Gourmet Dishes

Beppu is blessed with a variety of fresh seafood from the sands of Buzen-Kai, the seas of Kunisaki that face the Seto Inland Sea, the gentle waters of Beppu Bay, and Bungo Channel with its rias coastline. The highlights of dining in Beppu are fugu (puffer fish) in winter, shiroshita karei (flatfish) in early summer and seki saba (branded mackerel) in autumn. Chirimen (dried young sardines) and ebodai (butter fish, called Ameta in Oita) from Beppu Bay, silver hairtail and octopus from Kunisaki, yellowtail, flatfish, Japanese lobster from the Bungo Channel and a bounty of other seafood are available all year round to entice your taste buds. The restaurants marked out with 3 stars on our search engine serve up these delicacies and let you wine and dine to your heart's content.
The Japanese breed of beef cattle known as Bungo Beef is another delicacy. Japanese beef has a higher fat content than U.S. or Australian beef and is thus more tender and juicy. Of course, eating too much of it may show up on your weighing scale, so go easy!
There are also many unique eateries in Beppu that had been around since Beppu was a bustling port town, and you can enjoy your meals at these eateries without burning a hole in your pocket. Restaurants marked out with 1 star on our search engine offer meals for any budget. If you want to find out what the citizens of Beppu usually eat, or wish to travel on a shoestring budget, these are the places to head for.

We strongly recommend Oita's local cuisine - 'Tori-ten' (Tempura chicken), 'Jigoku-mushi' (food cooked in hot spring steam), 'Dango-jiru' (dumpling soup) and 'Yaseuma' (sweet dumplings).
'Tori-ten' (Tempura chicken)
This dish has its roots in the cuisine that a Chinese chef from Taiwan served at a Western-style restaurant 'Toyoken', established in Taisho era. You can find this menu at most eateries in Oita. Tori-ten is usually eaten with ponzu sauce (a mixture of citrus juice and soy sauce), while some restaurants, such as Mitsuba Grill, use their original sauces. A member of the staff at Billiken on Ekimae Dori Street can speak English, so you can enjoy your 'Tori-ten' without worrying about communication problems.
'Jigoku-mushi' (food cooked using hot spring steam)
Hot springs gushing out steam drastically are called 'Jigoku' (hell) in Beppu. 'Jigoku-mushi' refers to a cooking method used commonly in hot spring resorts. Food is steamed quickly in a steamer called Jigoku-mushi-gama which uses natural hot spring steam. Jigoku-mushi can bring out the exquisite flavor of food without using oil, so dishes are delicious and very healthy. In the hot spring resort inns of Kannawa, vegetables such as spinach and sweet potatoes have been served since a long time ago, and a wide variety of seafood and meat are also served today. Both the high-class Kaiseki-style Jigoku-mushi at Sakaeya and the casual open-air stalls selling Jigoku-mushi at Daikokuya are must-tries!
'Dango-Jiru (dumpling soup)' and 'Yaseuma' (sweet dumplings)
These are Oita's traditional home-made meals. Dango-jiru is made by cooking hand-rolled flour dumplings (dango) and vegetables in a miso soup. Yaseuma is a snack made of dango powdered with sweetened soy flour called kinako.
Be sure to try these local favorites at Amami-chaya along the Yamanami Highway and at cafe TAKEYA in front of 'Takegawara Onsen' community hot spring bath.

Nightlife

A large number of Japanese-style pubs and cocktail bars can be found in Beppu's downtown area.
Japanese-style pubs known as 'Izakaya' are a good way to spend the night catching up with friends over delicious cuisine and wine. Japanese sake (rice wine) and distilled spirits made from oats or sweet potatoes are popular drinks at these watering holes. Of course, beer is also available for those who are thus inclined.

As these are casual restaurants meant for relaxing in, please do not hesitate to enter one. Although there is only a low probability that staff will understand English in such establishments, there is always body language, or a friendly diner next to you who is willing to lend a hand. If you wish to be　friends Beppu citizens, we recommend that you take your meal at the counter. A rough estimate for a night out would be 2,000 to 3,000 yen, although it is not difficult to hit more than 5,000 yen if you place excessive orders for food and wine. The Japanese-style pub called 'Jin' at Ekimae-dori Street is highly popular among foreign tourists.

If you would just like to enjoy a few drinks, try the 'one-shot' style cocktail bars found in the back alleys. 'Speak Easy' serves up each shot at about 600 yen, while 'Copper Ravens' across the street lets you take your drink in a casual atmosphere at about the same price. Many students from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (an international university in Beppu city) patronize these bars, so they are probably the places in town where English is best understood.

Those who would like to listen to American pop music from the '60s can make their way to 'Hit Parade Club' in front of 'Takegawara Onsen' community hot spring bath. Enjoy live music performed by the house band throughout the night as drinks and food are served buffet-style. You may also find new friends if you join in the dances. Charges - Gentlemen: 3,600 yen / Ladies: 3,000 yen