We went to Beppu to the 8 hells. If Kyushu is famous for something, it would be the hot springs in Beppu. There are eight main hot springs, which all have a distinct feature. Beppu is only 20 minutes by train from Oita and cost 540 Yen back and forth.
Directly in front of the train station in Beppu you already encounter the first mini hot spring.
It is for your hands. It is nice and warm and the water is supposed to be good for your skin.
In order to get to the 8 hells you can take a bus to the hot spring area. 5 of the hot springs are in walking distance. You can purchase a ticket voucher for 2,000 Yen (16 Euro) for entry to all 7 hot springs. We had a discount of 10% and so we saved 200 Yen.
The tour was really an adventure for all our senses: seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, and even tasting!
The first hell: Oniishibouzu Jigoku
It is basically hot mud, around 98 degrees
The best part about this hot spring: a hot spring for your feet! As it is so cold in winter, it was really nice to bathe your feet in warm water. And we forgot to bring towels. But you can buy them at the entrance! And guess what: for exactly 200 Yen. Haha, so in the end our entrance fee was not cheaper... Dang it.
FEELING
As this picture shows, putting ice cold feet in warm water is not nice in the beginning...
...but after getting used to the warmth, it is really relaxing to sit there, especially when the sun is shining and warming your face and your body, too.
These citrus fruits swim in the water probably to ease the sulphur odor from the water
A quiet and nice place to relax - I could have stayed here all day!
SEEING and HEARING:
Steam everywhere you look and listen
More steam
The second hell: Umi Jigoku
Green
It is so warm that blossoms bloom
Red
There is so much steam, sometimes we disappeared
There is steam coming from the road
Lotus in a winter garden
Steam, steam, steam
The blue hell
Eggs are cooked here and sold!
Lunch: Dangojiru
The third hell: Kamado Jigoku
This hell had different booths, where you could experience various aspects of the hot springs.
1st booth
Warm feet: the stone plates are heated with steam from beneath and provide warmth
2nd booth
TASTING
Hot spring water for drinking
It tasted salty and smelled like eggs that have gone bad. Yuck!
Double yuck!
3rd booth
Steam is kept under the wooden plates
You can put your hands in the warm steam
SMELLING
Steam for your face. It smells really bad! It is supposed to be good for your skin.
It gives the phrase "Where the hell is Matt" a new perspective.
More hot mud. (Heißer Dreck)
The Onsen has a natural clear blue color
Here they sold steamed buns and eggs, that were cooked in the hot springs
We got one
And it is brown inside!
It tastes almost like a normal egg, but with a weird aftertaste.
We discovered this sign only after having eaten the egg. Well, never mind. I won't eat it again. And I doubt that it would have tasted much better like this.
4th hell: Shiraike Jigoku
This hot spring was not spectacular. Only the steam shooting from a stone cave was worth a look.
5th hell: Chinoike Jigoku
The name has something to do with blood. Dramatic name!
A Zen fish
We did not make it to all 8 Onsen due to lack of time. There are two hot springs with animals, one with alligators and one with other animals like elephants. But I do not want to go there. It is not supposed to be an animal friendly place.
It was a really fun day in Beppu!
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