Gonzague

Usually made of wood or metal, the Usuki Stone Buddhas are unique in many ways. Created around the Heian Period (794-1185), the Usuki Stone Buddhas are carved from soft volcanic rocks from Mount Aso, giving sculptors a soft and highly workable material to work with. [...]

Also known as the “Blood Pond” Chinoike Jigoku is, for us, the second most interesting Hell of Beppu. Located in the Shibaseki District and rather far away from the crowd, Chinoike is the oldest of its kind in the entire country. Chinoike also epitomizes the Japanese people’s image of purgatory […]

Famous for its many "hells" or in Japanese Jigoku (地獄) Beppu city is by far the best location in Japan to enjoy these natural wonders in a unique, yet quite touristy fashion. Beppu counts seven different hells, but two of them are, as far as we are […]

Located in the heart of the beautiful Aso Kuju National Park, both Tadewara Marshland & Mt. Kuju  are gorgeous scenic places ideal for people looking to get closer to nature. Tadewara Marshland is one of the widest everglades in the country. The wetland is positioned in Chojabaru on Iida Highlands […]

Beppu is by far the most well-known place in Oita and basically the whole of Japan for its many Jigoku or Hell, which are actually hot springs. But, in the heart of Oita prefecture, far from the crowds and in the middle of what is possibly one of […]

Located in the city of Nakatsu, this castle, also known in Japanese as Nakatsu-Jo, was founded in 1587 under the rule of the Daimyo Kuroda Yoshitaka. Completely destroyed by the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877, which opposed disaffected samurai against the new imperial government, Nakatsu castle was rebuilt […]

Also known as Usa Hachimangu or 宇佐八幡宮 in Japanese, is a Shinto shrine located in the city of Usa in Oita prefecture. Founded during the Nara period Usa Jingu has a complex history. Indeed it is believed that the first foundation of the shrine took […]

Located in the small streets of Usa city in Oita prefecture, Gogan-Ji temple has been made famous by opposing the sitting lord and Samurai Utsunomiya Shigefusa, who died during the battle between Kuroda Kambei the newly appointed lord of the nearby Nakatsu castle. [...]

Located in Kinsusaki peninsula, Maki Odo used to be the largest Makisan-Denjoji temple of the Tendai sect in the area. It's said that it was a lecture place where Buddhist priests practiced asceticism and do training in. On the temple grounds […]