Landmark & Tower · Shibaseki / Noda

Chinoike Jigoku (Blood Pond Hell) 血の池地獄

Japan's oldest recorded natural hell, a 78°C pond of blood-red hot mud described as the 'Red Spring' in an 8th-century gazetteer. Beppu's most dramatic colour.

About

Chinoike Jigoku appears as the 'Akayu-no-izumi' (red hot spring) in the Bungo no Kuni Fudoki compiled in the Nara period, making it more than 1,300 years old as a recorded sight. High temperature and pressure underground cause chemical reactions that produce iron oxide and magnesium oxide, and the red clay that erupts and settles stains the 1,300 m² pond a deep crimson. Steam rolls over the surface and, against blue sky, the contrast is spectacular. A viewing deck gives the best overhead angle; there is a free foot bath, a dog run, a shop selling a skin ointment made from the pond's clay and Chinoike pudding (¥350), and the Gokuraku-tei restaurant serving toriten and jigoku-mushi set meals. Designated a national Place of Scenic Beauty.

Highlights

• Blood-red hot mud pond, recorded over 1,300 years ago
• Viewing deck for the overhead shot
• Free foot bath and Chinoike pudding
• Chinoike ointment made from the pond's clay
• Gokuraku-tei restaurant for toriten and jigoku-mushi

Tips

• 4 km from Kannawa: take the bus to Chinoike Jigoku-mae, then walk 1 minute to Tatsumaki
• Visit in cool weather when steam is thick but the red still shows
• Group and accessibility tickets are sold here or at Umi Jigoku
• Common ticket valid here; buy it at whichever hell you reach first

Open in Google Maps · Info checked 2026-10-09

Nearby

• Tatsumaki Jigoku (Spout Hell)Nature & Hike · 190 m away
• Shibaseki OnsenOnsen & Sento · 570 m away
• Hyotan OnsenOnsen & Sento · 1.0 km away
• FurariRamen & Noodles · 1.1 km away
• Kannawa Mushiyu (Steam Bath)Onsen & Sento · 1.2 km away
• Ideyu-zaka Slope (Kannawa)Photo Spot · 1.3 km away
• Oniyama Jigoku (Crocodile Hell)Nature & Hike · 1.4 km away
• Kamado Jigoku (Cooking Pot Hell)Nature & Hike · 1.4 km away