KAI Beppu

KAI Beppu occupies a contemporary ryokan building in Kitahama, Beppu, roughly ten minutes on foot from Beppu Station. The hotel reworks the town's long-standing hot spring culture into a modern form: all 68 rooms are KAI Signature Rooms, each with an ocean view and walls finished in a reddish-brown tone chosen to sit against the blue of Beppu Bay. Beppu has more hot springs and the highest flow rate of any town in Japan, and that presence runs through the building, including a foot bath that looks over the bay and separate baths intended just for soaking hands.

Dinner is a kaiseki course presented in bamboo ware, built around seafood that reaches Beppu Bay from the Pacific by way of the Bungo Current. The seasonal menu features Seki Aji or Seki Saba, Oita's signature horse mackerel and mackerel, depending on the day's catch, and closes with Ryukyu Chazuke, marinated fish served with Bungo-nabe broth. A Premium Wagyu Beef dish in the same seafood-infused broth can be added by pre-order. Breakfast includes a seafood soup made with Gomadashi, a traditional Oita seasoning, alongside a Western-style option. Vegetarian kaiseki and breakfast are available on request, prepared without the eight major allergens, and children's platters are offered for ages 4 to 6 and 7 to 11. Dining takes place in semi-private rooms screened by a bamboo curtain, beneath an atrium chandelier made from 80 bamboo dragonfly toys from Oita Prefecture.

The ryokan also brings in Beppu's old nightlife through the Toji Jug Band, which performs on bath bowls and stools as hot spring steam drifts through the building, alongside food stalls selling Shochu and a Smart Ball arcade game. Guest room occupancy runs from one to four, check-in is at 2:30 PM and check-out at 11:00 AM, and the property is smoke-free aside from a designated smoking area. Private parking is free and does not require a reservation, EV charging is available around the clock, and pets are allowed. Bookings for KAI Beppu are only accepted from within Japan.