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Before you go
Your trip to Beppu.
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
Beppu – Oita Destination Beppu and Yufuin
How to get there
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Aeroporto de Oita (OIT) Kunisaki · 40 km
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Estação de Beppu 1 km
Approximate distances. Check flights and bus, train or boat schedules before you travel.
JR Beppu Station receives express trains from Fukuoka (about 2 hours) and from Kokura, where shinkansen trains stop. Oita Airport is about 40 km away, with a direct bus of roughly 40 minutes. Beppu port receives overnight ships from Osaka and Kobe. There are long-distance buses to Fukuoka, Aso and Kumamoto.
How many days
One full day covers the hells, an old public bath and Myoban. With two days there’s time for Kannawa’s steam bath, Mount Tsurumi and an afternoon in Yufuin.
When to go
From March to May and October to November the weather is usually mild. Winter, from December to February, is cold and dry, good for baths and for seeing the steam. Rain is more frequent from June until mid-July; August and September are humid and can bring typhoons through October.
The seasons shown are the most usual ones; nature doesn't always follow the calendar.
Do you need a car?
No. City buses depart from the station to Kannawa, where five of the hells are located, and continue to Shibaseki and Myoban. A one-day pass usually pays off if you take several buses. A car only helps if you continue along the Yamanami Road toward Aso.
Suggested itinerary
An order that works
Built with the places on this page. No rush: it's paced so you have time to see them.
One day in Beppu
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Morning
Kannawa hells
Take the bus from the station to Kannawa and visit the five “hells” in the area, from the cobalt-blue Umi Jigoku to the gray mud of Oniishibozu. Buy the joint ticket if you plan to see them all.
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Afternoon
Shibaseki and Myoban
Have something steamed for lunch in Kannawa, then head to Shibaseki to see the red lake Chinoike and the geyser Tatsumaki. Finish by climbing up to Myoban to see the thatched yunohana huts.
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Late afternoon
Sand bath at Takegawara
Return to the center and be buried in the hot sand at Takegawara, the curved-roof bathhouse near the station. Afterwards, wander the alleys of the old neighborhood.
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Evening
Dinner in the center
Dine near the station: Oita fried chicken (toriten), bay fish, or the local ramen. Many ryokan serve dinner in-room or in a communal dining hall.
2 days in Beppu
Day 1
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Morning
Walk around Kannawa
Start in Kannawa and walk along Miyuki Slope, with steam rising from houses and sidewalks. Visit the area’s hells.
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Afternoon
Steam cooking and Shibaseki
Steam your lunch in one of Kannawa’s steam kitchens, using baskets set over boiling water, then head to Chinoike and Tatsumaki.
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Late afternoon
Myoban and the bay
Climb Myoban to see the yunohana huts and Beppu Bay below. There are milky water baths in the area.
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Evening
Night in a ryokan
Sleep in a ryokan with a private bath, in Kannawa or Myoban, and wear the house yukata for dinner.
Day 2
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Morning
Mount Tsurumi
Take the ropeway up Mount Tsurumi, west of the center, for views of the steaming city and the bay. At the top, short trails lead to viewpoints.
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Afternoon
Takegawara
Back in the center, take the Takegawara sand bath and stroll through the Kitahama district and along the waterfront.
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Late afternoon
On to Yufuin
Take the bus through the mountains to Yufuin, about an hour, to stay overnight in the village or just do an afternoon visit.
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Evening
Last night
Stay in Yufuin or return to Beppu for one last soak in one of the public bathhouses downtown, many of which stay open into the evening.
Check before you go. Opening hours and days change, and places may close for renovations, holidays or events. This itinerary is a suggestion from Cidade Turismo, not a commitment: plan yours by checking directly with each place you intend to visit.
Before you go
Frequently asked questions
What are Beppu’s "hells"?
They are hot springs — boiling pools, mud pots, or intensely colored ponds — called jigoku. They are not for bathing: you visit them as scenery, with walkways and viewing platforms. Seven of them make up the Jigoku Meguri circuit: five in Kannawa and two in Shibaseki.
Where can you take a sand bath in Beppu?
In the center, at the Takegawara bathhouse near the station, and on the Shoningahama shore, where beach sand is heated by the hot-spring water. Staff cover you with the warm sand; the treatment lasts about 10 minutes.
What are the eight hot-spring districts of Beppu?
Beppu, Hamawaki, Kankaiji, Horita, Myoban, Kannawa, Shibaseki and Kamegawa. Each has its own waters and bathhouses; Kannawa and Myoban are the most visited.
What is jigoku-mushi?
It’s food steamed by hot-spring steam, a Kannawa tradition. In public steam kitchens you buy vegetables, eggs and seafood and place them in baskets over the steam for a few minutes.
Does Beppu have baths you can use while wearing clothes?
Yes. Sand and steam baths are done wearing the yukata the facility lends, and there are foot baths, free of charge, at several spots in Kannawa and downtown. In common public bathhouses, bathing is without clothes.
Beyond the guide
