Chi-no-ike is named for its photogenic waters, said to be red like blood (chi). The colour comes from iron oxide and magnesium oxide. This is said to be Japan's oldest hot spring. It's in Beppu's smaller group of jigoku (hells; boiling hot springs).
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
10.74 MILES
Deep in a forest along a mossy riverbed are two Heian-period Buddha images carved into a cliff: a 6m figure of the Dainichi Buddha and an 8m figure of…
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23.16 MILES
These thousand-year-old stone Buddhas lie just outside Usuki. Four clusters comprising 60-plus images (59 are designated National Treasures) lie in a…
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Beppu Traditional Bamboo Crafts Centre
2.04 MILES
You may be blown away by the versatility of bamboo, which grows copiously in the Beppu region. In the ground-floor gallery, intricate, refined pieces span…
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14.94 MILES
The sprawling, wooded and water-crossed Usa-jingū, the original of which dates back some 1200 years, is the chief shrine among some 40,000 in Japan…
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18.47 MILES
In the centre of the Kunisaki Peninsula, near the summit of Futago-san (721m), this temple was founded in 718 and dedicated to Fudō-Myō-o, the fire…
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14.81 MILES
Located on the outskirts of Bungo-takada, this National Treasure, made of fragrant nutmeg wood, is the oldest wooden edifice in Kyūshū and one of the…
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7.6 MILES
On the eastern side of town, the small 'Lake of Golden Fish Scales' was named by a Meiji-era philosopher and is a local landmark. Shops, cafes and…
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12.2 MILES
This temple's main hall dates from the Edo period, but the key reason to come here is to see the nine Heian-period sculptures designated important…
Nearby Beppu attractions
0.06 MILES
Set in Beppu's smaller group of jigoku (hells; boiling hot springs), Tatsumaki has a geyser that shoots off about every 35 minutes.
0.82 MILES
One of the Kannawa group's hells, Shira-ike has blue-white water and a Japanese garden. It tends to be the quietest of the neighbourhood's jigoku (hells;…
0.84 MILES
Oni-yama is especially known for the 80-plus crocodiles that have been bred here since the Taishō period (1912–26). It's one of the Kannawa group's jigoku…
0.86 MILES
So named because it was once used for cooking (kamado means stove in Japanese). One of the Kannawa group's jigoku (hells; boiling hot springs).
0.98 MILES
Yama is not included in the onsen meguri ticket and must be visited separately. A variety of animals are kept here in enclosures that look uncomfortably…
1.01 MILES
Umi is a steamy blue due to iron oxide in its 98°C water. It's said to be about 200m down to the source. One of the Kannawa group's jigoku (hells; boiling…
1.02 MILES
One of the Kannawa group's jigoku (hells; boiling hot springs), Oniishibōzu has bubbling grey mud that looks like a monk's shaved head.
8. Beppu Traditional Bamboo Crafts Centre
2.04 MILES
You may be blown away by the versatility of bamboo, which grows copiously in the Beppu region. In the ground-floor gallery, intricate, refined pieces span…