If you surveyed the thousands of tourists descending upon Oita Prefecture each year, you might learn that they came seeking the place where heaven and hell are conjoined. For if Oita’s highland plateaus seem to reach up to the sky, her bubbling cauldron-like hot springs seem to rise from a mysterious inferno.

Located along with Nagasaki on Kyushu, one of Japan’s four major islands, Oita Prefecture is a major resort destination for the Japanese. Known in days of yore as “Bountiful Land,” the prefecture boasts two national, and three quasi-national parks. Oita offers 752 km of beautiful coastline, exotic Buddhist images carved into mountainsides, a plethora of natural onsen, and lush green plateaus dotted with British Guernsey cattle.

Visitors can fly into Oita Airport from Tokyo in 90 minutes or from Osaka in 50 minutes. Flights are continual throughout the day.

Oita City, with a population of 441,000, is the capital and largest city in the prefecture. It has held this position for nearly a thousand years, ever since it became the capital of Bungo, as the province was known under the Otomo clan.

In the 16th century, Oita was very much influenced by trade with Portugal and became one of the first areas of Japan to be exposed to Western medicine and stage drama. Oita City was devastated by heavy bombing during WW II, but in 1963 it incorporated five surrounding towns to become a thriving metropolitan center. The countryside surrounding the city is basically an agricultural area of tiny farms and neat houses clustered together. To Westerners, the farms look more like suburban homes with large backyards.

Shiitake mushrooms, which have escaped Japan’s shores and found their way into restaurants worldwide, are cultivated on logs in Oita Prefecture. Dango Jiru, a stew-like soup with noodles, also finds its home in the prefecture. In addition, Bungo beef, prawn, horse meat, and fugu (globefish) sashimi are other home-grown delicacies of the region.

In Yufuin, visitors will find three fun variations on the o-manju, a round Japanese confection found in every traditional sweets shop across the nation. Yufuin’s variations include “onsen manju” (hot spring specialties), “soba manju” (buckwheat), and “yuzumiso manju” (fermented soy bean with citrus peel).

Information on Beppu is available from the Foreign Tourist Information Office (nicknamed the SOS Office) located on the bay side of JR Beppu Station. The SOS Office, run by the city, is staffed with English-speaking volunteers and features maps and pamphlets.
TEL: (0977) 23-1119; HOURS: weekdays 10 - 4, Saturdays 10 - noon

The Yufuin Spa Tourist Information Office is located at JR Yufuin Station, and is run by the town’s Department of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism.
TEL: (0977) 84-2446; HOURS: 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. (open until 8 p.m. in the summer)

For general information, contact the International Affairs Division of the Oita Prefectural Government at (0975) 33-2009.

Oita Online Guide Book
Oita Guide
Japan National Tourist Organization: Oita
Oita Prefectual Website
Oita Wikipedia Entry