Oita Prefecture, located on the northeastern coast of Kyushu island, is Japan's undisputed hot-spring capital, boasting more onsen sources and volume than anywhere else in the country. The region is home to Beppu, one of Asia's most famous spa towns with its dramatic steam vents, and Yufuin, a sophisticated mountain onsen resort framed by Mount Yufu. Beyond the thermal waters, Oita offers ancient Buddhist cliff carvings at Usuki, wild monkeys bathing in hot springs at Takasakiyama, dramatic gorges at Takachiho on its border, and some of Kyushu's finest local cuisine.
Top attractions
The most popular and significant attractions in Oita.
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1
Beppu Jigoku Meguri (Hell Tour)
This is a circuit of separately-owned hot spring sites around Beppu's Kannawa district, each a mineral pool too hot to bathe in and instead kept fenced off for viewing. The eight main 'hells' are spread across two clusters, so most visitors pick a handful rather than all of them, walking or busing between sites like the cobalt-blue Umi Jigoku and the deep red Chinoike Jigoku. It's less a single attraction than a themed collection of geothermal curiosities, some with small onsen-egg stands or greenhouses attached.
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2
Yufuin Onsen Village
Yufuin sits in a valley below Mount Yufu and has developed around Lake Kinrinko and the Yunotsubo Kaido shopping street rather than around a dense cluster of bathing facilities like Beppu. It's known for boutique ryokan, small craft and food shops, and a slower pace aimed more at strolling than at hell-viewing tourism. Many ryokan offer day-use access to their baths for non-guests, which is how most day-trippers experience the onsen here.
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3
Usuki Stone Buddhas (National Treasure)
This is a cluster of Buddhist images carved directly into a volcanic tuff cliff face in Usuki, dating mainly from the late Heian and Kamakura periods. They form the largest and best-preserved group of stone Buddhas in Japan, which is why the site holds National Treasure status. The figures are arranged in several groupings up a hillside path, including a large seated Dainichi Nyorai whose head had famously fallen off before restoration.
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4
Takasakiyama Natural Zoo
Takasakiyama is a forested mountain overlooking Beppu Bay that is home to free-ranging troops of wild Japanese macaques, managed and fed by park staff rather than caged. Visitors watch the monkeys move, groom, and interact at close range within a designated feeding area, with different troops rotating through depending on the season and monkey politics. It's a working wildlife management site as much as a tourist attraction, and researchers have used it for decades to study macaque social structure.
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5
Kuju Flower Park
Set in the highlands near Mount Kuju, this park plants large sloped fields with seasonal flowers rather than a single formal garden, so the display changes character through the year. The elevation keeps it noticeably cooler than Beppu or Usuki down at sea level, and the surrounding volcanic peaks form the backdrop rather than any built scenery. It's a stop built around the flowers themselves and the mountain views, not around historical or cultural content.
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6
Umi Jigoku (Sea Hell)
Umi Jigoku is the best known of Beppu's hot spring viewing sites, named for its striking cobalt-blue color, which comes from dissolved iron sulfate rather than any dye. It's one stop within the wider Jigoku Meguri circuit but draws enough visitors on its own to function as a standalone attraction, with a greenhouse on the grounds growing Amazon giant water lilies fed by the site's geothermal warmth. The pool itself is fenced and viewed from walkways, not for bathing.
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7
Yabakei Gorge
Yabakei is a river gorge cut through volcanic rock in Nakatsu, known for jagged cliff formations that were compared to Chinese ink-painting landscapes by the Edo-period scholar Rai Sanyo, who gave the gorge its name. The Aonodomon tunnel, carved by hand by the monk Zenkai over decades to replace a dangerous cliffside path, is one of the gorge's specific historical points rather than just scenery. The area is popular for autumn foliage, when the maples along the cliffs turn color against the exposed rock.
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8
Kunisaki Peninsula Temples
The Kunisaki Peninsula developed a distinct form of mountain Buddhism known as Rokugo Manzan, blending Buddhist and Shinto mountain-worship practices across a network of temples built into the peninsula's volcanic terrain. Fuki-ji, one of the peninsula's temples, holds the oldest wooden building in Kyushu, and the area also has stone Buddha carvings set into cliffs and hillsides similar in spirit to Usuki's, though smaller in scale. Temples are spread across the peninsula rather than clustered, so visiting more than two or three in a day usually means driving.
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9
Harajiri Waterfall
Harajiri Falls is a wide, horseshoe-shaped curtain of water dropping over a basalt cliff formed by an ancient Aso volcanic flow, near Ogata in Bungoono. It's often compared to Niagara for its broad, straight-edged shape rather than its height, and the exposed columnar basalt rock face is what makes it geologically distinct from Japan's more common narrow, tall waterfalls. A paved riverside path lets you view it from several angles, including a lookout close enough to feel the spray.
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10
Mount Yufu (Yufudake)
Mount Yufu is a twin-peaked dormant volcano rising above the Yufuin basin, nicknamed 'Bungo-Fuji' for its symmetrical silhouette when seen from the valley floor. It's a genuine hiking objective rather than a scenic backdrop only: a marked trail climbs from the Yufu Tozan-guchi trailhead through grassland and pine to a ridge connecting the East and West peaks, with a short scramble near the top. On clear days the summit gives views back down over Yufuin's patchwork of fields and, further off, toward Beppu and the coast.
Attractions by category
Explore by your interests.
Items
Practical information
What you need to know before you go.
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- IC cards (Suica/ICOCA) accepted on most Oita buses and trains, Beppu Jigoku combo ticket valid same day only, Yufuin Nishi-machi Bussankan market closes at 18:00, Onsen: no tattoos policy at many public baths; private rooms available at most ryokan
Tips for visiting attractions
Make the most of your sightseeing time.
Visit popular attractions early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid crowds and harsh midday light.
Book tickets online in advance for major attractions to skip long queues and sometimes save money.
Many cities offer multi-attraction passes that include public transport. Calculate whether they save you money based on your itinerary.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to book Jigoku Meguri in advance?
No advance booking required; combo tickets sold at the first hell site entrance.
Is a car necessary for Oita?
For Beppu and Yufuin, buses and trains suffice. For Kuju, Yabakei, Kunisaki and rural sites, a rental car (from ¥4,000/day from Times Car or Nippon Rent-A-Car at Oita Station) is strongly recommended.