Kyūshū
John Denver fans will love staying here on a forested hillside overlooking the town. Especially pretty at night, this first-rate 25-bed hostel has its own onsen and hospitable English-speaking owners who've clearly made the singer a major part of their lives. Infrequent buses (¥200, Monday to Friday only) service the area, or you can arrange for pick-up (call ahead first).
Two meals are available for an extra ¥1900.
16.45 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…
26.24 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…
Beppu Traditional Bamboo Crafts Centre
6.83 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…
17.03 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…
24.44 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…
20.11 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…
27.11 MILES
Dedicated to the 12 gods of the mountain, this shrine, including its revered gate, suffered severe damage in the 2016 earthquakes; photos show the scale…
26.05 MILES
High above the Aso-san caldera, Daikanbō is one of the best places to take in the views, even if it’s often crowded with tour buses. From the parking area…
0.83 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…
6.33 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.
6.34 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…
6.37 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…
6.52 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).
6.53 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…
6.57 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;…
8. Beppu Traditional Bamboo Crafts Centre
6.83 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…