Beppu Hells: Seven Geothermal Sights, Tickets & Route Planning

Beppu’s official Jigoku Meguri is a route of seven geothermal sightseeing sites in Oita. The hot display pools are for viewing. Designated footbaths and separate bathing facilities have their own arrangements. To plan a visit, first choose the sights you want, then match the ticket and transport to two distinct areas. The association’s introduction

Apparently, a hot-spring town can turn its most ferocious water into a sightseeing route.

Research note: We checked the official sources on October 23, 2026. We have not visited, bought a ticket, observed an eruption or verified a travel-date bus connection. Temperatures below are the operator’s published figures, not our measurements.

Why are they called hells?

The Beppu Jigoku Association relates the name to a landscape of escaping steam, hot mud and hot water that people historically feared approaching. It points to descriptions in the old Bungo Fudoki and says that hot-spring vents in Kannawa are still called jigoku, meaning hells. This is the operator’s account of the name, rather than a claim that every attraction has an identical history. The association’s explanation

The appeal is the variety. At one stop the water appears blue; at another, red thermal mud changes the entire surface. Geothermal heat has also been put to uses beyond displaying a pool.

Choose what you want to see

Umi Jigoku, the Sea Hell, is the blue-water stop. Its operator attributes the colour to dissolved iron sulphate and lists a temperature of about 98°C. The name describes the appearance, rather than a beach or a swimming opportunity. Umi Jigoku’s description

Chinoike Jigoku, the Blood Pond Hell, is a pool of red hot mud. The operator describes iron- and magnesium-oxide-bearing mud emerging and accumulating, colouring the pond. Its published temperature is about 78°C. These two pools offer a useful contrast if colour is your main interest. Chinoike Jigoku’s description

Oniishi Bozu Jigoku adds moving grey mud. The operator explains the name through the rounded bubbles’ resemblance to a monk’s shaved head. It is beside Umi Jigoku, making it a practical addition to that part of a visit. Oniishi Bozu Jigoku

Oniyama Jigoku includes captive crocodile exhibits. The association describes using hot-spring heat for crocodile keeping. Knowing that feature in advance helps you decide whether to include it; the common ticket does not require you to enter every attraction. Oniyama Jigoku’s description

Tatsumaki Jigoku is the geyser stop. Do not plan around a guaranteed eruption interval. A facility-management notice dated January 15, 2026, still linked by the association when checked, warns of longer waits and variable eruption durations. It attributes variation to natural conditions, including season and rainfall. Leave room in your plan, and ask about the day’s conditions. The operator’s notice

Individual tickets or the seven-site common ticket?

The published standard individual rates, checked October 23, 2026, are:

Ticket	High-school age and older	Elementary/junior-high-school pupils
One site	¥500	¥250
Seven-site common ticket	¥2,400	¥1,200

The common-ticket fee schedule took effect February 1, 2025. It covers Umi, Oniishi Bozu, Kamado, Oniyama, Shiraike, Chinoike and Tatsumaki. Buy it at the ticket office of any participating site; it permits one entry to each, on the purchase date and the following day. It is not a transport pass. Association’s ticket conditions · Tourism Oita’s individual admission rates

For an adult paying these standard, undiscounted rates, individual tickets cost less for one to four sites; the common ticket costs less from five. For an adult, four individual admissions total ¥2,000, five total ¥2,500, and seven total ¥3,500. That is our calculation from the published prices, not an extra discount or a promise about special offers.

Choose the stops before choosing the ticket. If you only want the blue and red pools, their two adult admissions total ¥1,000, though the transfer between areas still needs planning. If you want five or more, the common ticket’s two-day validity gives you room to split the visit.

Regular published opening hours are 8:00–17:00, daily. School groups have separate booking and fee rules. We have not verified a last-admission cutoff, exceptional closure or ticket availability for your date. Official operating information

Plan two areas, rather than one continuous park

The association divides the route into:

• Kannawa: Umi, Oniishi Bozu, Kamado, Oniyama and Shiraike.
• The Chinoike–Tatsumaki area: the remaining two sites, about 3km from the Kannawa cluster.

Its access page describes the five Kannawa sites as within walking distance and recommends a bus or car for the transfer to the other area. Each site has free parking. That does not establish an effortless or continuously step-free walking circuit. Official access and route information

For an independent bus visit, the association directs travellers from JR Beppu Station’s west exit toward Umi Jigoku-mae or Kannawa. Use Kamenoi Bus’s current timetable and service notices to choose your outbound, transfer and return journeys. Check your travel date’s connections and fares directly with the bus operator; we have not verified them for your journey.

A different option is Kamenoi’s regular sightseeing bus. Its posted adult price is ¥4,500, including the seven attractions’ admission, with a roughly three-hour course. The company asks customers to reserve ahead and warns that the tour includes about an hour of group walking. Its Beppu Station pickup is at the east exit, separate from the independent west-exit bus approach above. Check the current tour times, availability and assistance arrangements before booking. The bus operator’s tour and conditions

For travel on October 31, 2026: Kamenoi has announced diversions from 9:20 to 13:20 affecting several routes, including 5, 16, 26 and 41. Consult the operator’s affected services before relying on a station-to-hells itinerary. Dated diversion notice

Footbaths, access and photographs

The association lists designated footbaths at Umi, Chinoike, Oniishi Bozu and Kamado, available to admitted visitors without a separate footbath charge. These are distinct from the hot display pools. It also lists Oniishi no Yu as a separately charged bathing facility; the sightseeing ticket is not a general onsen-bathing ticket. Official footbath and bathing information

The operating-information page lists wheelchair-accessible toilets and loan wheelchairs, with the latter not reservable. Those facilities alone do not confirm every viewing path, transfer or bus is accessible. Ask the relevant operators about the route you need. We have not confirmed a continuous step-free itinerary or general rules for video, tripods and commercial photography. Follow barriers and local signs, and ask staff when a photography rule is unclear. Published facilities

If you want to add an actual bath, our sento and onsen comparison explains the terms. For another way spring water shapes a place, Harie’s household kabata in Shiga connect water to domestic life. These are background reading, not nearby stops on the Beppu route.

Umi Jigoku in January 2018. Photo: Totti, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikimedia resized the image; the displayed frame crops it and adjusts colour. This is not a photograph of current conditions.