Beppu (downtown + sand baths)
Overview
Beppu's downtown bath houses, sand baths, and steam-cooked-food culture, separate from the Hells cluster at Kannawa.
Japan's highest-volume hot-spring city, where the downtown core mixes century-old bath houses with new-wave sand baths and the steam-powered cuisine of the Kannawa district. Takegawara Onsen has been heating water from the same source since 1879; the Shoningahama Sand Bath buries visitors on the beach for fifteen minutes of geothermal warmth; the Hoyoland mud baths sit a few minutes' drive uphill. Most travelers pair this downtown loop with the separately-listed Beppu Hells (Jigoku) sightseeing pools at Kannawa.
Local tips
The Beppu Hells (Jigoku) listed separately are the most-photographed sights, but the working bath houses here are the soul of the city. Buy a bath-pass at any tourist info booth for multi-bath days.
Want to visit Beppu (downtown + sand baths)?
Build a trip to Beppu