Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [578]
Orientation & Information
Beppu is a sprawling town and the hot-spring areas are spread over some distance from the town centre. Adjacent Ōita city is larger, but lacks any notable attractions, with the exception of its lively and colourful Tanabata Matsuri. The tiny but beautiful onsen village of Myōban is a quieter place to soak.
The convenient Beppu Station Foreign Tourist Information Office (Map; 21-6220; 12-13 Ekimae-machi; 9am-5pm) has helpful bilingual volunteers with an arsenal of local information and advice. Beppu International Plaza (Map; 23-1119; cnr Ekimae-dōri & Ginza Arcade; 9am-5pm), the sister branch, is a five-minute walk downhill and has free internet.
International ATM machines can be found at the Kitahama post office (Map) and the nearby the Cosmopia shopping centre. Ōita Bank handles foreign-exchange services.
Sights & Activities
HOT SPRINGS
Beppu has two types of hot springs, pumping out more than 100 million litres of hot water every day. Jigoku are hot springs for looking at; onsen are hot springs for bathing. From vantage points like Myōban (opposite), you’ll see the white plumes of hundreds of steam vents.
The Hells
Beppu’s most hyped attraction is the jigoku (hells), a collection of hot springs (Map; each hell ¥400; 8am-5pm) where the water bubbles forth from underground, often with unusual results. You can purchase a ¥2000 coupon that covers all except two. Unlike Unzen, where the geothermal wonders are unadorned, these have become mini-amusement parks, each with a theme. Check out the postcards at the station and if this tourist kitsch isn’t your thing, move on.
The hells are in two groups, at Kannawa, over 4km northwest of Beppu Station, and two more further north. In the Kannawa group, steaming artificially blue Umi Jigoku (Sea Hell) and Shira-ike Jigoku (White Pond Hell) may be worth a look. Kamado Jigoku (Oven Hell) has dragons and demons overlooking the pond. Boycott Oni-yama Jigoku (Devil’s Mountain Hell) and Yama Jigoku (Mountain Hell), where a variety of animals are kept under shamefully bad conditions. The smaller group has Chi-no-ike Jigoku (Blood Pool Hell), with its photogenically red water, and Tatsumaki Jigoku (Waterspout Hell), where a geyser performs regularly.
The two hells not included in the group-admission ticket are Hon Bōzu Jigoku (Monk’s Hell), with its collection of hiccupping and belching hot-mud pools, and Kinryū Jigoku (Golden Dragon Hell), with its ‘dragon-spitting’ steam vent.
From the bus stop at JR Beppu Station, buses 5, 9, 41 and 43 go to the main group of hells at Kannawa. Buses run every 20 minutes, but the round-trip (¥820) costs virtually the same as an unlimited-travel day pass (¥1000).
Jigoku tour buses regularly depart outside the station (¥3000, including admission to all hells).
Onsen
Scattered around the town are eight onsen areas, the best reason to come here. Onsen aficionados spend their time in Beppu moving from one bath to another and consider at least three baths a day de rigueur. Costs range from ¥100 to ¥1000, though many (and two of the best) are free. Bring your own soap, washcloth and towel, as some places don’t rent them. Some onsen alternate daily between male and female, so each gender can appreciate both baths and most ryokan and minshuku also have public baths.
Near JR Beppu Station, the classic and very hot Takegawara Onsen (Map; 23-1585; 16-23 Moto-machi; admission ¥100, sand bath ¥1000; 6.30am-10.30pm, sand bath 8am-9.30pm) dates from Meiji times. Bathing is simple; scoop out water with a bucket, wash yourself, then soak. There’s also a sand bath where a yukata is provided so you can lie in a shallow trench and get buried up to your neck in hot sand. Ekimae Kōtō Onsen (Map; 21-0541; 13-14 Ekimae-machi; admission ¥300) is also basic and just a couple of minutes’ walk from the station.
North of town, near the Kannawa group