Where to Stay in Beppu: Station Hotels, Sea Views and Private Onsen

Updated September 2026

“Beppu onsen ryokan” covers a few very different kinds of stay. A station hotel can make buses, dinner and an early train easy. A Kitahama inn puts the bay in view from the bath. A hillside ryokan may trade that convenience for a private hot spring in your room.

Here are four useful starting points, chosen for their different strengths rather than ranked as a single best-to-worst list.

Room rates vary by date, room and meal plan, so compare like with like. A “sea-view room” or “private bath” label does not tell you whether the bath is natural spring water or shared.

Onyado Nono Beppu: the easiest arrival

If you are travelling by train or bus and would rather not start the trip with another transfer, Nono is about a one-minute walk from Beppu Station. Its 13th-floor public baths use the hotel’s Beppu hot-spring source and are open from 3 pm until 10 am the next day. The seven private baths are first-come, first-served, with the hotel asking guests to keep each visit to about 45 minutes.

Five private baths are natural hot springs; Horita and Myoban are silky baths. This detail matters if your reason for staying is specifically to try different hot-spring waters. A themed name alone does not mean that each tub has a separate source.

Nono suits a short stay, a late arrival, or a couple who wants the option of bathing together without paying for an in-room open-air bath. It is less predictable if you need a private bath at a fixed time before dinner. Its tattoo policy generally restricts bathing, with an exception when a tattoo can be fully covered by the hotel’s 8 × 10 cm sticker; check the current rule directly if that matters.

AMANEK Beppu YULA-RE: city freedom with a rooftop view

AMANEK is about three minutes from the station’s east exit. The public onsen and its rooftop pool look out over Beppu, but they are different facilities: the pool requires swimwear and is not hot-spring water. The hotel’s onsen page distinguishes its bath areas; the rooftop open-air bath uses source water on a flow-through basis, while the indoor public bath is circulated.

For a private in-room hot spring, look specifically at the Japanese Spa Suite. Its semi-open-air bath uses natural spring water, with the hotel noting that water may be added and heated. Standard rooms do not become private-onsen rooms just because the hotel has public baths.

AMANEK makes sense if you want an easy station base, flexible meals around town and a scenic public bath. Only pay for the Spa Suite if a private bath inside the room is part of the trip.

Seaside Hotel Mimatsu Oetei: book for the bay, then check the bath

Mimatsu Oetei sits in the Kitahama seaside area. Its strongest reason to book is the view: the public baths and selected guest rooms make Beppu Bay part of the stay. The hotel describes its spring as a sodium bicarbonate–chloride spring, with water supplied on a flow-through basis and added water used to adjust temperature. “Flow-through” does not necessarily mean that no water is added.

The rooftop open-air bath has a view of the bay and sunrise, but access involves stairs from the seventh floor, and the hotel may close it in strong winds or cold weather. There is no private family bath to reserve. If you want to bathe alone or together in your room, select a room category that explicitly lists a private natural hot-spring bath; a sea-view room is not automatically one.

This is the most view-led choice here. If the weather turns or you choose a room without a private bath, you will rely more on the shared baths than at Showaen.

Beppu Showaen: private hot springs in all nine villas

Showaen is the clearest option if a private natural hot spring in your own room is non-negotiable. Its nine detached villas each have one. The layouts differ: some have a hinoki indoor bath, while selected villas have an open-air rock bath. Choose by capacity and bath style, not just by the general “private onsen” description.

The spring is listed as a sodium sulfate–bicarbonate spring. Showaen describes its guest-room water as source-fed, while also noting that water is added. It has two additional family open-air baths for complimentary 50-minute sessions, but you do not need to depend on them to have a private soak.

The practical catch is transport. Overnight guests can request a complimentary shuttle from Beppu Station between 2 and 5 pm, with drop-offs from 9 to 11 am. Confirm the service with the property, especially if you are arriving by a late train. Showaen suits a quieter, stay-on-property evening more than a night spent repeatedly going into town.

The question that usually settles it

For the least complicated arrival, choose Nono. For a station stay with a rooftop pool and view, look at AMANEK—but distinguish the pool from the onsen. For a sea-facing bath, compare Mimatsu room categories carefully. If you do not want your hot-spring time to depend on a public bath or an available private slot, Showaen is the strongest fit, provided its shuttle times work.

When comparing rates, use the same dates, number of guests and meal plan. Then confirm whether the exact room has a natural hot spring, what the tattoo rules are, and how you will reach the property. If you only need a day-use soak rather than an overnight stay, our Beppu municipal onsen guide is a better starting point.

Sources

• AMANEK Beppu YULA-RE, onsen and rooftop pool, room categories, and access
• Onyado Nono Beppu, public and private baths and rooms
• Seaside Hotel Mimatsu Oetei, hot springs, facilities, and rooms
• Beppu Showaen, hot springs, rooms, and access and shuttle
• Booking information: AMANEK, Nono, Mimatsu Oetei, and Showaen
• Images: AMANEK bath photo via the Trip.com property gallery; Showaen bath photo from its official site.

Tags: Beppu onsen ryokan, Beppu hotels, private onsen, Kitahama, Beppu Station