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Kyushu & Okinawa · Beppu

Beppu: the seven hells, a sand bath, food steamed in volcanic vapor and onsen on every corner

The city with the most hot springs in the world (2,000 sources, steam rising from the drains): boiling pools in blue and red that you only look at, getting buried in hot sand on the beach, steaming lunch in the mountain's vapor, and finishing at an onsen from 1879.

A day in Beppu, the city of hot springs. You start with a bus from the station to Kannawa, to the hells and to a lunch you steam yourself in the spring's vapor, continue to Myoban on the mountain, and come down in the evening to the station area for toriten and the sand bath at Takegawara, which has run since 1879. The day has four rides on Kamenoi buses, and the first alone is ¥390. The 'My Beppu Free' day pass, ¥1,100, covers them all.

Verified online, October 20267 stops · 09:00 to 21:00¥9,150 · ≈ $58 per personWalking between stops: 67 minOnsenGood with kidsTattoos: public baths mostly fine

The day on a map

7 stops, in order

Stops
7
Walking minutes
18
Stop number on the timelineWalkingTrain, metro or busBase map: © OpenStreetMap
  1. The hells of Kannawa, then Walk 10 min
  2. Jigoku Mushi Kobo, then Walk 3 min
  3. The alleys of Kannawa, then Bus 15 min
  4. Myoban Yunosato, then Bus 30 min
  5. Yukemuri Observatory or Jumonjibaru Park, then Bus 45 min
  6. Dinner near Beppu Station, then Walk 5 min
  7. Takegawara Onsen
Open this day in Google Maps

The same stops with the same numbers, and the way from stop to stop. On a phone it opens in the app, and that is what you navigate with in Japan. Pin names on the map are in Hebrew.

Getting there: You start at the hells of Kannawa: from the West Exit of Beppu Station, stand 3, Kamenoi bus 2, 5, 7 or 41, 18 minutes to Umi Jigoku-mae, ¥390. From Fukuoka: the Sonic limited express, 2 hours, ¥6,000 (JR Pass). In the city you ride Kamenoi buses. The 'My Beppu Free' day pass, ¥1,100, is valid on the day you start using it, across the whole city, including Kannawa and the hells area.

  1. Stop 1Volcanic natureMust

    The hells of Kannawa: the blue sea, the red pool and the crocodile

    You start in the hells district. 7 'hells' (jigoku), boiling pools that you only look at, 5 of them in the Kannawa district, within walking distance of each other: Umi, cobalt blue at 98 degrees, Oniishi, mud bubbling like monks' heads, Kamado, where they cook eggs, and Oniyama, with the crocodiles. A combined ticket is ¥2,400 (valid for two days) or ¥500 each, and 3 to 4 are enough. Each one has a foot bath. The hells are open every day 08:00 to 17:00.

    ¥2,400 · ≈ $15Open in Maps

    Down to lunch in Kannawa

    • Walk · 10 minEast from the hells, downhill, to the center of the Kannawa district. About 900 meters.

  2. Stop 2LunchMust

    Jigoku Mushi Kobo: steaming lunch in volcanic vapor

    The municipal steaming center. You rent a steam pot, buy a basket (vegetables and seafood ¥1,800, with Bungo beef ¥2,400, for children ¥1,200), put it into the pressurized spring steam, and 10 minutes later you eat. The taste is clean. The small pot is ¥400 for 15 minutes and the large one ¥600, plus ¥200 or ¥300 for every extra 10 minutes. Only those of middle-school age and up may operate the pot. Open 10:00 to 19:00, last order 18:00, and closed on the third Wednesday of the month. No reservations: you go in by number, and at 12:00 there is a line, so arrive at 11:30. You pay at a machine.

    ¥2,300 · ≈ $15No reservations, a line at middayOpen in Maps

    Out into the alleys

    • Walk · 3 minOut of the center into the surrounding alleys and the square with the foot bath. About 150 meters.

  3. Stop 3DistrictRecommended

    The alleys of Kannawa: the district where steam rises from every drain

    An old onsen town of steep alleys. Every house has its own steam pipe, and there is a faint smell of sulfur. In the square there is a free foot bath, and a shop selling 'hell pudding', steamed in the vapor (¥350). If you want one more bath, there is a public bath nearby (¥400). Then a bus up the mountain.

    ¥350 · ≈ $2Open in Maps

    Up to Myoban

    • Bus · 15 minFrom the Kannawa bus stop, stand 2, Kamenoi bus 5, 24 or 41, up the mountain to Myoban.

  4. Stop 4OnsenRecommended

    Myoban Yunosato: the straw huts and milky water on the mountain

    On the mountain above Beppu stand straw huts where bath salts, yunohana, are crystallized from the steam, by a method 300 years old. The open-air onsen, with water as white as milk and a view over the bay, is ¥600, or ¥500 with a coupon from the information center at the station. There are not many tourists here. At the entrance they sell eggs boiled in sulfur.

    ¥600 · ≈ $4Open in Maps

  5. Break

    A rest at the hotel, if you are staying near Beppu Station, in Kitahama or in Kannawa

    This day starts at 08:40 and ends at 21:00, and after Myoban there is a viewpoint marked 'If there is time'. Go down to the hotel instead. Lines 5 and 41 run down from Myoban through Kannawa to the West Exit of Beppu Station, and from Kannawa to the station it is about 20 minutes. The ride is long, but it only goes one way: dinner at 17:30 is near the station and in Kitahama, on foot from the hotel. If you are staying at a ryokan in Kannawa, get off the bus on the way, and in the evening take the bus to the station or eat in Kannawa. If you do not want to go back, go to the viewpoint, as planned.

    Down to the viewpoint

    • Bus · 30 minKamenoi bus 5, 24 or 41 runs down from Myoban to Kannawa, about 7 minutes. From the Kannawa stop it is about 20 minutes on foot to the Yukemuri Observatory. The viewpoint is free, and the gate is open 08:00 to 21:00.

  6. Stop 5ViewpointIf there is time

    Yukemuri Observatory or Jumonjibaru Park: the steam mountains at sunset

    From the observatory you see all of Kannawa sending up dozens of columns of steam in the afternoon light, one of Japan's 'phenomena'. Free. An alternative: Jumonjibaru Park on the mountain, with a view over the city and the bay.

    FreeOpen in Maps

    Ride to dinner near the station

    • Bus · 45 minWalk back to Kannawa, about 20 minutes. From there Kamenoi bus 24 runs down to Beppu Kitahama, about 20 minutes, and Toyotsune is a few minutes from the stop. If you are eating at Beppu Station, take bus 2, 5, 7 or 41 from Kannawa to the West Exit.

  7. Stop 6DinnerMust

    Dinner near Beppu Station

    Toriten, chicken tempura with ponzu sauce and mustard, is the dish of Oita Prefecture. From the bay there is also ryukyu, fresh mackerel marinated in soy, and there is local beer. The options:

    ¥2,000 · ≈ $13Open in Maps

    Walk to Takegawara

    • Walk · 5 minFrom Toyotsune about 300 meters south, through the lanes of Motomachi, to the bathhouse's wooden building. From Bungo Chaya, at the station, about 10 minutes on foot.

  8. Stop 7BathhouseMust

    Takegawara Onsen: a hot sand bath from 1879

    You finish at a bathhouse that has run since 1879, in a wooden building from 1938. In the sand bath (¥1,500) you put on a yukata and lie down, and an attendant buries you in spring-heated sand for 10 minutes. Then a shower and an onsen. The sand bath is open 08:00 to 22:30, and reception for it closes at 21:30. The regular bath is ¥300, and the water is very hot. Closed on the third Wednesday of the month. Tattoos: fine in most municipal baths. If you prefer a neighborhood bath: Beppu has 100 municipal baths, ¥100 to ¥300, with a coin box at the entrance and nobody on duty. The rules: wash before, no towel in the water, and keep quiet. From there, walk back to the hotel, and Beppu Station is about 10 minutes away. Tomorrow: Yufuin, 60 minutes by bus.

    ¥1,500 · ≈ $10Open in Maps

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Written as a draft and verified by hand against official sources. Opening hours and prices change, so check before you go.

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