Beppu travel guide

Base yourself at Beppu Station: the Kannawa hells on day one, Mount Tsurumi on day two, and with four days, hot springs on a separate half day.

Check admission for the hells tour with each hell and the combined-ticket information. From Beppu Station, take the bus up to Kannawa; times are on the bus company's site.

Split lunches between toriten (chicken tempura) and dango-jiru, and dinners between your inn's meal and restaurants near the station. Oita Airport connects by airport bus; flight times are on the timetable. Trains from Fukuoka stop at Beppu Station.

Kannawa is the hot-spring base, and the city center is near the station. Umi Jigoku and Chinoike Jigoku are in the same area, so do them back to back in the morning. The ropeway can stop in wind.

Visa and entry requirements for Japan

Whether you need a visa, how long you can stay and which pre-arrival forms apply all depend on your nationality and the purpose of your trip. Check the official source below, and your own government's travel advice, before you book.

• Visa information and exemptions (short-term stay) (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan)
• Visit Japan Web (online immigration and customs registration) (Digital Agency, Government of Japan)

Have breakfast at your hotel near Beppu Station, check bus times and head up to Kannawa. Link Umi Jigoku and Chinoike Jigoku in the morning, fitting in Tatsumaki Jigoku according to its eruption times. Have jigoku-mushi (food steamed by the springs) or toriten for lunch, with prices from the shop. Save bathing for your inn and come back down to town in the afternoon. Eat dinner near the station and leave the hot springs for the next morning.

With 2 nights, see the hot springs and Beppu Tower on day two and leave on the morning of day three. With 4 nights, keep day three for the Mount Tsurumi ropeway, rechecking operation if it is windy; lunch that day is dango-jiru, choosing the shop on site. Return to Beppu Station before dinner; unless you stay at a hot-spring inn, coming back near the station each night works best.

From Oita Airport, airport buses run to Beppu Station and Kannawa; check departure times in the airport information. For flight times, see the timetable. If you fly into Kansai, continue by train to Beppu Station; fares are on the rail operator's timetable.

JR limited expresses run from Hakata to Beppu Station; check times and fares on the timetable. City buses run from Beppu Station to Kannawa; check frequency and terminals in the bus information. A rental car helps if you combine the ropeway and the city in one day; for the hells alone, buses and walking are enough.

For lunch in Kannawa, choose jigoku-mushi or toriten from the shops that are open. Keep dango-jiru for your hot-spring day so the two lunches don't fall on the same day. Buy hot-spring eggs between hells and read the price on the display.

Gather dinners near Beppu Station, and keep your inn-dinner night at the inn. There is no common price list for meat dishes, so check bookings and closing days with each restaurant. A heavy dinner before a day walking the hells makes bus times tight; on your ropeway day, eat lunch in the village below the mountain.

On departure day, have breakfast at your hotel. For Oita Airport, check the airport bus times before lunch; if you are leaving via Fukuoka, check JR limited express times from Beppu Station first. Just avoid planning a ropeway ride on your last morning.

The Mount Tsurumi ropeway can stop in wind. Hells tour admission is a sightseeing ticket, not a meal discount. Don't assume one bus takes you all the way to the hot springs. Recheck entry and stay requirements for Japan before you travel.

Beppu checklist

• Base yourself at Beppu Station and do the hells and hot springs on different days
• Oita Airport by bus, Fukuoka by JR limited express
• Use only on-site information for restaurant names and admission
• Recheck entry requirements on the official sources

• First time in Beppu: a hells day and a hot-spring day, with lunch in Kannawa.
• With four days: add the ropeway as a separate half day, with dango-jiru for lunch.
• Arriving at Oita Airport: take the airport bus to Beppu Station or Kannawa; times on the timetable.