Beppu, Japan

[WESTEAST]

We are not particularly interested in hot springs, thermal pools nor spas.  Looking for suggestions to see in the town of Beppu that are easily accessible from the cruise port.  

[BruceMuzz]

Beppu is a small city of hot springs, thermal pools, spas, and ceramic producers.

If you are not interested in the water-related aspects, the only thing really left is the ceramics.

[Milhouse]

We visited Beppu as a daytrip by train from Fukuoka during a land trip in late May of 2018.  However, we only spent about three hours from about 10am to about 1pm on a Monday there as we didn't find a lot of things of interest to us.  Part of it was our fault though because we didn't do a lot of research so maybe we didn't get to the better places.  We basically walked one of the main streets from the train station to the waterfront, walked a covered arcade (Sol Paseo Ginza) that stretched out from that main street, and briefly explored some of the backstreets that led to an onsen (Takegawara Onsen) that looked interesting.  We enjoy walking seawalls and waterfront promenades but struggled to find a great stretch for a walk.  I'm not sure if it was because it was somewhat early on a Monday but a lot of shops seemed closed along Sol Paseo Ginza so that strech wasn't very fun either.  

 

As an option, maybe consider visiting Yufuin?  We ended up ditching Beppu and taking a 1.5 hour trainride to Yufuin and spent about 3pm to about 5:30pm there.  It's a small village but we found it more quaint.  There's a pedestrian orientated road (that splinters off from the main road a few blocks from the train station and then runs parallel to it) with a lot of shops and eateries.  There's also a nice lake (Kinrin Lake) that's small enough and that you can walk around the perimeter along a path.  Not a tonne to see but we enjoyed it more than Beppu.  YMMV of course.  

[WESTEAST]

On 10/1/2023 at 1:19 AM, Milhouse said:

We visited Beppu as a daytrip by train from Fukuoka during a land trip in late May of 2018.  However, we only spent about three hours from about 10am to about 1pm on a Monday there as we didn't find a lot of things of interest to us.  Part of it was our fault though because we didn't do a lot of research so maybe we didn't get to the better places.  We basically walked one of the main streets from the train station to the waterfront, walked a covered arcade (Sol Paseo Ginza) that stretched out from that main street, and briefly explored some of the backstreets that led to an onsen (Takegawara Onsen) that looked interesting.  We enjoy walking seawalls and waterfront promenades but struggled to find a great stretch for a walk.  I'm not sure if it was because it was somewhat early on a Monday but a lot of shops seemed closed along Sol Paseo Ginza so that strech wasn't very fun either.  

 

As an option, maybe consider visiting Yufuin?  We ended up ditching Beppu and taking a 1.5 hour trainride to Yufuin and spent about 3pm to about 5:30pm there.  It's a small village but we found it more quaint.  There's a pedestrian orientated road (that splinters off from the main road a few blocks from the train station and then runs parallel to it) with a lot of shops and eateries.  There's also a nice lake (Kinrin Lake) that's small enough and that you can walk around the perimeter along a path.  Not a tonne to see but we enjoyed it more than Beppu.  YMMV of course.  

Thank you for this information.  Still not sure what we will do for this port of call.  Will look into taking a bus or a train for the day. Where did you take the train in Beppu? 

 

[Milhouse]

We got off and on at Beppu Station (12-13 Ekimaecho, Beppu, Oita 874-0935, Japan).  

Not sure where your ship would dock but I'm guessing it would be near the ferry terminal (??).  If it is, Beppu station is kind of far.  There does appear to be a closer station, Beppudaigaku Station, but you would need to research if your train stops there.  

[WESTEAST]

3 hours ago, Milhouse said:

We got off and on at Beppu Station (12-13 Ekimaecho, Beppu, Oita 874-0935, Japan).  

Not sure where your ship would dock but I'm guessing it would be near the ferry terminal (??).  If it is, Beppu station is kind of far.  There does appear to be a closer station, Beppudaigaku Station, but you would need to research if your train stops there.  

Once again thank you.