Beppu Shore Excursion: Custom Car Tour, Licensed Guide

Umi Jigoku, the "Sea Hell," is the most famous of Beppu's seven hot-spring "hells" (jigoku). Its vast pond glows a striking cobalt blue, with white steam rising dramatically over a beautifully landscaped Japanese garden. Your guide will explain how the vivid color comes from dissolved minerals and share the area's geothermal history. A scenic, photogenic stop that introduces you to the natural power that made Beppu one of Japan's greatest onsen towns.

Chinoike Jigoku, the "Blood Pond Hell," is the oldest natural hell in Japan and a designated Place of Scenic Beauty. Its pond steams a vivid red, colored by iron-rich red clay bubbling up from deep underground. Your guide will share the legends and science behind this dramatic crimson spring, and you can browse the shop selling the famous "blood pond ointment." A vivid contrast to the blue Sea Hell and one of Beppu's most unforgettable sights.

Kamado Jigoku, the "Cooking Pot Hell," is named after a legend that its steam was once used to cook rice for festival offerings. The site features six different ponds and steam vents, each with its own character and color, plus a friendly demon mascot statue. Your guide will help you enjoy the free foot bath and hot-spring drinking fountains, and explain how locals have harnessed this geothermal steam for centuries. A fun, interactive stop on the Beppu hells circuit.

Takasakiyama Natural Zoological Garden is a forested mountain home to around 1,000 wild Japanese macaque monkeys living in natural troops. From the entrance, a short walk (or monkey-rail tram) brings you to the feeding grounds where the monkeys roam freely all around you. Your guide will explain the fascinating social hierarchy of the troops and how to observe them safely. A memorable wildlife experience and a favorite with families, located right beside Beppu Bay.

Myoban Onsen is a charming hot-spring hamlet on the hillside above Beppu, famous for producing "yunohana" - natural bath-salt crystals harvested from thatched huts using techniques unchanged for over 300 years. Your guide will walk you among the steaming huts, explain the traditional crystal-making process, and point out shops selling the prized yunohana. You can soak your feet in a milky-blue sulfur foot bath while enjoying sweeping views over Beppu.

Jigokumushi Kobo Kannawa is a hands-on cooking workshop in the historic Kannawa hot-spring district, where you cook fresh seafood, vegetables, and eggs in steamer baskets using only the natural 100°C geothermal steam. With your guide's help, you'll prepare your own piping-hot, additive-free lunch the traditional Beppu way and enjoy it on site. A delicious, interactive food experience that's a highlight of any Beppu visit. (Food cost paid on site.)

Beppu Tower is a retro landmark rising 90 meters above the city's seafront, offering panoramic views of Beppu Bay, the surrounding mountains, and the countless columns of onsen steam drifting over town. One of Japan's oldest towers, it's a nostalgic symbol of the city and a great spot to get your bearings. Your guide can point out the day's highlights from the observation deck before continuing the tour. A relaxed, scenic finale with classic Beppu views.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.