Located in northeastern Kyushu, Oita prefecture is a largely agricultural region that is also known for the famous hot springs at Beppu.
1. Oita (Funai) Castle Ruins Park
Also known as Funai Castle, Oita Castle was constructed by Takenaka Shigetoshi, who took over after Fukuhara Naotaka, the brother-in-law of Ishida Mitsunari, who served under Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
The main tower, or tenshukaku, has not survived to the present day, but visitors can still marvel at the impressive stone walls, which served as the castle's main line of defense, as well as side towers and the moat around the outer bailey.
Oita Castle Ruins Park is also known as a popular cherry blossom viewing spot, where over 70 trees of beautiful Yoshino cherry flowers bloom every spring.
Oita Funai Castle Ruins
4 Niagemachi, Oita, 870-0046
2. Oita City Art Museum
Located within Uenogaoka Park, Ōita City Art Museum is a place of tranquility in the midst of lush greenery.
Oita City Art Museum is divided into permanent exhibition and special exhibition sections. The main exhibition displays notable nihonga traditional paintings designated as Important Cultural Properties of Japan – including works by Tanomura Chikuden and Takayama Tatsuo – as well as other works, mainly produced by native Ōita artists.
Oita City Art Museum
865 Ueno, Oita, 870-0835
3. Beppu Beach Sand Bath
Located along the shoreline adjacent to Beppu Kanko International Port, Beppu Beach Sand Bath is a unique experience in which you are covered up to the neck in hot spring heat sand, allowing your body to sweat.
After "bathing" in the sand for 10 to 15 minutes, wash the sand off in a shower, and soak in another hot tub for maximum relaxation. The sand bath is big enough for a group of 10 individuals, and umbrellas keep you from getting sunburn. Takegawara Onsen offers a sand bath as well.
Beppu Beach Sand Bath
Shoningahamacho, Beppu, Oita 874-0023
4. Hyotan Onsen
Established in 1922, Hyotan Onsen is a long-standing onsen spot within the Kannawa Onsen district, one of the eight Beppu Hatto.
Utilizing a bamboo cooling system called "yumetake," Hyotan Onsen offers a wide variety of tubs including one at 100°C, at 45°C, a free-flowing tub of filtered and unfiltered hot springs, an open-air bath, a steam bath, a tub surrounded by rocks, a tub made of hinoki cypress, and a sand bath. It is equipped with a restaurant and a rest area as well.
Hyotan Onsen
159-2 Kannawa, Beppu, Oita 874-0000
5. Harajiri Falls
Harajiri Falls is considered one of Japan's Top 100 Waterfalls, and with good reason.
Huge volumes of water, spanning 120m wide, flow over the semicircular cliff and fall 20m to the lake below. It is believed Harajiri Falls was created suddenly as a result of Mt. Aso's pyroclastic flows carving out the flat landscape many …
