Oita Hidden Gems
20 spots
Toriten — Oita's Fried Chicken with Ponzu
Toriten (とり天) is Oita's signature dish — chicken breast sliced thin, marinated briefly, coated in tempura batter, and de…
Beppu Jigoku Meguri (Hell Tour) — 7 Boiling Hot Springs
Beppu's 'Hells' (地獄, jigoku) are seven spectacular geothermal hot springs too hot and chemically extreme for bathing — c…
Yufuin — Mountain Onsen Town with Mt. Yufu View
Yufuin is a highland hot spring resort (elevation 450m) set in a basin surrounded by mountains, most notably Mt. Yufu (1…
Beppu Sand Bath — Buried on the Beach
Takegawara Onsen (竹瓦温泉), operating since 1879, offers Beppu's most accessible sand bath experience. Visitors wear yukata…
Usa Jingu — Head Shrine of 40,000 Hachiman Shrines
Usa Jingu, established in 725 AD, is the head shrine of all Hachiman shrines in Japan (numbering 40,000+). Hachiman is t…
Mt. Yufu Hiking — Twin Peaks Above Yufuin
Mt. Yufu (1,584m) dominates Yufuin's skyline with its distinctive twin peaks (東峰 East Peak 1,583m and 西峰 West Peak 1,584…
Beppu Ropeway to Mt. Tsurumi — 360° Panorama
Mt. Tsurumi (1,375m) overlooks Beppu from the west, and the Beppu Ropeway ascends 800 meters in 10 minutes to an observa…
Yufuin Floral Village — European Fairy Tale Street
Yufuin Floral Village is a small commercial development designed to replicate a Cotswolds village — stone-paved lanes, h…
Hita — Edo-Period Merchant Town on the River
Hita prospered in the Edo period as a direct Tokugawa territory (天領, tenryo) controlling river transport along the Mikum…
Oka Castle Ruins — Castleless Castle in the Sky
Oka Castle (岡城) was built on a 100-meter-tall volcanic plateau in 1594, defended by sheer cliffs on three sides and acce…
Kannawa Steam Cooking — Jigoku Mushi Kobo
Jigoku Mushi Kobo (地獄蒸し工房鉄輪) is a public steam cooking facility where visitors cook their own food using 98°C geothermal…
Hyotan Onsen — Family-Run Traditional Bath
Hyotan Onsen (ひょうたん温泉) is a family-operated bathhouse in Kannawa that has won 'Best Onsen in Japan' rankings multiple ti…
Harajiri Falls — Japan's Niagara
Harajiri Falls (原尻の滝) is a 120-meter-wide, 20-meter-high waterfall that drops in a perfect curtain across the Ogata Rive…
Takasakiyama Monkey Park — Wild Macaque Feeding
Takasakiyama Natural Zoological Garden is home to over 1,000 wild Japanese macaques (snow monkeys) that descend from Mt.…
Myoban Onsen — Yunohana Sulfur Huts
Myoban Onsen is a hot spring district on Beppu's western hillside famous for yunohana (湯の花, 'hot spring flowers') — crys…
Rokugo-manzan Temples — Kunisaki Buddhist Trail
The Kunisaki Peninsula developed a unique form of syncretic Buddhism (神仏習合, shinbutsu-shugo) where mountain worship, Shi…
Kamado Jigoku — Cooking Hell Steam Onsen Eggs
Kamado Jigoku (かまど地獄, 'Cooking Pot Hell') is the most hands-on of Beppu's seven hells — in addition to viewing colorful…
Saiki Gyoichi Market — Tuna Fishing Port
Saiki City on Oita's southern coast is one of Kyushu's major fishing ports, particularly renowned for tuna and mackerel.…
Kinrinko Lake — Morning Mist Mystery
Lake Kinrin (金鱗湖, 'Lake of Golden Fish Scales') is a small spring-fed lake at the eastern edge of Yufuin town that produ…
Nagayu Onsen — Carbonated Hot Spring Soak
Nagayu Onsen (長湯温泉) in Taketa City is one of Japan's few naturally carbonated hot springs (炭酸泉, tansan-sen). The water c…