is a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
in
Ōita Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Ōita Prefecture has a population of 1,136,245 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,340 km2 (2,448 sq mi). Ōita Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northwest, Kum ...
on the island of
Kyushu,
Japan. As of March 31, 2017, the city had a
population
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...
of 122,643
["Statistics: Population"](_blank)
Beppu City Government website . Accessed 21 April 2017. and a
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
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 ...
, 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.
Rout ...
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 P ...
, 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 extensio ...
, 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, 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'' (
hot springs). 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,
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, 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 Silver Label road race.
Shidaka Lake is located
above sea level. 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.
Rout ...
.
Education
*
Beppu University, a private university first chartered in 1954, also has a campus in Oita City.
*
Beppu Mizobe Gakuen College is a private junior college in Beppu, Ōita, Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japa ...
, established in 1986, is a private junior college located in the north of Beppu.
*
Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, a private university established in 2000.
Sports
Beppu is home to the
Oita Heat Devils 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 ea ...
,
Japan (since August 5, 1966)
*
Bath,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
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,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
(since October 31, 1994)
*
Beaumont, Texas, United States (since May 20, 1985)
*
Jeju,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
(since January 17, 2003)
*
Mokpo
Mokpo (; ''Mokpo-si'') is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea, located at the southwestern tip of the Korean Peninsula, close to Yudal mountain. Mokpo has frequent high-speed train services to Seoul, and is the terminus for a number of f ...
,
Jeollanam-do
South Jeolla Province (; ''Jeollanam-do''; ), also known as Jeonnam, is a province of South Korea. South Jeolla has a population of 1,902,324 (2014) and has a geographic area of located in the Honam region at the southwestern tip of the Korean ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
(since October 1, 1984)
*
Rotorua,
Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaw ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
(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
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