Eight Hells, Kyushu

For over a thousand years, the residents of Kannawa district in Beppu found the geothermal activity in their neighborhood too violent to live near, water and gas boiling out of the ground, mud churning in pits, the earth venting steam at temperatures that could strip skin. They called these spots jigoku, meaning hell, and treated them as places to avoid. Today they are Beppu’s main tourist attraction, protected as a nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty, and visited by several million people a year.

The eight hells are hot spring pools and geothermal features spread across two main clusters in Kannawa and Shibaseki districts. Each has distinct color, temperature, and geological character. Six of the eight are connected to a combined ticket called the Jigoku Meguri pass. The seventh and eighth, Yama Jigoku and Chinoike Jigoku, require separate tickets, though Chinoike and Tatsumaki are sold as a Shibaseki pair. A good self-guided circuit visits all eight across a comfortable half-day or a full day if you eat and linger.

The Eight Hells

Umi Jigoku (Sea Hell) is the most photogenic of the group. The pool runs cobalt blue at 98 degrees Celsius and reaches 200 metres deep. The color comes from dissolved minerals reacting with the intense heat. A lotus garden on the grounds is heated by geothermal water and produces enormous lily pads. Onsen tamago, eggs hard-boiled in the spring water at exactly the right temperature, are sold here and at several of the other hells.

Oniishibozu Jigoku (Bald Monk Hell) takes its name from the bubbles that break the surface of grey boiling mud and briefly form rounded domes before collapsing, resemblances to the shaved heads of Buddhist monks, apparently. The visual effect is oddly compelling. This hell’s history is documented in the Bungo Fudoki, an ancient provincial survey compiled about 1,300 years ago.

Oniyama Jigoku (Crocodile Hell) is the one that surprises visitors expecting geology and gets them crocodiles. Around 80 crocodiles are housed in enclosures heated by the geothermal water, maintaining temperatures that suit the animals. It was the first crocodile breeding facility in Japan. The connection between volcanic hot springs and tropical reptiles is not immediately obvious, but it works.

Kamado Jigoku (Cooking Pot Hell) is arguably the most diverse. It presents six distinct geothermal features on the same site, each with different colors and temperatures. The name comes from the cooking vessels used in rice offerings at the nearby Kamado Hachimangu Shrine. The hell has a tasting counter where visitors try food and drink heated or prepared using geothermal steam.

Shiraike Jigoku (White Pond Hell) runs light blue and sits adjacent to a small tropical fish aquarium. The aquarium works because the geothermal steam creates a controlled warm environment suitable for fish like pirarucus and piranhas that would not otherwise survive Oita’s winters.

Yama Jigoku (Mountain Hell) is the odd one out: not included in the standard Jigoku Meguri pass. The site has a small petting zoo with animals including goats and capybara. The geothermal features themselves are the least visually dramatic of the group.

Chinoike Jigoku (Blood Pond Hell) is the most striking red. The boiling clay gets its color from high iron content in the mineral-rich water, and at certain light angles the surface genuinely looks like what the name implies. This is considered the oldest of Japan’s hells, with references in historical records going back over a millennium.

Tatsumaki Jigoku (Tornado Hell) is the only geyser in the group. It erupts every 30 to 40 minutes to a height that would be considerably higher without the roof built to allow spectators to watch safely from close range. The eruption lasts about six minutes. Timing your visit around it is worth doing; the staff at the entrance usually know when the next one is due.

Tickets and Hours

All eight hells are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The Jigoku Meguri combined pass covers seven hells and costs 2,400 yen per adult as of February 2025. Individual hell admission is 500 yen each. The combined pass is valid across the purchase date and the following day, which gives enough flexibility to split the circuit across two mornings if you prefer a slower pace. Yama Jigoku is not included in the pass; admission is paid separately on entry.

Tickets are available at Beppu Station visitor information center or at the entrance to any of the individual hells.

Jigoku-Mushi Cooking

A cooking tradition called jigoku mushi (hell steaming) uses geothermal steam to prepare food in wooden boxes placed over the vents. It dates to the Edo period and produces fish, vegetables, and eggs cooked at consistent high temperature without boiling in water. Several restaurants in Kannawa offer jigoku mushi sets where you cook your own food at the table over a personal steam vent. It is one of the better food experiences specific to Beppu and worth organizing at least one meal around.

Where to Eat

Kannawa district has a cluster of restaurants serving jigoku mushi and straightforward Oita cuisine. Oita Prefecture is known for toriten, battered and deep-fried chicken, a local variation on tenpura, which appears on most casual menus in the area. Beppu is also close to the sea, and fresh fish from Oita Bay is served at restaurants near the waterfront.

Where to Stay

Beppu has the highest concentration of onsen per city in Japan, and almost every accommodation has some form of hot spring bath. Suginoi Hotel on the hill above the city is the large resort option with multiple public baths and ocean views. For ryokan experience at mid-range rates, Yamada Bessou and Seaside Hotel Mimatsu Ooetei are well-regarded. Budget travelers have solid options at Guest House Rojiura and Beppu Hostel near the station.

The alternative base is Yufuin, about 40 minutes inland by train, which is smaller, quieter, and has more boutique-style ryokan. Day trips to Beppu’s hells from Yufuin work logistically but make for a long day. Most visitors who want to do the hells thoroughly stay in Beppu itself.

Getting There

From Fukuoka’s Hakata Station, the JR Limited Express Sonic runs to Beppu in about two hours via Kokura. A scenic alternative via Yufuin takes about three hours and fifteen minutes through mountain terrain. From Oita Airport, Beppu is 45 minutes by bus. If you hold a JR Pass, all of these trains are covered.

The two hell clusters, Kannawa and Shibaseki, are not walking distance from each other. A local bus runs between them, or you can take a taxi. The walk from Beppu Station to Kannawa is uphill and takes about 20 minutes.

Practical Tips

The hells themselves are all outdoors and open regardless of weather, but rain makes visiting more atmospheric than it sounds, steam from the springs becomes more visible in cool air. Spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) offer comfortable temperatures. Summer is hot and crowded; the area around the hells gets very busy in late July and August.

Tattoos are accepted or tolerated at more of Beppu’s public baths than in most Japanese onsen towns, the city has been working to accommodate international visitors, but policies vary by establishment. Check with your hotel before visiting a public bath.

If you are short on time, Umi Jigoku, Chinoike Jigoku, and Tatsumaki Jigoku give you the widest range of what the hells have to offer across the two districts. But Kamado Jigoku is the one that makes you feel like you actually understand what you are looking at.