, producing more hot water than anywhere else in Japan. Steam rises from vents and chimneys all over town, especially in the Kannawa district. Beppu is best known for its Hells, the jigoku: a set of spectacular hot pools too hot to bathe in, among them the cobalt-blue Umi Jigoku, the blood-red Chinoike Jigoku, the bubbling mud of Oniishibozu Jigoku and a geyser that erupts every half hour or so. The city has eight distinct onsen districts and hundreds of public baths, from tiny neighbourhood bathhouses costing a coin or two to large resorts. You can be buried in naturally heated black sand on the beach at Takegawara or Shoningahama, bathe in milky mud at Myoban, and eat food steamed in the hot vents at Kannawa's jigoku-mushi kitchens. Beppu is popular with visitors from Korea and across Asia, and has a lively, slightly faded retro charm. Yufuin, a smaller and more upmarket hot-spring village, is under an hour away over the hills.
559-1 Kannawa, Beppu, Oita, 874-0045, Japan
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The typical pattern: the hells open daily all year from about 8 am to 5 pm, with last entry shortly before closing. Neighbourhood bathhouses often open very early, around 6 or 7 am, and close in the evening, some with a weekly closing day or cleaning hours. The steam kitchen keeps daytime hours with a weekly closing day and a lunchtime queue. The ropeway runs in daytime and stops in high wind. Confirm current times and the last buses from Kannawa and Shibaseki before relying on them.