Umi Jigoku

Umi Jigoku is one of the most beautiful sights in Beppu. The moment you walk in, the deep cobalt-blue hot spring almost doesn’t look real — the colour is incredible, especially with the steam drifting across the surface. Even though it’s nearly 100 °C, it looks serene and peaceful. The grounds are really well-maintained, with tropical plants, a greenhouse, and smaller hot pools to explore. There’s also a footbath area where you can relax for a few minutes, which is a nice break after walking around. The shop sells onsen-steamed snacks like eggs and pudding, and they’re surprisingly good. The whole place is easy to navigate and you can comfortably see everything in under an hour if you’re short on time. If you’re visiting Beppu and want to experience something unique and visually stunning, Umi Jigoku is absolutely worth it.

One of our main itinerary points for this Japan-trip. Fascinating to see from our hotel balcony; awesome to see up close. A place I could gladly sit for hours and just soak up the scenery (sight, sound, smell). My only gripe is that there isn't any information (colour, temperature, minerals, ph-level, etc). But then again, there isn't one in Japanese either. Arrive early, beat the crowds. Free parking. Don't forget the red hell, which is also in this compound.

If on a time crunch in Beppu and need to choose between “Hells” to visit, I suggest this one. It has the largest Tiffany blue pool of the ones we visited. Has a stall selling small steamed cakes and a cafe on site serving light bites including the popular steamed pudding. In hindsight, would’ve sat down to have the steamed pudding here as the area is much wider with more seating thus tourists are spread further apart as compared to Kamado Jigoku. Beautiful pool and a nice foot bath with many available spaces to sit. Small towels are on sale in the gift shop on site for 300¥.

The colour is very pretty! Has a large selection on their omiyage (gifts). I recommend going to this place. You get to see water lily garden, and the red hell. There's also greenhouse, but it's just very small section.

For ¥500 you can see this beautiful attraction. It was crowded but I could still enjoy walking around. The pudding sold there was delicious too.

We came on a weekday, and parking was a bit challenging. It was really nice to see the blue hot spring known as the “Sea Hell.” Since we were in Beppu, we felt it was a must to visit this Sea Hell, which many people say is the most beautiful among the seven famous hells here.

Of the three jigoku that we saw this was my favourite. Two beautiful springs to view but more importantly the hot foot bath, which fixed my very sore feet. We paid at each venue, as three was enough for us. If you are only doing one this might be the best. No lines, went straight in.

🌟 A must-visit gem in Beppu! This spot is absolutely beautiful and worth adding to your itinerary. You don’t need to spend hours here—we explored everything in under an hour and still felt satisfied! We arrived around 4 PM after taking bus #5 from Beppu Station. The ticket was just ¥500, making it a quick, affordable, and memorable stop. Highly recommended!

#1 of 8 Hot Spring Hells If you have limited time in Beppu and cannot visit all the Hot Spring Hells, you really need to just drop by Umi-Jijoku 海地獄. Even accordingly to the self guided tour, this is the first hell to visit. It is definitely the prettiest of them all. The water is like "ocean" blue, hence the name. Make sure you spend some time go soak your feet in the hot spring food bath area before leaving. Eating the soft serve ice cream at the food stall maybe worth it as it suppose to give you beautiful skin with added Collagen ingredient.

Otherwise known as "Sea Hell," Umi-Jigoku is a pretty awesome place that I didn't know much about before one of my friends took us here. After coming here, I feel like it is totally a necessary sightseeing spot in Beppu. Approaching this area, you can see the steam rising and the smell of sulfur fill the air. After paying a fee (or purchasing the pass to see all of the hot springs in the area), you walk in to see a nice garden, followed by the light bluest light blue you'll ever see from one of the hot springs. Although you can't touch or bathe in these ridiculously hot water baths, they do boil eggs here, which you can try. In this area, there is also a orange water bath, which is very reminiscent of Jurassic Park to me for some reason...anyways, make sure to stop by here when in Beppu!

If a mean person ever tells you to "go to hell" come here! Beppu has eight different "hells" which are like bubbling, super-hot springs...but not the sort where you would like to go bathing. The 海地獄 (sea hell) is the prettiest that I visited. The entrance to the hell has pretty gardens filled with ponds that contain lotus flowers. The lotus flower leaves are huuuge and there were photos of children standing on them (but I didn't see anyone balancing their children on the leaves while we were there!!) We got to see lots of massive dragon flies, flowers and a bright orange "hell" before we even made it to the main attraction! The main part of the "hell" is a large cobalt-blue thermal pond with steam pouring from it. There is a red torii gate on one side, so it is incredibly photogenic (pretty blue water, surrounded by trees and torii gates...although the steam makes it looks a little disturbing!) Staff have nets that they use to dunk eggs into the pond to cook them...so ramen lovers should definitely try a real onsen egg while they are here! The whole area is pretty touristy, but that makes sense! Everyone wants to visit the same pretty places. My friends and I took the ferry from Kobe, so we arrived early in the morning and managed to have a peek before the crowds arrived...if you can, come early!!

The liveliest and arguably the most beautiful jigoku in Beppu. This place is a must-see when visiting the hot spring town. The minerals in the water of this spring have turned the water an interesting shade of marine turquoise hence the name Ocean Hell. The sulfur smell is quite strong, but many places of the city have that smell due to all the onsen anyway. Outside of the hell, there are a few other points of interest. There is a small Inari Shrine as well as an ashi-yu foot bath. In the summer, there are gigantic lily pads so huge you can place your small children on them and have them float on water. The gift shop inside sells boiled eggs and custard pudding that have been steamed in the scorching hot water in the hell. Stop by and have a snack before moving on to the rest of the Jigoku Meguri circuit.