is a
city in
Ōita Prefecture on the island of
Kyushu
is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...
,
Japan. As of March 31, 2017, the city had a
population of 122,643
["Statistics: Population"](_blank)
Beppu City Government website . Accessed 21 April 2017. and a
population density of . The total area is . Beppu is famous for its hot springs.
Geography
Beppu is situated at the west end of
Beppu Bay
is an arm of the western end of the Seto Inland Sea of Japan.
Beppu Bay is located on the northeast coast of Kyushu in Ōita Prefecture. The city of Ōita lies on its southern coast and the city of Beppu
is a city in Ōita Prefecture on t ...
, around the east central prefecture. The north, west, and east of the city are the mountains or highlands with elevations of several hundreds meters above sea level. Most of those mountains are the fourth-period volcanos. Particularly, such mountain as
Mount Tsurumi
is a volcano in Beppu, Ōita, Japan.
Outline
Mount Tsurumi is a lava dome. It has several peaks, including, Mount Kuranoto, Mount Uchi, Mount Garan. This mountain is one of Japan 300 mountains, and a part of Aso Kujū National Park.
Rou ...
is relatively new, and fumarolic activities are observed. Besides Mount Tsurumi,
Mount Yufu
is a volcano, located on the border of Yufu and Beppu, Ōita, Japan. It is located within Aso Kujū National Park.
Outline
Mount Yufu is a stratovolcano. It has two peaks, called ‘Higashi-mine’ (East Peak) and ‘Nishi-mine’ (West ...
, Mount Ohira and so forth shape a range of mountains.
The west area of the city includes a number of scenic locations such as Yufugawa Canyon, which has been selected as one of One Hundred View of Oita, and/or some designated areas of
Aso Kujū National Park
is a national park in Kumamoto and Ōita Prefectures, Japan. The park derives its name from Mount Aso, the largest active volcano in Japan, and the Kujū mountains.
History
Established as Aso National Park in 1934, in 1986 after extension t ...
, with a large amount of forests.
The east area of the city consists of an
alluvial fan
An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to semiarid climates, but a ...
as well as
alluvial plain
An alluvial plain is a largely flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A floodplain is part of the process, being the smal ...
, made with rivers flowing into Beppu Bay, namely Asami River, Haruki River and Sakai River. The main urban area of Beppu has been formed within this relatively narrow land which spans approximately 5 km from east to west and 10 km from north to south.
There are a large number of
faults on the north and south of the alluvial fan, surrounding the urban area. Given the short distance from the sea shore on the east coast to the west part of the city with altitude of several hundreds meters or higher, the city has many slopes mainly on the east-west direction.
Neighboring municipalities
*
Oita
*
Usa
*
Yufu
*
Hiji
is a town located in Hayami District, Ōita Prefecture, Japan. As of March 2017, the town has an estimated population of 28,524 and the density of 390 persons per km2. The total area is 73.32 km2.
Geography
Hiji is located within the ea ...
History
The city was founded on April 1, 1924, with its population of 36,276.
Hot springs
Beppu is famous for its ''
onsen
In Japan, are the country's hot springs and the bathing facilities and traditional inns around them. As a volcanically active country, Japan has many onsens scattered throughout all of its major islands. There are approximately 25,000 hot ...
'' (
hot springs
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by ci ...
). It has eight major
geothermal hot spots, sometimes referred to as the "
eight hells of Beppu
The hot spring are a nationally designated " Place of Scenic Beauty" in the onsen town of Beppu, Ōita, Japan. The "hells" are for viewing rather than bathing.
See also
* Beppu Onsen
is a group of hot springs in the city of Beppu, Ōita ...
" among many others. Six of these are located close by within in the Kannawa district up the hill, and two are in the nearby Shibaseki district down the hill. Beppu is also divided into eight major hot spring areas known as .
''Beppu Hattō'' hot spring areas
Some hot springs in the Beppu area are
Beppu Onsen
is a group of hot springs in the city of Beppu, Ōita in Japan. Beppu Onsen is divided into eight major hot spring areas known as "Beppu Hatto".
The most significant characteristic of Beppu's hot springs is the richness of its resources. The v ...
,
Kankaiji,
Kamegawa,
Shibaseki,
Kannawa,
Myoban,
Horita,
Hamawaki, among others.
In addition,
Oniyama Jigoku, known as "monster mountain hell" for the large numbers of crocodiles bred and kept on the grounds surrounding this hot spring, is nearby.
File:Natural iron hot spring.jpg, Natural iron hot spring, Beppu, Japan
File:How to see Beppu.jpeg, 1937 travel poster, Beppu hot springs
File:Beppu City.jpg, Kannawa area of Beppu city
File:Beppu hotspring-well01.jpg, A hot spring-well in Beppu
Visitor attractions
Beppu is part of the course of the annual
Beppu-Ōita Marathon
The is an annual men's marathon race that takes place every February between the cities of Beppu and Ōita on the island of Kyushu in Japan. The race has IAAF Silver Label Road Race status and is a listed course of AIMS (Association of Interna ...
, which traces a path between Beppu and its neighbouring city of
Ōita. The competition has been held every year since 1952 and is classed as an
IAAF
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...
Silver Label road race.
Shidaka Lake is located
above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
. Otobaru Waterfall is a local natural attraction, located in the mountain area of Beppu city, 20 minutes' walk from Wonder Rakutenchi, a traditional amusement park. Takasakiyama Monkey Park is located 10 minutes from the centre of Beppu by bus. The park is home to more than 1500
Japanese macaques. Kijima Kogen is a resort which includes an 18-hole golf course and hotel alongside an amusement park. It is located on a plateau en route to Yufuin.
Beppu has not only usual hot springs but some sand and foot baths as well. One famous spot is "Beppu Kaihin Sunayu, Ashiyu", (”Beppu marine beach sand bath and foot bath"). It is 15 minutes by bus from Beppu station, on Route 10.
is located in the center of the city, a 15-minute walk from Beppu Station. Beppu Fireworks Festival, held in late July, is one of the biggest fireworks displays in Oita. Five thousand fireworks are set off from boats floating on Beppu Bay. Beppu Contemporary Art Festival "Mixed Bathing World" is an art festival held every three years in Beppu.
The
Beppu Ropeway connects Beppu with
Mount Tsurumi
is a volcano in Beppu, Ōita, Japan.
Outline
Mount Tsurumi is a lava dome. It has several peaks, including, Mount Kuranoto, Mount Uchi, Mount Garan. This mountain is one of Japan 300 mountains, and a part of Aso Kujū National Park.
Rou ...
.
Education
*
Beppu University
is a private university in Ōita Prefecture, Japan. It has campuses at the cities of Beppu
is a city in Ōita Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. As of March 31, 2017, the city had a population of 122,643 , a private university first chartered in 1954, also has a campus in Oita City.
*
Beppu Mizobe Gakuen College, established in 1986, is a private junior college located in the north of Beppu.
*
Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University
, commonly referred to as APU, is a university in Japan. Ritsumeikan APU was established in April 2000 in Beppu, Ōita, Japan. APU was created through the collaboration of three parties from the public and private sectors: Ōita Prefecture, Be ...
, a private university established in 2000.
Sports
Beppu is home to the
Oita Heat Devils
The are a professional basketball team based in Matsuyama, Ehime, Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, that will compete in the second division of the B.League, a new league that will commence in September 2016. The team was founded in 2005 as the Oita He ...
basketball team. The team's season was cancelled in 2011 due to the earthquake that struck Japan on March 11.
International relations
The city of Beppu has
sister city
A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.
While there are early examples of inter ...
relationships with the following locations.
*
Atami, Shizuoka
is a city located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 36,865 in 21,593 households and a population density of 600 persons per km2. The total area of the city is .
Geography
Atami is located in the far e ...
,
Japan (since August 5, 1966)
*
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
,
Somerset
Somerset ( , ; Archaism, archaically Somersetshire , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in South West England which borders Gloucestershire and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east and Devon to the so ...
,
England,
United Kingdom (since October 31, 1994)
*
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the seat of government of Jefferson County, within the Beaumont– Port Arthur metropolitan statistical area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston (c ...
, United States (since May 20, 1985)
*
Jeju,
South Korea (since January 17, 2003)
*
Mokpo,
Jeollanam-do,
South Korea (since October 1, 1984)
*
Rotorua,
Bay of Plenty,
New Zealand (since July 10, 1987)
*
Yantai
Yantai, formerly known as Chefoo, is a coastal prefecture-level city on the Shandong Peninsula in northeastern Shandong province of People's Republic of China. Lying on the southern coast of the Bohai Strait, Yantai borders Qingdao on the ...
,
Shandong,
China (since July 26, 1985)
Buildings
*
Beppu Tower
is a 100-metre-tall (328 ft) lattice tower located in Beppu, Ōita, Japan. Initially built to help boost tourism in the area, today the tower is primarily used as TV transmission tower. It has an observation deck at a height of .
History
B ...
References
External links
Beppu City official website
Beppu Navi homepageInformation about hot spring baths in Beppu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beppu, Oita
Cities in Ōita Prefecture
Holy cities
Populated coastal places in Japan
Port settlements in Japan