`` The heat gets pretty unbearable in Beppu during the summer , with all the hot springs , '' says Sachiko Okuda , a veteran tour guide and native of Japan 's `` hot spring capital . '' Looking out the bus window on the way into town , it 's easy to believe her . Steam spews from every other building . Beppu , in central Oita prefecture , is home to more than 2,500 onsen -- hot springs . It 's the world 's second largest source of thermal spring water after Yellowstone National Park in the United States . `` During Golden Week , we get around 60,000 visitors staying at our onsen resorts , '' Okuda explains . But we 're not hot-tubbing today . We 're on our way to Beppu 's so-called Eight Hells ( jigoku ) hot springs , where the water gushes out at temperatures as hot as 150 C. Some also spout vermillion colored steam -- each `` hell '' is different in its own intense way . Umi-Jigoku ( Sea Hell ) About 1,200 years ago , a volcano erupted and the cobalt-blue Umi-Jigoku sprang forth -- iron sulfate being the source of its lovely color . Do n't be lulled by its beauty , though -- the hot spring is 200 meters deep and , at 98 C , almost boiling . The steam heats a nearby greenhouse where Victoria amazonica water lilies bloom between May and November . Right by the entrance , stores sell pudding cooked in the hot spring 's steam . Oniishibozu-Jigoku ( Oniishi Shaven Head Hell ) Even hotter than Umi-Jigoku , at an average 99 C , Oniishibozu-Jigoku gets its name from the gray mud bubbles it spouts that are said to resemble a monk 's shaven head . The town Onishi ( one `` i '' ) , in Gunma prefecture , signals its hellish association by using the kanji character for `` demon '' in its name . Every February , the people of Onishi clear their homes of evil spirits by throwing soybeans at invisible demons during the Onishi Setsubun festival . Yama-Jigoku ( Mountain Hell ) Resembling mountains of mud according to legend , the pools of Yama-Jigoku are in reality more like steaming puddles . Harmless though they might appear , they reache a scorching 90 C. A mini zoo nearby features animals acclimated to the heat -- flamingos , monkeys , snakes and a hippopotamus who waits to be fed carrots . Kamado-Jigoku ( Cooking Pot Hell ) A red demon statue atop a cooking pot guards the entrance to Kamado-Jigoku . Some of the six differently colored ponds here reach boiling point . There are -- less hot -- hand and foot baths , drinking water at 80 C and jigoku-mushi : Vegetables and hard-boiled eggs cooked in the boiling water and steam . Oniyama-Jigoku ( Demon Mountain Hell ) Also known as `` Crocodile Hell , '' Oniyama is home to around 80 of the creatures , as well as alligators slithering around in murky water pouring in from a salt spring . The steam pressure here is strong enough to pull one and a half train carriages , as well as creating ideal crocodile-breeding conditions , an onsite sign discloses . Shiraike-Jigoku ( White Pond Hell ) With rocks in the middle of a milky green pond and its surrounding bushes , Shiraike resembles a Japanese zen garden . A hot spring spouts creamy white steam at 95 C. The water 's milky color comes from a mixture of boric acid , salt , sodium silicate and calcium bicarbonate . Piranhas are among the fish kept in a run-down aquarium nearby . Tatsumaki-Jigoku ( Tornado Hell ) Regarded as a natural treasure of Beppu , Tatsumaki is one of Japan 's few geysers . Erupting every half an hour or so for up to 10 minutes , its spout can reach 50 meters without the stone plate that is used to block it off . At a fiendish 150 C , Tatsumaki also has the hottest water of all the hells and emits hot sulfurous gases . Chinoike-Jigoku ( Blood Pond Hell ) Not only is the water red here , but the steam too . The oldest of the hells , Chinoike 's vermillion color comes from the acidic iron and magnesium-filled clay oozing from the ground . At 78 C , this is also the coolest of the eight hells , but signage reminds visitors that you still ca n't take a dip . An ointment made from the clay that 's used to treat skin diseases is sold at a stand nearby . Getting there . Beppu is a two-hour train ride from Fukuoka 's Hakata station on the limited express Sonic train . From JR Beppu station , take a 15-minute ride on Kamei bus 5 , 7 or 9 to reach Kannawa bus terminal , where the first six hells are located . From Kannawa , a five-minute ride on Kamei bus 16 or 16A takes you to Chinoike-Jigoku and Tatsumaki-Jigoku in Shibaseki hells . The same buses also return you to Beppu station , a 40-minute journey . Alternatively , Kamenoi bus company provides 2.5-hour tours ( in Japanese ) of all eight hells for ¥3,600 ( $ 35 ) . Tours depart three times a day and can be booked the same day at the Beppu Foreign Tourist Information Office inside JR Beppu station .
Beppu is home to more than 100 onsen , or hot springs . Water in the ` ` Eight Hells '' ' can reach 100 C. ` ` Demon Lake ' '' is home to crocodiles and alligators .