1,228km (763 miles) SW of Tokyo; 186km (116 miles) SE of Fukuoka
Beppu gushes forth more hot-spring water than anywhere else in Japan. With approximately 2,832 hot springs spewing forth 130,000 kiloliters (34 million gal.) of water daily, it has long been one of the country's best-known spa resorts. Some 11.5 million people come to Beppu every year to relax and rejuvenate themselves in one of the city's 85 public bathhouses, and they do so in a number of unique ways: They sit in mud baths up to their necks, they bury themselves in hot black sand, they soak in hot springs, and on New Year's they bathe in water filled with floating orange peels. They even drink hot-spring water and eat food cooked by its steam.
Bathing reigns supreme here -- and I suggest you join in the fun. After all, visiting Beppu without enjoying the baths would be like going to a world-class restaurant with your own TV dinner.
Not a very large town, with a population of 121,300, Beppu is situated on Kyushu's eastern coast in a curve of Beppu Bay, bounded on one side by the sea and on the other by steep hills and mountains. On cold days, steam rises everywhere throughout the city, escaping from springs and pipes and giving the town an otherworldly appearance. Indeed, nine of the hot springs look so much like hell that that's what they're called -- Jigoku, the Hells. But, rather than a place most people try to avoid, the Hells are a major tourist attraction. In fact, everything in Beppu is geared toward tourism, and if you're interested in rubbing elbows with Japanese on vacation -- particularly the older generation -- this is one of the best places to do so.
