This hilltop inn is an exercise in modern restraint: clean lines, warm wood, contemporary art on the walls, and not a single fussy detail in sight. And yet the classical virtues of Japanese hospitality are very much intact, from the sulfur-rich spring water piped into every room to the creative kaiseki dinners that showcase Oita Prefecture's remarkable larder. The real showstopper, though, is the position. Set high above the town with unobstructed views across Beppu Bay and the city's famously steaming streets below, it feels a world away from the tourist bustle of the "hells" - even though they're just a 15-minute drive down the hill.
Welcome to Japan's gloriously unpolished onsen capital where steam billows from every alleyway and meals are prepared in volcanic vents.
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