Beppu Public Baths: Takegawara, Furo and Kaimonji

If you are staying near Beppu Station, the easiest bath depends on when you can go. Furo Onsen is a practical choice for an early soak; Takegawara’s ordinary bath is the option during the 2–3 pm cleaning break at Furo and Kaimonji; Kaimonji has both a hotter and a milder pool and sits near the Kitahama area. Treat Takegawara’s sand bath as a separate activity, with its own admission fee and possible wait.

The three ordinary baths are gender-separated communal baths. None offers a private bath or an outdoor pool. If you need to bathe together, or an open-air setting is essential, these ordinary-bath tickets will not meet that requirement.

At a glance

For ordinary bathing, children pay ¥100; children below elementary-school age enter free. Takegawara’s sand bath costs ¥1,500 and is for visitors aged six or older. All three facilities list a monthly closure, which may move when it falls on a public holiday. Check Beppu City’s current closure calendar before setting out.

A published-price discrepancy at Furo Onsen

Beppu City’s current Furo facility page and its municipal-bath price table list the adult ordinary-bath fee as ¥250. The Beppu tourism page still lists ¥300 in information labelled current as of 30 June 2026. I use the city’s facility page and price table for the comparison above, but keep the discrepancy visible; confirm the fee at the facility before visiting.

Furo Onsen for an early bath

Furo is about a five-minute walk from JR Beppu Station. It opens at 6:30 am, which makes it easier to fit in before checkout or an early train than a bath farther from the station. Inside, the communal indoor bath has two temperature ranges: atsu-yu (hot water) and nuruyu (milder water). If you are new to Beppu’s communal baths, you can try the milder pool first; there is no need to treat tolerating a very hot bath as a goal.

Beppu City describes Furo as a simple hot spring supplied by continuous flow from the source. The facility has one of the clearest accessibility listings among these three baths: an entrance ramp, step-free access, an accessible toilet, handrails, facility wheelchairs, a wheelchair-accessible bathing room with a dedicated bath chair, and an elevator with features for visitors with visual impairments. Call ahead if you need to confirm how a particular access arrangement works on the day.

The 2–3 pm cleaning break is a full closure: visitors cannot enter or bathe. If you reach the area at 2:10 pm, choose Takegawara instead or return after 3 pm rather than waiting at the entrance.

Takegawara for the historic building—or for the sand bath

Takegawara’s ordinary bath is open from 6:30 am to 10:30 pm and costs ¥300 for adults. The building dates to 1938 and is known for its ornate entrance and high-ceilinged lobby. The bath itself is a straightforward communal indoor option; there is no private bath or outdoor pool. If you have less than an hour, the ordinary bath can be the whole visit.

The sand bath is a separate ticket, not part of ordinary-bath admission. Guests change into a yukata and lie on sand warmed by hot-spring water while an attendant covers them.

Preparation and crowding can mean a wait. Leave time for changing, the session, rinsing and getting ready afterward; it is not a guaranteed 30-minute stop before the last train or airport bus.

Leave time for the queue, changing, the sand-bathing session, rinsing and getting ready afterward. Do not plan it as a guaranteed 30-minute stop just before the last train or airport bus. The sand bath’s entry and process are different from the ordinary bath, so do not treat the two as one ticket or one activity.

Takegawara sells towels and toiletries separately. Beppu City lists an original towel at ¥350, a shampoo/conditioner/soap set at ¥100, and a seven-minute hair-dryer use at ¥100. Bring what you need if you want to keep the visit close to the admission price. There is no on-site parking listed.

Kaimonji for two temperature options near Kitahama

Kaimonji is also about a five-minute walk from JR Beppu Station, on the Kitahama side. Its ordinary bath opens from 6:30 am to 10:30 pm and costs ¥250 for adults. Like Furo, it has an atsu-yu pool and a nuruyu pool, so visitors who are not used to hotter communal baths can choose between them. It is a useful stop before or after a meal around Kitahama if the timing works for you.

Beppu City identifies the spring as a sodium bicarbonate spring and describes the bath as continuously supplied from the source. An older analysis lists a source temperature of 54.7°C; that is not a fixed reading for either pool. The current city listing identifies the two temperature options but does not publish a set bathing-pool temperature.

Kaimonji is closed for cleaning from 2 to 3 pm and usually closes on the second Monday of the month; the date may change if it falls on a public holiday. The facility lists three parking spaces, one designated for visitors with disabilities. Bath users may ask the front desk about one hour of free parking at Tsurumi Car Park. If you are travelling without a car, there is no need to detour for parking.

What does a walk-in visit cost?

Admission does not include every hotel-style amenity. At Furo, a simple “arrive without supplies” example using the city-listed prices is:

This is not a required package; bring your own towel and toiletries if you prefer. Takegawara sells its towel for ¥350, shampoo/conditioner/soap set for ¥100 and seven minutes of hair-dryer use for ¥100, all separately from the ¥300 ordinary-bath entry.

Takegawara’s ordinary-bath entry is ¥300, but buying a towel, toiletries and hair-dryer time on site also raises the total. Check the facility’s current amenity list because prices and availability can change.

Tattoos: what the listings say

Beppu’s tourism pages for Takegawara, Furo and Kaimonji show a “tattoo permitted” facility label. The tourism listings are dated 30 June 2026; Beppu City’s facility pages do not repeat a separate tattoo policy. Check the linked facility information and follow staff instructions, especially if you plan to use the sand bath or visit during a special operating period.

Choose by the time you have

• Early morning or before checkout: Furo is near the station, opens at 6:30 am and publishes the most accessibility detail of the three.
• Between 2 and 3 pm: Takegawara’s ordinary bath stays open while Furo and Kaimonji close for cleaning.
• Near Kitahama: Kaimonji is walkable from the station and Kitahama, with two bathing temperatures.
• For sand bathing: allow time to wait and change at Takegawara. The sand bath costs ¥1,500; ordinary bathing is ¥300.

Official information

• Beppu City, municipal hot-spring facilities
• Beppu City, closure calendar
• Beppu City, cleaning closures during opening hours
• Beppu City, Takegawara Onsen, Furo Onsen and Kaimonji Onsen
• Beppu City, municipal-bath price table, current from 1 April 2026
• Beppu tourism information, Takegawara, Furo and Kaimonji; facility labels and amenity details checked 30 June 2026

Tags: Beppu public baths, Beppu municipal onsen, Takegawara Onsen, Furo Onsen, Kaimonji Onsen, Beppu sand bath, Beppu Station title: "Beppu Public Baths: Takegawara, Furo and Kaimonji" slug: beppu-municipal-onsen-first-visit focus_keyword: Beppu public baths secondary_keywords:

• Takegawara Onsen admission and sand bath
• Furo Onsen opening hours and price
• Kaimonji Onsen hot and mild pools
• Beppu public bath tattoo rules
• Beppu municipal onsen first visit

tags: [Beppu public baths, Takegawara Onsen, Furo Onsen, Kaimonji Onsen, Beppu, municipal bath, admission fees, sand bath, opening hours, tattoo policy, hot spring etiquette, walk-in bathing, Kitahama, first visit, onsen guide]