Beppu Customized Half-Day Tour with Licensed Local Guide

Jigokumushi Kobo is a unique steam-cooking experience located in Beppu, one of Japan’s most famous hot spring towns. Using natural geothermal steam, visitors can cook fresh local ingredients like vegetables, seafood, and eggs in traditional “hell-steaming” style. It’s a fun, hands-on way to enjoy Beppu’s natural wonders and delicious regional flavors! **Please note that there is a charge to take part in the experience.

One of the more beautiful hells, the "sea hell" features a pond of boiling, blue water. In its spacious gardens, there are a few smaller, orange colored hells and a clear water pond with lotus flowers whose large leaves are strong enough to carry small children.

This hell is named after the mud bubbles, which emerge from boiling mud pools and look like the shaven heads of monks. There is also a foot bath with clear water. Adjacent to the hell is a public bath with multiple pools that costs an additional 620 yen.

True to its name, the "white pond hell" features a pond of hot, milky water. The pond is surrounded by a nice garden and a small, run-down aquarium that has seen better days.

The "cooking pot hell" features several boiling ponds and a flashy demon statue as cook. On the grounds, visitors can drink the hot spring water, enjoy hand and foot baths, inhale the hot spring steam and try various snacks cooked or steamed by the hot spring.

A large number of crocodiles are bred and kept on the grounds of the "monster mountain hell".

The "blood pond hell" features a pond of hot, red water and a large souvenir shop. It is one of the more photogenic hells.

The "spout hell" features a boiling hot geyser, which erupts every 30-40 minutes for about 6-10 minutes. A stone plate above the geyser hinders it to reach its full height. A short walking trail leads up the forested slope in the back of the hell grounds.

Mount Tsurumi (鶴見岳, Tsurumidake) is a 1375 meter high mountain that overlooks Beppu. The mountain is accessible via the Beppu Ropeway which takes visitors nearly 800 meters up the steep slopes to a small park near the summit. The park offers multiple observation decks with panoramic views of Beppu and Oita City, Mount Yufu and as far as the Kuju Mountains when visibility is good. The small park is covered by a network of walking paths that lead to the various nearby viewpoints. The actual summit of Mount Tsurumi can be reached in a 15 minute walk from the upper ropeway station. More demanding hiking trails connect Mount Tsurumi to the surrounding mountain peaks. It is also possible to bypass the ropeway and climb up the entire mountain in about two hours via a hiking trail that starts at the lower ropeway station.

The Oita Prefectural Art Museum (OPAM, 大分県立美術館, Ōita Kenritsu Bijutsukan) is an art museum located about 30 minutes away from central Beppu in downtown Oita City. Not to be mistaken with the nearby Oita City Museum, the Oita Prefectural Art Museum was opened in April 2015 in an eye-catching building designed by Japanese architect Ban Shigeru, who is known for his innovative designs that often incorporate structural elements made of cardboard and paper. The exterior of the building is encased in a wooden facade which resembles woven bamboo handicrafts, and features large glass walls that fold up, blending the indoor and outdoor spaces of the museum. Upon entering the building, visitors are greeted by a large atrium featuring a museum shop and space for large art installations besides the ticket counter.

Beppu is known for its quirky attractions and one of these is the sand baths that you can try all over town. One of the best places to have a sand bath however is at Shoningahama Beach which is a place on the coast where the sand is heated by the spring waters which bubble beneath the surface. People flock here to be buried up to their necks in the sand, and this is said to have thermal properties which make the body more relaxed and soothe aches and pains.

Takegawara Koji Arcade is an atmospheric retro alley and shopping street in Beppu, Oita Prefecture, Japan, known for being the oldest timber arcade in the country. It leads to Takegawara Onsen, a well-known hot spring, and is lined with retro-style shops, including coffee houses, massage parlors, and bars. The arcade is said to have been built to allow tourists to reach the onsen without getting wet from the rain.

Beppu Park is located in the center of the city and is known for being reminiscent in style of parks in Tokyo and Kyoto. This is a nice strip of greenery in the city, and if you happen to be here in the spring time then you can walk around and check out the fluffy pink cherry blossom trees in full bloom. The park is also a riot of color in the fall season when you can check out the burnt copper autumn leaves.