Beppu may be renowned for it's hot springs and geothermal attractions, but it is also an unexpected destination for wildlife encounters!
I really like Beppu, I have visited twice now, doing overnighters at Onsen hotels each time. There is just something about this small city that draws you in - maybe it's the setting; nestled against the sea and surrounded by mountains. Maybe it's the bustling feeling you get from it seeming alive and busy with plumes of steam rising all over the city. Maybe it's the smell, that slightly rotten egg smell that I've grown to like that reminds me of Rotorua in New Zealand. Maybe all of the above.
Today I'm not going to tell you about the Geothermal attractions Beppu is known for, instead, some lesser known attractions related to Animals. As our Baby daughter loves animals, that was the focus of our visit to Beppu this year.
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| Beppu City viewed from one of the many Onsen Ryokan |
How to get to Beppu
The City of around 115,000 is nestled in a bay on the northeastern Kyushu coast in Oita prefecture, google maps link here.
It is actually a bit out of the way. Oita, the major city in the area does not really have anything of interest for tourists, so if you are heading out this way, Beppu is most likely your destination.
You can fly directly into Oita Airport from Tokyo. I would assume though that the majority of travelers to Kyushu are coming in via either Fukuoka or Kumamoto.
From Fukuoka:
- By Train is just over 2hrs taking the Sonic limited Express around the coast.
- By Car the Expressway will get you there in under 2 hours. The free route is 3.5 hours. Both routes enable you to stop and explore the quaint little town of Yufuin on the way through.
From Kumamoto:
- By Train it is a long trip on relatively slow trains taking nearly 4 hours. The scenery is wonderful, however you will have to change to take a train from Oita to Beppu.
- By Car it's 3 hours but a very scenic drive taking you up around the Aso Caldera and then around the Kuju mountains. There are plenty of interesting places to visit along the way if you so wish, which I would highly recommend.
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| Beppu tower as seen whilst driving through the City |
Attractions for Animal lovers
There are 3 places we visited and highly recommend:
- Takasakiyama Natural Zoological Garden
- Oita Marine Palace Aquarium
- Kyushu Wildlife Park African Safari
Lets have a closer look! Warning, this may be picture heavy!
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| A pair of young Macaques looking across at the Aquarium Complex |
Takasakiyama Natural Zoological Garden
We simply refer to Takasakiyama as 'Monkey Mountain' as that is essentially what it is. The park is located at the base of Mt Takasaki, just outside of Beppu (it is actually the hill in the background of the image at the top of this post for reference)
The Park is home to over 1,200 Japanese Macaque Monkeys, the same red-faced monkeys you may have seen bathing in mountain hot springs in travel literature or Instagram.
You take a short walk (5 minutes) up the hill, on nice wide paths (or you can take the optional monorail) to an elevated area where the monkeys are often congregated in large numbers, which incidentally is where they get fed. The monkeys are completely free roaming with no barriers or fences which means you can get up close and personal (but don't touch, they will bite) and you can simply watch their social behaviour and interactions with each other as it is fascinating indeed.
I would give this place a 9/10. It's not a common experience and it's very low cost.
Entry: 520 Yen per Adult, 260 Yen for Children and under 6's are free. The monorail is 110 Yen return per person.
Oita Marine Palace Aquarium
Oita Marine Palace Aquarium, also known as Umitamago (translates oddly to Sea Egg) is a large Aquarium housing over 15,000 animals across 500 species, from Fish to mammals such as Dolphins, Sea Lions and Walruses.
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| A view into the large tank at Oita Marine Palace Aquarium |
Directly across the road from 'Monkey Mountain' is the Aquarium building. There is a pedestrian footbridge connecting the two, so no need to move your car if visiting both. It's a nice Aquarium and worth the visit combined with Takasakiyama. It is expensive, though I think it is good value for a single visit though not for repeat visits.
Pictures speak better than words, though Photography is difficult in the darker areas which is why it's lacking more pictures!
I would give this place a 7/10. It's a good aquarium but expensive.
Entry: 3000 Yen per Adult, 1500 Yen for School Children, 1000 for younger children and under 4's are free.
Kyushu Wildlife Park African Safari
Located in a beautiful setting in the hills 45 minutes outside of Beppu, the Kyushu wildlife Park African Safari is one of Japan's largest Safari Parks, home to around 1,400 animals across 70 species.
This type of Safari park is one where you drive through the enclosures in your own vehicle. There is a 'Jungle Bus' service where you become a bus passenger instead and it does get closer to the Animals as they feed them as it goes around - however the bus is heavily caged so this may detract from the viewing experience versus your car. You cannot open your windows or get out of your car as that would be a health risk, though I recommend if you want to take photos, to clean your windows in the carpark before driving in, and use a Circular polarizer filter (I did neither, hindsight is a wonderful thing)
This park is a fun experience. You drive around on a set route at your own pace, though with other vehicles around you may run into traffic or be unable to get the views you like - not everyone is polite enough to move on after a reasonable time. You will see all the usual animals: Elephants, Giraffes, Lions and Bears and many others and most of the time they are just minding their own business. We discovered that if you wanted to, you could drive around as many times as you like, as the end just funnels you back to the carpark. As it is not a public road, the road rules do not apply, so I was able to have our Baby daughter hoisted up on my lap so that she could see all the animals.
From the carpark there is a large area to discover by foot with many more animals to see, including being able to pat Cats and Dogs and feed Ponies for instance. There is a standard canteen restaurant here also, though it has pretty average and overpriced food, taking advantage of the fact you are a long way from getting food somewhere else.
A word of warning though, the place can get very busy. As most of the entrants are in Cars and it is a Car focused attraction, you queue in your cars before the entrance, and those queues can get particularly long sometimes. A quick check of the official website showing the Golden Week hours (Japan's busiest holiday), estimates the wait time to enter could be up to 2 hours! We went on a normal Thursday morning and still queued for at least 30 minutes. If you go later in the day you may have better luck - the Japanese love getting in early to try and beat queues, but this actually causes the queues!
I would give this place a 8/10. It's a great experience all from the comfort of your car!
Entry: 2600 Yen per Adult, 1500 Yen for Children over 4, and under 4's are free.
In Closing
I hoped you enjoyed reading about these attractions and that you have the chance to visit them in Beppu. It really is a wonderful place that I highly recommend adding into your Kyushu travel plans. Most definitely stay overnight at an Onsen Hotel with your own private bath - better still, stay at a traditional Ryokan in Yufuin and take the 30 minute drive into Beppu for your activities. Combine the overall excursion with exploring the Aso-Kuju National park area and you will have a wonderful time in an incredible part of Japan.
