With Rugby World Cup in full swing, Beppu hot spring resort still divided over tattooed visitors
Hotels and bathhouses at the famed Beppu Onsen hot-spring resort in Oita Prefecture continue to be divided over whether to accept tattooed visitors. Tattoos are widely accepted in many countries, but in Japan the practice is often associated with yakuza and other crime group members. About ...
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen serves as police chief for day in Beppu
New Zealand coach Steve Hansen on Thursday served as a one-day honorary chief of a police station in Beppu, where his team is training in its bid to secure a third successive Rugby World Cup title. Hansen said in an address to police officers in ...
'Tattoo OK' hot spring map released in Rugby World Cup host prefecture
A hot spa resort area in Oita Prefecture, which is hosting next year's Rugby World Cup, has created an online map showing onsen spots open to visitors with tattoos, typically stigmatized in Japan due to their association with yakuza. The Oita city of Beppu has ...
Hotel association in hot spring city Beppu teams up with Airbnb
A hotel association in Beppu, Oita Prefecture, a city known for its hot springs, said Monday it will work with Airbnb Inc. to attract more tourists from abroad. A total of 111 hotels and inns that are members of the Beppu City Ryokan Hotel Association ...
Roller coaster on test run leaves one dead, one injured at amusement park in Beppu
One man was killed and another was seriously injured over the weekend when they were hit by a roller coaster that was being tested at Kijima Kogen Park in Oita Prefecture, the police said. According to the police, park employee Takashi Okubo, 44, and another ...
The deafening report of war is such that the cries of its victims are often hard to hear, even decades later. Japanese Reflections on World War II and the American Occupation, by Edgar A. Porter and Ran Ying Porter.256 pages AMSTERDAM UNIVERSITY PRESS, Nonfiction. This is why ...
Beppu makes splash with bathtub theme park
The mayor of Beppu lives up to his promise by creating a temporary theme park in Oita Prefecture based on the resort city’s famed hot springs.
Beppu blaze fanned by strong winds guts seven structures; three people missing
A fire burned seven houses and shops and left three people missing Sunday night amid strong winds near a traditional hot springs resort in Oita Prefecture. According to police and the local fire department, five structures burned down completely and two others were damaged after ...
'Spamusement' park in Beppu could become a reality thanks to viral video
Roller coasters, cable cars and Ferris wheels are typical rides at amusement parks, but the city of Beppu, Oita Prefecture, is mixing the excitement with a natural attraction — its famous hot springs. In a now-viral promotional video uploaded Monday on YouTube, performers ride a ...
Nepali expat champions aid effort for quake-struck homeland
On April 25, Nepalese Bilam Karki was driving in Beppu, Oita Prefecture, when he learned about the catastrophic earthquake that had struck the central part of his home country, with the news spreading fast via social media. "My mind went numb, couldn't think anything, my ...
New Zealand city to build a Beppu steam cuisine center
One of Japan's most popular hot-spring resorts is helping a city in New Zealand to harness steam from its hot springs to cook food. Beppu, Oita Prefecture, is renowned for its "jigokumushi" (hell steaming) cuisine. It is sharing that know-how with Rotorua, a sister city ...
Soaking weary bones and saving a sole on Kyushu's Mount Yufu
It's a rare day that the top of Oita Prefecture's Mount Yufu (or Yufudake) isn't obscured by clouds, claims Lonely Planet's "Hiking in Japan" guidebook. Luckily, our visit happens to coincide with one of those rare days — there is nothing but an unbroken ...
