If you’re a foodie visiting Beppu, I’m sure you’ll want to try as many traditional foods as possible. As a food-lover myself, I wasn’t satisfied with only trying cute snacks – I wanted to create a food guide with foods that actually originated in or around Beppu.
So, I’ve compiled this food guide with 15 of the best foods from Beppu that you must try during your Japan trip – and where to eat them!
What foods is Beppu famous for?
Due to Beppu’s geothermal activity, the city is most well-known for its local jigoku-mushi (Hell-steaming) cooking method, which uses the steam from the hot springs for food preparation. This natural cooking method has been used by locals for centuries, and it’s a fun way to experience cooking your own food!
Additionally, Beppu’s coastal location in Ōita Prefecture means that many ingredients from the region are prominent in the local cuisine, from fresh seafood to succulent Ōita Wagyu beef, and fresh local vegetables.
Visiting soon? Check out my guide for spending a perfect day in Beppu!
Best Food in Beppu: 15 Local Foods to Try
1. Beppu Reimen (Beppu Cold Noodles)
Perfect for a hot summer day, Beppu Reimen (別府冷麺) is a dish of chewy, chilled noodles in a seafood dashi and beef broth, and garnished with cabbage kimchi, sliced beef (or pork), and boiled egg.
This noodle dish is a fusion of Japanese and Korean cuisines, as it originated around 1950, when an expatriated Japanese chef returned to Beppu from Manchuria (northeastern China), where Korean communities had a strong influence.
Where to eat it
Beppu Reimen can be served in two ways: Yakiniku-style is served as a palate-cleanser dish in barbecue houses, and specialty-store style is served as a main dish in restaurants.
Unfortunately, the restaurant where I tried Beppu Reimen for the first time seems to have closed down, but other restaurants that are very popular for it are Rokusei, Ramentei Ichiban, and Ikkyu no Namida.
2. Jigokumushi (Hell-steamed cuisine)
Beppu’s geothermal activity has provided locals with its centuries-old jigoku-mushi (地獄蒸し, Hell-steaming) cooking method, which uses the natural steam from the hot springs to cook food.
It’s possible to cook almost anything using the geothermal steam from the hot springs, and much like any steam cooking method, it’s very healthy, as it doesn’t use any added oils or fats.
I won’t say that it’s the most flavourful meal you’ll have in Japan, but it’s certainly unique, and a mandatory try when you visit Beppu!
Where to eat it
One of the best things to do in Beppu is experiencing cooking your own jigoku-mushi meal!
I tried it myself at Jigoku Mushi Kobo, which is probably the most popular restaurant in Beppu for trying this traditional type of cuisine. You pick your meal from the vending machine, lower it into the steamer yourself (with the help of the staff), and enjoy it once it’s cooked. I recommend dropping by the restaurant around 11 AM for a ticket, as queues start early.
Alternatively, if you fancy some onsen time, Hyotan Onsen also offers a traditional jigoku mushi lunch experience. You can make a reservation up to one week in advance.
3. Gokuraku Manju (Paradise Buns)
Gokuraku Manju (極楽饅頭, translating to Paradise Buns) are small snacks filled with red bean paste, and steamed naturally using the hot spring steam from Umi Jigoku (Sea Hell).
The dough is very fluffy and the taste balances sweet and savoury, from the red bean paste and the hot spring sulfur from the steaming process.
Where to eat it
These buns are made and sold at Umi Jigoku (Sea Hell), which is the biggest and main hot spring of the 7 Hells of Beppu – so make sure to get a box when you visit!
You can watch the manju being handmade by the staff, as well as the hot spring steaming process in real time.
Spending longer in Beppu? Check out my 2-3 Days Beppu Itinerary!
4. Ryukyu (Marinated Fresh Sashimi)
Ryukyu (りゅうきゅう or 琉球) is a delicacy from Oita Prefecture, where Beppu is located. The dish involves fresh sashimi marinated in a mix of soy sauce, sake, mirin, sesame, and ginger.
The fish used usually includes local mackerel or horse mackerel. It can be enjoyed plain, over a bowl of rice (Ryukyu-don, りゅうきゅう丼), or mixed with rice and broth as an ochazuke.
The name “Ryukyu” in Japanese also refers to modern-day Okinawa (the Ryukyu Islands), and one of the main theories for the name correlation is that this particular sashimi marinating technique might have once been introduced in Oita by fishermen from Okinawa.
Where to eat it
You can find ryukyu in menus at traditional izakayas and specialty restaurants across Beppu. I had the delicious bowl in the above photo at Tosaka.
5. Jigoku-Mushi Purin (Hell-Steamed Pudding)
Adding to the list of hot-spring-steamed foods to try in Beppu, Jigoku-Mushi Purin (Hell-Steamed Pudding) is something you can’t miss!
I’m completely obsessed with Japanese purin (pudding), as it’s so creamy, velvety, and rich – unlike any other pudding I’ve tried anywhere else! So, once in Beppu, what better way to experience some of the local foods than to delight yourself with some purin cooked in the hot springs?
Where to eat it
The original and most iconic place serving jigoku-mushi purin (Hell-steamed pudding) since 1988 is Okamotoya, in Myoban Onsen.
However, you can find hot-spring-steamed purin sold at several hot springs around Beppu. The signature Hell Soy Sauce Pudding at Kamado Hell is super unique, and so is the very creamy onsen pudding at Hyotan Onsen – which is the one I tried from the photo above (I also added ice cream to it, which felt like a treat in between baths!).
6. Seki Saba (Mackerel) & Seki Aji (Horse Mackerel)
Seki saba (関サバ) and seki aji (関アジ) are premium-quality brands of Pacific mackerel and horse mackerel, respectively. Both fish are abundant in the Bungo Strait and caught in Saganoseki, in Oita Prefecture. Seki saba is caught during winter (December-March), while seki aji is at its best between July and September.
These brands of mackerel are amongst some of the most delicious I’ve ever tried (especially when you eat them as fresh sashimi), and they don’t have any of the usual fishy smell and taste that regular mackerel has.
The “perfect” fat content also gives the fish a smooth texture that is firm, yet almost melts in your mouth, without tasting or feeling oily. It’s really a must-try!
Where to eat it
Keeping in mind the distinct seasons when these mackerels are caught, you can try seki saba and seki aji at local izakayas and specialty sushi restaurants. I tried the delicious sushi set in the above photo at Tosaka.
7. Yaseuma
Yaseuma (やせうま) is a traditional sweet snack from Oita Prefecture, and very popular in Beppu, as it can also be cooked in the jigokumushi cooking method.
This local delicacy consists of boiled, flat hand-rolled wheat flour noodles. Once cooled, the noodles are generously dusted with a mixture of kinako (roasted soybean flour) and sugar.
There are a few legends of how this sweet treat came to be, but the snack tells us a lot about Oita’s terrain. Since the region was not very good for growing rice historically, farmers cultivated wheat and other grains instead. This led to a rich “flour food culture” in Oita, which originated culinary staples like yaseuma and dango-jiru.
Where to eat it
You can cook your own yaseuma dessert in jigokumushi-style at Jigoku Mushi Kobo, which is a very fun way to experience Beppu’s steamed cuisine!
If you’re looking for a more casual meal experience, I also had yaseuma at the Bungo Chaya Beppu restaurant, inside Beppu Station. They serve local cuisine set menus, where you can try a few traditional foods at once – something I always love to do when I visit a new city.
8. Hot Spring Eggs (Onsen Tamago)
Continuing the hot-spring-steamed food adventures, one of the most prominent foods sold near most hot springs or Hells in Beppu are onsen eggs (温泉卵) – eggs cooked with the steam from the hot springs.
In Beppu, the eggs are cooked directly in the geothermal steam and mineral-rich waters of the hot springs, which give them a distinctive taste, colour, and texture. The eggs are usually enjoyed simply on their own and dipped in salt or soy sauce to enhance their flavour.
Where to eat them
Onsen eggs are traditionally very inexpensive, and you can find them at most onsens and at some of Beppu’s Hells. The “Onsen Piitan” egg sold at Kamado Hell is particularly unique, as it’s continuously steamed for 24 hours, resulting in a richer and more savoury flavour.
9. Toriten and Toriten soba
Toriten (とり天) is a tempura-style boneless fried chicken (distinct from the denser batter used in Japanese karaage) which is marinated in a soy sauce, sake, ginger, and garlic mixture. The lighter tempura batter gives the chicken a fluffier coating, and the marinade provides a sweet and savoury flavour.
Toriten can be eaten on its own with a dipping sauce (usually ponzu sauce, but in Beppu, a kabosu-based sauce is also very common) and mustard, tossed over a rice bowl as toriten don (とり天丼), or paired with chilled or warm soba noodles as toriten soba (とり天そば).
Where to eat it
It’s believed that the very first restaurant to serve toriten was Toyoken, in Beppu. Nonetheless, the dish is now so popular that you can find it served either as a snack or as a meal in izakayas, restaurants, and noodle shops all over Oita Prefecture!
I tried toriten both as a snack on its own and as toriten soba at the Bungo Chaya Beppu restaurant, inside Beppu Station.
10. Dango-jiru (Dumpling Soup)
Dango-jiru (だんご汁, translates to “dumpling soup“) is a traditional, hearty soup made with chewy, hand-kneaded long flat wheat noodles and local vegetables in a rich miso- or soy-sauce-based broth.
Much like yaseuma, this soup results from Oita’s historically unsuitable terrain for growing rice, which led to a flour-based food culture in the region. While “dango” normally refers to the famous Japanese round dumplings, in Oita Prefecture, “dango” refers to the long, flat, hand-stretched noodles used in this dish.
Where to eat it
I had my first taste of Beppu’s dumpling soup at the Bungo Chaya Beppu restaurant, inside Beppu Station. They serve local cuisine set menus, where you can try a few traditional dishes at once, which is a great introduction to the local cuisine!
11. Bungo Beef (Oita Wagyu)
Bungo beef (豊後牛), or Oita Wagyu, is a premium, highly-marbled Wagyu from the Japanese Black (Kuroge) cattle breed, raised exclusively in Oita Prefecture. Beef marketed as Oita Wagyu is rated with a quality grade of 4 or 5 (excellent or exceptional).
Oita’s prized beef has a long history, as it was awarded first place at the National Livestock Exhibition in Tokyo in 1921, and more recently the Prime Minister’s Award, in 2017.
If you visit Beppu, you must try Bungo beef – the texture is incredibly tender and buttery, and it just melts in your mouth! You can have it grilled, yakiniku-style (which is how I personally find its quality really shines), in shabu-shabu (hotpot), or as thick teppanyaki steaks.
Where to eat it
You can taste Bungo beef at steak houses and barbecue restaurants across Beppu City. Somuri is a very popular restaurant specialising in carefully selected Oita Wagyu that’s operated since 1989, also with branches in Oita and Fukuoka.
12. Shiitake Mushrooms
Beppu is renowned as one of Japan’s top producers of high-quality shiitake mushrooms (冬菇). In fact, Oita Prefecture produces almost half of all of Japan’s shiitake mushrooms!
Donko shiitake mushrooms, in particular, are a prized winter mushroom variety that grows slowly, packing a great concentration of umami, which is perfect for making rich dashi broths and for adding to hotpots and stir-fries.
Where to eat them
You can taste many dishes in Beppu cooked with local shiitake mushrooms, and if you’d like to bring home some, you can find them at local souvenir shops across the city, like Yamayoshi.
If you’d like to taste shiitake mushrooms in a novel way, Yamayoshi also serves a mushroom soft serve (it tastes like vanilla, with a hint of mushroom), and Onsen Dolce sells a shiitake mushroom gelato!
13. Oita Sake
With so many hot springs dotted across Oita, it’s no surprise that its natural spring water has led to a thriving production of sake and barley shochu (Japanese distilled spirit).
The most famous sake from the region is the award-winning Chiebijin Junmai (ちえびじん) by the Nakano Sake Brewery (est. 1874), but other highly-prized sakes from Oita include Nishi no Seki (西の関), Kuncho (薫長), Wakabotan (和香牡丹), and Takakiya (鷹来屋).
Where to drink it
You can order sake at most (if not all) izakayas, bars, and restaurants in Beppu!
For a good tasting session, head to Beppu Sake Stand – a standing bar that specialises in local Oita sake, as well as in craft beers and wine.
14. Kabosu-Flavoured Snacks and Kabosu Soba
Kabosu (カボス or 臭橙) is a rare green citrus fruit native to Oita Prefecture, and very popular in Beppu. While it’s usually compared to a lime, kabosu is closely related to yuzu.
You’ll find many dishes in Beppu that incorporate kabosu as a replacement to other citrus juices and vinegar, from ponzu dipping sauces to sashimi marinades, drinks and cocktails.
The most unique dish that’s also very popular is kabosu soba (かぼす蕎麦) – a refreshing soba noodle dish (chilled or warm) topped with very thin slices of kabosu.
Where to try it
There is no shortage of kabosu-flavoured snacks to try – from biscuits to noodles, sweets, and whatever else you can think of! You’ll find them at local souvenir shops across Beppu, such as Beppu Meihingura inside Beppu Station (where I spent way too long browsing and buying too many snacks!)
15. Karukan
Karukan (軽羹) is a local confectionery from Kyushu’s Kagoshima Prefecture, but which has also been produced in Beppu using the natural geothermal hot spring steam since 1952, and it’s now a popular souvenir from the city.
Originally, the sweet was bar-shaped, but recently the manju shape filled with sweet red bean paste has become more popular. The bun is made from karukan rice flour, yam, sugar, and water, and it has a spongy and delicate texture, without being overly sweet.
Where to eat it
You can find karukan at local souvenir shops and dedicated Japanese sweet shops in Beppu, like Karukando Nakamura-ya, which has been selling the confectionery since 1952.
Final thoughts
I hope this local Beppu food guide with the best traditional foods and where to eat them is helpful for your upcoming trip! There are many more typical dishes that you can discover in the city, but this list is a good start.
If you have questions about any part of this post, feel free to reach out in the comments below!
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