How to Start the Beppu Hatto Onsendo: ¥110 Spaport, 88 Baths to Master, ¥800 per Rank (2026)

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The Beppu Hatto Onsendo (Beppu Onsen Path) is a bathing challenge in which you collect stamps by visiting about 150 hot springs in Beppu. You do not need to sign up. Buy the ¥110 stamp book “Spaport” at the tourist information center at the east exit of Beppu Station, or open the free “Onsen Hunter” on your smartphone, and your first bath that day counts as number one.

In short

The Spaport is ¥110 a copy. You can start for free with “Onsen Hunter” on your smartphone.
You rise a rank for every 8 baths, and at 88 baths you become an “Onsen Path Master”. Applying for each rank is ¥800.
About 150 facilities take part. You can search the facility list on the official site by area, feature and spring type.

Checked with official pages on November 1, 2026 (Japan time). Prices and hours may change.

1. What is the Beppu Hatto Onsendo? 88 baths out of about 150 facilities

If you bathe at 88 of the roughly 150 hot spring facilities on the Onsen Path and collect the bath commemorative stamps in the stamp book “Spaport”, you are certified as an “Onsen Path Master”. “Beppu Hatto” is the name for the 8 hot spring areas of Hamawaki, Beppu, Kankaiji, Horita, Myoban, Kannawa, Shibaishi and Kamegawa, and each participating facility has a number. What is the Beppu Hatto Onsendo (official) (Japanese)

The facilities include neighborhood public baths used by locals (called “Jimo-sen” on the official site), municipal hot springs, day-use baths at ryokan and hotels, foot baths and private baths. The organizing office is inside the Beppu City Tourist Association.

2. The Spaport costs ¥110: buy it at the east-exit information center or the tourist association

The Spaport is ¥110 (tax included) a copy, sold at the tourist information center “WANDER COMPASS BEPPU” at the east exit of JR Beppu Station and at the Beppu City Tourist Association. After you bathe, you stamp the commemorative stamp kept at the facility yourself. Aim to be an Onsen Master! Beppu Hatto Onsendo (Beppu Tabi / Beppu City) (Japanese)

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Instead of the stamp book, you can take part with “Onsen Hunter”, which uses your smartphone’s location. It is a game you open in your browser, not an app you install, and it is free to use (you pay your own data charges). You need an Android phone or iPhone with GPS; it does not work on feature phones, computers or tablets. After you bathe, open Onsen Hunter and wait about 15 seconds, and a “Stamp” screen appears. How to take part (official) (Japanese)

If you take an Onsen Hunter stamp for one bath, you must not stamp the Spaport for it. With Onsen Hunter you can apply for a rank (including Master) for only one round; from the second round it stays as your own record.

The guidebook “Beppu Hatto Onsen Hon” (¥660), with facility introductions and a free bath ticket, is sold at bookstores and convenience stores in Oita Prefecture and at the Beppu City Tourist Association. The 2025-2026 edition has two limited campaigns, the “Spring Type Pilgrimage” through 10 types of spring water and “Onsen Path x Onsen Egg Path”, running until November 30, 2026. Some of the perks are first come, first served, and the number left is shown in the official site’s notices (the latest, from October 21, 2026, gives the certification status). Official notice of October 21, 2026 (limited campaigns: certification status) (Japanese)

3. Ranks come every 8 baths: ¥800 per rank, ¥2,200 for Master only

With 8 stamps you reach the first rank (Shodan), and the rank rises every 8 baths after that, with Master at 88 baths. Applying for certification costs ¥800 per rank, and ¥2,200 if you skip the ranks and apply only for Master. With 2 stamps you can also apply for the “Beginner” level, and once certified you receive a certification towel in a color for each rank and a certificate. About rank certification (official) (Japanese)

On weekdays, if you bring it to the Beppu City Tourist Association (1-3 Suehiro-cho, Beppu, Brick Hall 1st floor, 8:30 to 17:00), you are certified the same day. On weekends, holidays and the year-end and New Year period, WANDER COMPASS BEPPU (east exit of JR Beppu Station, 8:45 to 18:00) only takes the application, and certification comes later by post. To apply by post, you send the Spaport and the certification fee to the office by registered cash mail (a bank transfer is also possible).

Once you are a Master, you can have your portrait displayed in the “Onsen Hall of Fame” at Hyotan Onsen. At the Beppu Hatto Onsen Festival every April, people who became Masters in the previous year are given a limited-edition “Special Certification Card” (limited number).

4. Find the facilities in the official list of about 150

On the Beppu Hatto Onsendo official site you can narrow the baths by area, feature and spring type, and each facility’s page gives its number, bath fee, hours, closing days and parking. The features include “Jimo-sen (neighborhood baths)”, “Under ¥500 baths”, “Open-air baths”, “Private baths (family baths)”, “Foot baths”, “Day-use baths at lodgings” and “Curveball baths”. Beppu Hatto Onsendo official site (Japanese)

Some ryokan and hotels are “guests only”, and you cannot enter unless you stay. Some facilities have paused their Onsen Path participation, for example for construction, and a notice of the pause or restart appears at the top of the facility’s page. For example, No. 193 “Mugen no Sato Shunkashuto” was renewed as a private-bath facility and returned to the Onsen Path in a notice of August 14, 2026. Notice of the restart of No. 193 “Mugen no Sato Shunkashuto” (official) (Japanese)

If you want to stay and also visit the guests-only baths, you can compare onsen lodgings in Beppu on Rakuten Travel. [Rakuten Travel] Find lodgings in Beppu Onsen (ad)

5. 10 baths that are easy to start with (¥100 to ¥700)

Near Beppu Station you can stamp your first mark at the municipal Takegawara Onsen (¥300) or Ekimae Koto Onsen (¥250). The table below lists 10 baths, picking 1 or 2 public baths and municipal springs close to a station or bus stop from each of the 8 hot spring areas. Prices are for one adult bath.

別府八湯温泉道の始め方。スパポート110円、88湯で名人温泉道第1番・竹瓦温泉の入口（2016年撮影） — Entrance of Takegawara Onsen, Onsen Path No. 1 (photographed in 2016)

Facility	Area	Adult	Hours / closed
Takegawara Onsen	Beppu	¥300	6:30–22:30 / 3rd Wednesday
Ekimae Koto Onsen	Beppu	¥250	8:00–23:00 / 1st Monday
Hamawaki Onsen	Hamawaki	¥200	6:30–1:00 next day / 3rd Monday
Kannawa Mushiyu	Kannawa	¥700	7:30–19:30 / 4th Thursday
Shibu-no-Yu	Kannawa	¥100	6:30–20:30 / none
Teruyu Onsen	Myoban	¥300	9:00–21:00 / none
Mukaibaru Onsen	Kankaiji	¥150	6:00–9:00, 11:00–22:00 / none
Horita Onsen	Horita	¥300	6:30–22:30 / 1st Wednesday
Shibaishi Onsen	Shibaishi	¥300	7:00–20:00 / 2nd Wednesday
Kiyosen	Kamegawa	¥250	6:30–22:30 / 1st Wednesday

The Onsen Path numbers are No. 1 for Takegawara Onsen, No. 7 for Ekimae Koto Onsen, No. 36 for Hamawaki Onsen, No. 40 for Kannawa Mushiyu, No. 38 for Shibu-no-Yu, No. 128 for Teruyu Onsen, No. 207 for Mukaibaru Onsen, No. 127 for Horita Onsen, No. 80 for Shibaishi Onsen and No. 69 for Kiyosen. For Takegawara Onsen, Kannawa Mushiyu, Horita Onsen, Shibaishi Onsen and Kiyosen, the closing day moves to the next day when it falls on a holiday.

Takegawara Onsen is about a 10-minute walk from Beppu Station, and also has a sand bath (¥1,500, from 8:00, last reception 21:30). Ekimae Koto Onsen is a 2-minute walk from Beppu Station and is divided into a hot bath and a lukewarm bath. Kannawa Mushiyu is a bath where you steam your body in a stone room laid with sekisho grass, and from October 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027 it is open for the shorter hours of 7:30 to 19:30 (last reception 19:00). Only junior high school students and older can enter, a rental yukata is ¥220 and the foot steam is free. The Netsu-no-Yu-mae parking lot and the Kannawa Onsen district parking lot are free for 2 hours for steam bath users. Kannawa Mushiyu (Beppu City) (Japanese)

Shibu-no-Yu is a public bath along Ideyu-zaka, with a ¥100 bath fee, and you must use a coin locker when you enter. Teruyu Onsen is a bath in Ogura in the Myoban area, with parking for 10 cars. Mukaibaru Onsen is a public bath near Beppu IC, open in two parts, 6:00 to 9:00 and 11:00 to 22:00. For the fees and hours of 15 municipal hot springs, see our page on 15 municipal hot springs in Beppu (Japanese); for the public baths and steam baths of Kannawa, see 8 public baths and steam baths in Kannawa Onsen (Japanese); and for private (family) baths that take part, see 14 family baths and private baths in Beppu (Japanese).

6. Cleaning times at Beppu’s municipal hot springs, and public bath manners

Municipal hot springs have one closing day a month and a 1-hour cleaning time during opening hours, when you cannot enter. The cleaning time is 14:00 to 15:00 at Hamawaki Onsen, Horita Onsen, Kiyosen, Hamada Onsen, Furo-sen, Kaimonji Onsen, Tanoyu Onsen and Nagaishi Onsen, and 13:00 to 14:00 at Shibaishi Onsen. Closing days can change around holidays. Closing days and cleaning during opening hours at some municipal hot springs (Beppu City) (Japanese)

A public bath is also the neighborhood’s own bathroom. The Onsen Path’s “rules of conduct” include rinsing yourself before you enter, not diluting the hot water too much with tap water, not sitting on the edge of the bath, not talking loudly, and saying a word to others when you add water to a hot bath. Some facilities are known for very hot water. Rules of conduct for Onsen Path bathers (official) (Japanese)

Beppu City’s tourism site says that people who are not used to hot springs should bathe at only 2 or 3 per day to be safe. For how to get to Beppu from Fukuoka, see From Fukuoka to Beppu (Japanese), and for day-use baths in Oita outside Beppu, see 14 day-use baths in Oita (Japanese).

Address: 1-3 Suehiro-cho, Beppu City, Oita (Brick Hall 1st floor, Beppu Hatto Onsendo Office) · Google Maps · Tel: 0977-24-2828

Common questions

Can I take part with just a smartphone?

Yes. Open “Onsen Hunter” in the browser of a GPS-enabled smartphone and take a stamp after you bathe. It is free to use.

Can I apply for a rank on weekends or holidays?

WANDER COMPASS BEPPU (east exit of JR Beppu Station) only takes the application, and certification comes later by post. Same-day certification is possible only at the Beppu City Tourist Association on weekdays.

Can I apply without going to Beppu?

Yes. Send the Spaport and the certification fee to the Beppu Hatto Onsendo office by registered cash mail. The fee can also be paid by bank transfer.

What comes after Master?

There is a higher level called “Super Onsen Path Master”. Becoming a Master 11 times makes you a Lifetime Master, 22 times an Honorary Master and 33 times a Lifetime Honorary Master, and at 88 times you become “Sensei (Onsen Saint)”. The certification towel for Lifetime Master is purple with silver embroidery.

The office is the Beppu Hatto Onsendo Office (inside the Beppu City Tourist Association, 0977-24-2828, weekdays 8:30 to 17:00).

Sources

21 pages we checked

Checked with official pages on November 1, 2026 (Japan time).