Hotel Umine
by the TopOfHotel team
A 20-room boutique where the draw is having your own spa bathtub and a Beppu Bay view in the room, two minutes from Beppu Tower.
A 20-room boutique where the draw is having your own spa bathtub and a Beppu Bay view in the room, two minutes from Beppu Tower.
In-Depth Review
Rooms and decor
The Premium Sea View room runs 32 sq m and goes for about $206 a night (around THB 7,200), sitting on the 6th floor. You get a King bed at 200 by 200 cm, down pillows and Anichini linens, and a wide window framing Beppu Bay — fishing boats out front, Beppu Tower off to the left. The bathroom is the headline: a spa bathtub measuring 1.8 by 1 metre, an 8-jet Jacuzzi alongside a rain shower, a separate toilet and a Toto Washlet. Two yukata per guest, Beppu bamboo slippers, fast Wi-Fi, and smart controls for the lights, curtains and air-con round it out. The whole building is a tidy 7-storey white-and-grey block, and the lobby keeps things small — wood floors, vintage Italian chairs, fresh flowers, a yuzu-sparkling welcome drink.
Food and amenities
There's no dinner service, so plan to eat out. The lounge bar on the ground floor opens 6pm to midnight — a Hinoki-wood counter with six high seats and a view over Matogahama Beach. Pours include Yamazaki 12-year whisky (about $12), Yufuin "Kura" sake (around $10) and a Beppu yuzu cocktail. For dinner, reviewers point you to Toyotsune, an original toriten spot 8 minutes away (roughly $12 a head), and Fugu Matsu for pufferfish the next night (about $40, or THB 1,360) — sashimi, soup and Beppu reimen noodles. The hotel's own breakfast set ($24) brings Bungo-gyu beef sausage, eggs Benedict and Yufuin yogurt in the sea-view dining room.
Location and getting there
This is as central as Beppu gets. Beppu Tower is a 2-minute walk, Matogahama Beach is three, the Takegawara sand bath is eight, and Beppu Ginza shopping is ten. From JR Beppu Station it's a 25-minute walk or a 5-minute bus ride from the nearby Kitahama stop; a taxi is quick and cheap. Oita Airport sits 40 km out. The trade-off for being downtown rather than up the mountain: you're surrounded by restaurants and steam-filled bathhouses, but you don't get the panoramic bay-from-above views the hillside resorts have.
Things to know before booking
The big caveat is the water. The in-room spa bathtubs are warm tap water, not mineral onsen — lovely for a private 30-minute soak with wine and a sea view, but not the real thing. The genuine article is the shared onsen downstairs, which does use Beppu's sodium-chloride mineral water across one indoor pool and one small rotenburo, open 6am to midnight, men and women separated. Those pools are on the small side. There's no dinner restaurant, only breakfast and the bar. And with just 20 rooms it can book out, so lock in early if you want a high-floor Premium.
Our take
For couples, Hotel Umine is the boutique pick in Beppu — 20 exclusive rooms, a private spa bathtub with a Beppu Bay view in each one, the red tower two minutes away, and a quiet sea-view bar to end the night. It holds an 8.7/10, and at $177 a night and up it earns its keep for anyone who'd rather skip a shared bath and stay walkable to the tower, the beach and the Takegawara sand bath. If you came to Beppu chiefly for a steaming open-air mineral rotenburo, look up the hill instead.
Score Breakdown
Assessed by our editorial team from data and real guest reviews
The Honest Verdict — pros & what to know
- A 20-room boutique means it never feels crowded, and the small staff has time to notice details most big resorts miss.
- Every room has a large spa bathtub — a 1.8 by 1 metre Jacuzzi with 8 jets in the Premium rooms — plus a Beppu Bay sea view you can soak in front of.
- Modern Japanese minimalist rooms that feel genuinely newer and crisper than the older ryokan around it, like Shiragiku or Tsuruta.
- The ground-floor lounge bar has a Hinoki-wood counter looking out over Matogahama Beach, pouring Yamazaki whisky and Yufuin sake from 6pm.
- You're two minutes from Beppu Tower, three from the beach, eight from the Takegawara sand bath, and ten from Beppu Ginza shopping — everything walkable.
- The in-room spa bathtubs run warm tap water, not real mineral onsen. There is a shared mineral bath on the ground floor (sodium-chloride water, 6am to midnight), but the pools are small.
- It's a 25-minute walk from JR Beppu Station. Buses cut that to 5 minutes from the Kitahama stop, but you'll want to check the timetable rather than count on one.
- There's no dinner restaurant — only a breakfast set and the lounge bar. You'll be heading out to eat, which is fine in this neighbourhood but worth knowing if you wanted in-house kaiseki.
Who It’s For
Match Score by travel style
Amenities
Location & Nearby Spots
Things to do near Beppu
Day tours, attraction tickets and experiences around Beppu — book ahead on Klook with mobile e-tickets.
See activities in BeppuAffiliate link — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Insider Tips
- Book a Premium room on the 7th floor or higher — best sea view and the largest balcony.
- The lounge bar runs 6pm to midnight: try the Beppu yuzu cocktail or a Yufuin sake before dinner.
- Skip the in-house dinner and walk 8 minutes to Toyotsune for original-recipe toriten (about $12 a head), then save Fugu Matsu for the next night.
- The breakfast set ($24) comes with Bungo-gyu beef sausage and Yufuin yogurt — eat it in the sea-view dining room.