Hyotan Onsen

Peaceful, Clean, and Full of Character—Time It Right for a Serene Soak I’m no onsen expert, but Hyōtan Onsen gave me a truly memorable experience. I visited around 5 PM on a Wednesday (nor reservation), just after the crowds had cleared out, and had several pools completely to myself. The several pools were quiet, serene, and surprisingly magical. The sand bath was interesting—while I didn’t find it deeply relaxing or sleep-inducing, I can see how others might. The constant shoveling of sand and chatter from new arrivals made it a bit hard to fully settle in, but it was still worth experiencing once! The mini campus is compact but easy to navigate. BRING CASH—you’ll need it for entry, and the steamed egg fund (which is absolutely worth it; they taste distinctly different and delicious). Also, BRING A TOWEL unless you want to rent a flimsy one. Shampoo, conditioner, and soap are all provided, and the lockers were spacious enough for my backpack. I appreciated the clean facilities and the quiet relaxation room where I could read in peace. Staff provide a yukata for the sand bath, and everything felt thoughtfully arranged. If you can time your visit to avoid crowds, it’s a truly relaxing experience. Highly recommended for a one-of-a-kind soak in Beppu.

Nice private onsen, 3000¥ or 30AUD for an hour in the pool. The pool is empty when you arrive and you put a coin in the vending machine to make the hot water flow! The little steam room is also very cute. There is a free public foot bath outside. We also ate lunch before we went. I got a butter chicken curry for 1400¥.

Oh it was crazy good. Men had 9 different baths. 3 indoors and 1 outdoor. Sand bath was great fell asleep. Waterfall was good massage. The cold dip was great to cool down and start another round of dipping quickly. Price was totally reasonable for how long I spend there. Totally worth the 3 stars Michelin rating.

So good, highly recommend to visit and rejuvenate yourself. Come early to avoid missing the Pvt room slots or make reservations in advance to avoid disappointment.

Amazing onsen experience – a must-visit in Beppu! Hyotan Onsen is one of the best hot spring experiences I’ve had in Beppu. The place is clean, well-maintained, and offers a wide variety of baths including sand baths, steam rooms, and open-air rotenburo. The water quality is excellent and you can really feel the minerals working on your skin. I wanted to go for the private baths—But it's fully booking it's recommend to book the private onsen in advance. There’s even a place to enjoy steamed food cooked with onsen heat, which was delicious. It’s easy to access and very welcoming for both locals and tourists. Don’t miss it if you’re visiting Beppu :)

Came here after read many review. It really live up to its standard at a reasonable price. Worth and a must visit onsen choice for anyone looking for good onsen experience. Like to specially thanks the pudding ice cream store (饮泉堂）is that while i only have credit card at time making payments and their system/server down unable to process payment. They given me the ice cream free of charge. Its not about money but its show that they does prioritise services too. Thanks and keep it up.

A good experience with many bathing options. You can also book a private bath where you are charged hourly. Be sure to book in advance if you are after the private baths.

We booked a private family bath, which was spacious and clean. The cost was 3,600 yen for 90 minutes.

This is a large onsen in Beppu with 5 pools. This is a higher end onsen catering to vacationers and people willing to pay more money. The place was pretty much empty after lunch and after golden week. It was a great time to come. There was an outdoor shower onsen and outdoor garden onsen which were both pretty unique, but my favorites were the indoor ones because of the hotter temperatures. I also got to try the food cooked in onsen steam. It was pretty good and the fun experience.

My friend suggested we visit Beppu and I wanted to try an onsen. I researched and found this place. I was able to make reservations over the phone a week in advance since I wanted to book a private bath for my husband and myself. The owner's wife speaks very little English, but I was able to make the reservation successfully. I am so glad I made it because it was crowded there due to Golden week celebrations in Japan. Plus, they finally took down all Covid restrictions. I loved that I booked us an outside onsen. It was coin operated to fill the water, so I was really happy that the water is fresh for each individual session. It also came with shampoo, conditioner and body wash to wash yourself in a separate area. I rented a towel, but you can bring your own supplies. The room also had a steam room, so it was nice to get rid of all the toxins in my body. I am not sure if I'll ever visit again since I live so far away; but I would surely go there again if I could. The room costs 2400 yen which came out to $18/hour up to 3 people (so affordable for an hour of tranquility). We also ate at the restaurant and steamed our own food with the natural heat from the springs. The food felt so healthy and tasty eating it with either ponzu or soy sauce.

This is my first time reviewing an onsen (hot spring). As usual onsens, you pay an entrance fee and you can use their facilities. This is definitely a nice one in the area. The water is hot and feels so good! You know it's all natural when the water feels silky smooth. I've been to many onsens at this point and this is definitely one of my better experiences. Pro tip: This onsen provides good quality shampoo and conditioners so you don't need to bring your own. They even have face wash! But if you have sensitive skin, I would highly recommend you bringing your own facial skincare. If you didn't, at least there's some thing for you! Absolutely give the pipe waterfall a try. The water flows down quite hard but it feels oh so good on your back - an absolutely wonderful back massage! The women's outdoor onsen has a nice natural waterfall, and is super hot. Give the steam onsen a try as well! It's basically a steam sauna but it uses the natural steam from the water so it's very sulphur-y. The Japanese believes it's very healthy to breathe it in! Enjoy!!

I'm not sure why this place is a Michelin 3-star hot spring resort. After visiting the 7 hell springs in Beppu, I decided to come here to soak and relax. The entrance fee was not too expensive and I also rented a hand and bath towel. The hand towel was yours to keep. The changing room was dark and musty. After changing into my yukata, I went to the "Sand bath". There was no personnel there so I had to practically cover my whole body in sand using my own hands and a weird looking wooden scoop. It took forever. Yes, the sand was warm but the experience was just average. After taking off my yukata, I went to the bathing area to rinse off. The bathing area was old, moldy and was in need of renovations. I went to the rotenboro and it was just a shallow pool. The water barely came up to my shoulders. The water was not even hot, let alone warm. I think the only thing I liked about this resort was the waterfall bath. It was cool looking but again the pool there was shallow. It was a total disappointment. I should have went to a different place in Beppu.

A physical and spiritual cleansing! As a person who frequents onsen, I was thoroughly satisfied by the amenities at Hyotan. I originally found the onsen through a google search: it was one of the first results that popped up, and its three michelin star rating was definitely an eye catcher. However, because of the high ratings, I had very high expectations of Hyotan. Fortunately, my expectations were answered. Though slightly more expensive than other places I have visited at 560 yen (without a towel), the onsen comes with access to over four different types of onsen: the dragon waterfall/ pipe water onsen, several types of onsen inside, and a large onsen pool outside. There is also an option for sand onsen, but that requires you to pay a separate fee. In any case, I was really satisfied.