Trip · May 18, 2026
Arriving in Beppu
Our first afternoon in Beppu, from buying a bus pass and checking into the hotel to visiting the Beppu Hells and eating ramen.
Part of: Japan Kyushu 2026
Arriving in Beppu
The first thing we did after arriving was find the toilet.
We planned to visit the Beppu Hells that day, so we needed to buy a one-day bus pass from the tourist information centre.
Signs on the ground floor point towards the information centre.
Find this east exit, on the opposite side from the toilet.
Turn right.
Walk a little farther and the tourist information centre will be on your right.
The staff were very patient when explaining the attractions, even though we did not end up visiting everything they recommended.
Read my notes about the Beppu Tourist Information Centre
After buying the one-day pass, it was time for a cigarette.
Turn right after leaving the information centre. You will see this market, which also has a few restaurants.
Continue past the restaurants.
On the left, there are one or two entrances leading into the car park. Walk to the far end.
Enter through the junction closest to the end.
The smoking area is through the door on the left.
Do not worry if the lights are off. The sensors automatically turn on the lights and air conditioning.
After that, we set off for the hotel.
Walking to the Hotel
The sun was intense that day.
We saw an enormous dandelion.
We passed a kindergarten.
There was a park opposite the kindergarten.
Then we arrived.
Read more about Apartment Hotel Yaezaki
Setting Off for the Beppu Hells
We returned to Beppu Station and were lucky that the driver waited for us, saving us from a wait of almost half an hour.
We got off at the Chinoike Jigoku-mae bus stop.
Tatsumaki Jigoku and Chinoike Jigoku are less than ten metres apart.
We first bought a combination ticket at Tatsumaki Jigoku. If you plan to visit all seven hells, the pass saves a few hundred yen compared with buying separate admission tickets.
The staff told us the geyser at Tatsumaki Jigoku would erupt in another 20 minutes, so we visited Chinoike Jigoku first.
We did not keep a close eye on the time, so we only saw the main pool and missed some of the shops inside. For fun, I bought one of their bright red mosquito coils.
We then returned to Tatsumaki Jigoku. The moment the geyser erupted was genuinely impressive.
Many visitors prefer the blue, white and red hells, but Tatsumaki Jigoku was the most dynamic and dramatic one for me.
After seeing those two, we took a bus to visit the remaining five.
Tip: Get off at the Umi Jigoku-mae stop. Starting higher up and walking downhill is much less tiring.
Cross the road, walk through the car park and continue slightly uphill to reach Umi Jigoku.
Umi Jigoku is quite large, with a lotus pond outside.
After walking through the shop, you reach the striking blue pool.
Oniishi Bozu Jigoku is next door.
Continue downhill to Kamado Jigoku. Honestly, it feels like miniature versions of several other hells gathered in one place.
Its distinctive experiences include drinking hot-spring water and using the steam on your face.
With little time left, we hurried to Shiraike Jigoku, which looked like a huge bowl of milky fish soup.
We barely had time to look around before rushing to Oniyama Jigoku, but it had just closed at 5:00 p.m.
The whole visit took more than three hours, excluding transport, and we still missed one hell. Allow half a day if you genuinely want to explore rather than quickly collecting photos.
The road downhill eventually leads back to the bus stop.
Read the complete Beppu Hells guide
Dinner
After resting at the hotel, we looked for somewhere nearby to eat. The hotel had a guide to local restaurants.
Before dinner, we went to the Don Quijote next door. It was across the road and only a minute away.
I photographed Beppu Tower from Don Quijote.
We walked to a ramen shop. Sorry, I only remembered to take a photo after eating half of it.
The menu:
The most unusual detail was that the first noodle refill was free.
That brought the day to an end.