Kyushu · Beppu, Oita

♨ Beppu – Kannawa

Steam rises from the streets. Try food cooked in onsen steam.

About Beppu – Kannawa

Beppu's steamiest district: steam pours out of the vents and gutters, and five of the famous 'hells' (jigoku, very hot springs for viewing only, not bathing) are within walking distance. Try jigoku-mushi, food steamed over hot-spring vents. You can rent a steaming basket and cook it yourself at the Jigokumushi Kobo Kannawa steam kitchen. From JR Beppu Station's west exit, buses 5 and 7 reach Kannawa in about 15 minutes.

The water

A mix of spring types: simple, chloride, sulphate, iron and sulphur springs. The Kannawa Mushiyu steam bath's tub is a sodium hydrogen carbonate spring. It's traditionally said to ease aches and leave skin smooth.

History

An 8th-century record already mentions Beppu's steaming 'hells'. Legend says the wandering monk Ippen Shonin founded Kannawa's hot springs in 1276: he calmed the boiling pools by throwing in stones inscribed with sutras, then built a healing steam bath. That steam bath, the Kannawa Mushiyu, still runs today, and a wooden statue of Ippen greets you at the door.

Getting there

Famous for (meibutsu)

• Jigoku-mushi (food): food steamed over the hot-spring vents of Kannawa
• Beppu bamboo craft (craft): woven bamboo baskets, a national traditional craft
• Toriten (food): Oita-style chicken tempura

See it on the onsen mapAll 50 onsenOnsen how-to

← Kusatsu Onsen (Yubatake) · Kinosaki Onsen →