The ‘Seven Hells’ of this Japanese town feel more like heaven

When the people of Beppu on Japan’s steamy island of Kyushu tell you to “go to hell”, it’s not an insult but a suggestion. From boiling mud pools to blood-red ponds, spouting geysers to crocodile pits, the Seven Hells of Beppu are a theatrical showcase of the island’s fiery underbelly.

Thanks to its position on a fault line near the active volcano Mount Tsurumi, Beppu discharges a greater volume of hot spring water than any place except Yellowstone National Park. Yet, unlike its US counterpart, Beppu’s springs aren’t tucked away in the wilderness. Rather, they hiss and spurt like over-boiled kettles right across the city.

Steam city… Beppu cityscape.Credit: Getty Images

“We have more than 3000 active vents,” says guide Kimiko Wakamatsu as we drive towards the urban sprawl. From a distance, it looks like the town is on fire. Up close, we see steam rising from chimneys and rooftops, through patches of lawn and cracks in garden stones. Part spa town, part post-apocalyptic film, it’s like nowhere else I’ve been.

It’s day eight of our 15-day Far Eastern Horizons cruise from Hong Kong to Tokyo aboard Viking Venus, and while some guests have chosen shore excursions to soak in private hot springs, I’ve joined the group who are less into bubble baths and more into boiling mud.

Billed as the “thinking person’s” cruise, Viking creates excursions that go beyond the familiar. For a full day in hell, I’ve combined a morning (optional) and an afternoon (included) tour that will take me to three of the seven underworlds. The wrath of White Pond Hell, Cooking Pot Hell, Crocodile Hell and Tornado Hell will have to wait for another visit.

Umi Jigoku, or Sea Hell.Credit: Getty Images

Our first stop is a lookout offering sweeping views of the city and Beppu Bay below, with the brooding Mount Tsurumi – the source of this restless energy – behind us. Wakamatsu tells us that on a clear day you can see smoke rising from the summit. Today, it is foggy at the top, but the lower slopes are softened by a dusting of white cherry blossoms, a world away from their showier pink cousins. “Wild mountain cherry blossoms are lighter than cultivated varieties,” Wakamatsu says. “It is a rare treat to see them.”

We begin our descent into hell at Umi Jigoku – Sea Hell – where a broiling pool of turquoise water, shrouded in thick, white steam clouds, sits beside a red torii gate and arched bridge. While the bright blue water – tinted naturally from iron sulphate – looks inviting, at 200 metres deep and with a scalding temperature of more than 90 degrees, it would strip the skin from your bones in no time. Wakamatsu’s words, not mine.

Bubbles form in grey mud at Shaven Monk’s Head Hell hot spring.Credit: Getty Images

We fortify ourselves for the next hell with a devilishly delicious, hot springs-steamed creme caramel before driving to Onishii-Bouza Jigoku – Monk’s Head Hell. Here, the earth exhales slowly through smoky puddles while bald bubbles lift and dip like the heads of monks in prayer. It’s both mesmerising and mildly terrifying, especially the sense of pent-up rage pressure-cooking beneath our feet.

It’s a short drive to Myoban Onsen to explore Beppu’s history of therapeutic bathing, where Yunohana bath salts have been produced the same way since 1725. Inside straw-thatched huts, ghost-white crystals bloom like frost. We taste steam-cooked eggs and pick up sachets of Yunohana, guaranteed to cure everything from ringworm to rheumatism.

Chinoike Jigoku or “Blood Pond Hell”.Credit: Getty Images

A baptism of fire awaits in the district of Shibaseki at Chinoike Jigoku – Blood Pond Hell – one of Japan’s oldest hot springs: a molten masterpiece that could have been conjured by Dante himself, where iron-rich mud gives the water its murderous colour. Veiled in clouds of steam, the natural cauldron simmers steadily at 78 degrees, far too hot to dip even one tired toe in.

As we circle the simmering pool, rain begins to fall, each drop making the surface hiss like a beast. Soaked, we find refuge under a shelter where tempered spring water offers a free foot soak. The seats are split logs, and there aren’t any fluffy robes, but this impromptu spa treatment is heaven on Earth.

Viking Venus at sea.Credit:

The details

Fly
Qantas flies daily direct from Sydney and Melbourne to Hong Kong. See qantas.com

Cruise
Viking’s 15-day Far Eastern Horizons cruise from Hong Kong to Tokyo (operates in reverse) from $10,795 a person, based on double occupancy, flights not included. All meals, beer, wine and soft drinks with onboard lunch and dinner, one shore excursion in every port of call, Wi-Fi, gratuities and speciality dining included. See viking.com

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The writer was a guest of Viking Cruises. See viking.com