Kyushu Onsens

If you are a serious hot spring enthusiast, a Kyushu Onsen trip is an absolute must. Seriously.

This region is well-known as the “Hot Spring Capital” of Japan, boasting the highest number of natural sources,
and the largest volume of thermal water in the entire country. That is really hard to pull off in a country as volcanic as Japan.

As a result, the sheer variety of onsen experiences you can have here is unmatched.
When I last visited, I bathed in a hot sand bath one day, and ended up in a mixed-gender mud bath the next!

Obviously, you can’t skip the big names:
Beppu (Oita): Famous for its “Seven Hells” tour and steaming streetscapes.
Yufuin (Oita): Beppu’s sophisticated neighbor, featuring luxury Ryokans perfect for couples.
Kurokawa Onsen (Kumamoto): The perfect spot to get away from the buzz of the city and return to nature in the forests.

But why am I even bothering? I can’t possibly hope to cover even 1% of Kyushu’s onsen culture in this paragraph.
Start reading the guides below already!