The Hells of Beppu (Jigoku Meguri)

In the steam-wreathed town of Beppu, the earth doesn’t politely warm your bath — it boils, hisses, and glows in colors no hot spring has any right to be. The Jigoku Meguri, or “Hell Tour,” strings together seven of these geothermal spectacles, each too hot and too strange to bathe in.

Why It’s Interesting

One pond, Umi Jigoku, is a serene cobalt blue — and roughly 98°C. Another, Chinoike Jigoku, is a steaming blood-red clay pool that looks like a portal to the underworld. There’s a hell full of crocodiles farmed on the heat, a mud hell that bubbles like porridge, and a geyser that erupts on schedule. You don’t soak here; you watch — and then eat eggs and pudding cooked in the steam.

Best Time to Visit

Year-round, since the hells never cool. Cold winter mornings give you the most dramatic billowing steam, which is half the photo.

Getting There

Buses run constantly from Beppu Station to the main Kannawa cluster, where most of the hells sit within a short walk of each other; two outliers are a quick bus or drive away.