Last Updated: Oct 20, 2022

Deeper into Oita

Much More than Just Beppu’s Hot Springs

It’s no secret that I am in love with Oita. I’ve been enamored ever since I first visited the prefecture in May of 2018 for a visit arranged by the governmental agency JETRO. Our experiences were captured in this amazing video by my YouTuber friend Chris Okano. Although Oita is best known for its large collection of onsen, there’s so much more to the area than just its hot springs. In fact, despite being something of an onsen fanatic myself, it was not dreams of soaking in relaxing springs that lead me to espouse Oita. No, instead, I was and continue to be drawn to the area’s large collection of hidden narratives, especially the Kunisaki Peninsula, but more on that in a bit.

Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, for the last few months I’ve been working behind the scenes to help Oita prefecture get their digital marketing game up to par. Unfortunately, as Ashley Harvey, the former COO of Go Central Japan points out in this scathing review of the local travel industry,

“Government tourism departments were, not so long ago, the place where elderly gentlemen were put out to pasture in a place they could do no further damage.”