Beppu Travel Guide

As any Japanese person over the age of 10 can likely tell you, Beppu is synonymous with one thing - onsen, or hot springs. Though urban sprawl has practically fused it with the neighboring prefectural capital, Oita, the city's purpose is less that of industry and commerce than that of a resort town. Hordes of tourists - primarily domestic - descend on Beppu across the year to take in its plentiful, geothermal riches. As a result the city is usually considered not so much a conventional sightseeing destination as one for relaxation and enjoyment.

The few main "sights" promoted in Beppu are its jigoku, or "hells" - hot springs not for bathing, but rather viewing. While tackiness tends to be part and parcel for each of them, a few are tasteful and attractive enough to be worthy of a stop. For completionists, a day pass including eight of the nine jigoku is available, but for most visitors two or three are more than sufficient. Most of them are located in and around the northern Kannawa district, which itself is one of the city's most active "spa towns." A strong smell of sulfur permeates the air, and several individual onsen and most lodgings provide numerous bathing opportunities. Other notable spa towns include Shibaseki, Kankai-ji and Myoban hot springs.

Arguably the most atmospheric bathhouse is the Meiji-era Takegawara Onsen, somewhat oddly located in a bustling nightlife area full of hostess bars. Still maintained in its original, rustic form, Takegawara offers one of Beppu's few sand baths - a trademark more famously held by Ibusuki (further south in Kyushu, near Kagoshima).

For those seeking kitsch, the Beppu Hihokan in Kannawa offers a weird, Japanese take on a museum of erotica. Further to the east, on a hill sits the reconstructed Kifune-jo, a castle based upon an original that no one seems certain actually ever existed!

Beppu is also home to Ritsumeikan Asia-Pacific University, an international 4-year school with students from more than 40 countries attending.