Beppu (別府市, Beppu-shi) is a city in Ōita Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. As of November 30, 2023, the city had a population of 113,045 in 62702 households, and a population density of 900 persons per km2. The total area of the city is 125.34 km2 (48.39 sq mi). Beppu is famous for its hot springs.
Beppu's top sight is the eight hells (地獄 Jigoku), multicolored volcanic pits of boiling water and mud, and one geyser. The hells are too hot to be diluted into onsen baths, and they emerge at temperatures ranging from 50 to 99.5 °C (122 to 210 °F). Some of the hells have a natural smell of sulfur — which comes out a bit like rotten eggs.
The eight hells are administered by Combination tickets can be purchased at any of the hells for ¥2100 for visits to all eight; if you first purchase an unlimited bus ticket for ¥900 from the Foreign Tourist Office in Beppu train station, you get a coupon book which includes a ¥200 discount for the combination ticket. If purchased separately, admission to each individual hell is ¥400. Hours for the eight hells are 08:00-17:00, although Tatsumaki-Jigoku doesn't close until its geyser has had its last eruption at the end of the day, so it may be open a little bit later than the rest. All eight hells can be seen at a fairly leisurely pace in about 2½ hours.
Three of the hells are next door to each other, and the others are within a few minutes walk. Take bus #2, #5, #9, #41, or #43 from JR Beppu Station to the Umijigoku-mae stop. The foreign tourist office in Beppu train station can tell you the next bus that is leaving for the area, as well as provide a map of the route.
Downtown Beppu offers several hot springs to visit. You can't wander too far, though, without seeing the equally promiscuous sex shops, which will usually be quite blatant on the streets. If you're going to visit a hot spring with children, and you're worried about this, plan ahead.
** Yukemuri Observation Platform to see hot springs steam against mountains.
** Hamada Onsen
** Tsukahara Onsen ** Onsen Hoyoland (Bus 5, 9, 24, 41, 43 to Konya Jigokumae) with a mixed-bathing mud bath.
** Utopia Hamakawi Onsen
Try vegetables and seafood placed in small baskets and cooked directly in the hot springs, called jigokumushi (地獄蒸し). Be sure to include shiitake mushroom, for which Beppu is famous. Chicken tempura (とり天 toriten) is another specialty to try.
*B-Passage (Beppu Station center)
The Kannawa area has many small ryokan and paved streets that make for pleasant evenings walks in yukata.
It was also once known as the Las Vegas of Japan, a reference more to its extensive sex industry than gambling. The city has been attempting to clean up its image, however. To non-Japanese tourists, the sex industry may not be obvious, or even perceivable.
Beppu is along the coast but pressed by the mountains. As a result the city, while not very large, is rather long. Most of the most well-known onsens and the tourist attractions, including most of the Jigoku or "hells", are in the Kannawa area which is almost on the opposite side of the city from the train station. Buses to and from the Hell areas come around every 30 minutes. Many of the onsen are open very late, so many tourists opt to stay in one of the onsen areas.
No, the city doesn't actually have a "spa theme park". Following a whimsical promotional video back in 2016 which got a million views in just a few days, the city did make some bath-themed modifications to an existing amusement park, but only for 3 days, and the rides were much more sensible and sedate than the ones in the video.
