Beppu tour of 8 Jigokus

I came to know that there is a tour package that covers all 8 of Beppu Jigoku (Japanese speaking) that can be purchased from the Tourist Info centre in Beppu station. There are 3 tours per day and the duration is about 2.5 hours . I read from tourists' review that the tour bus brings you directly to the Jigoku.i h ave a few questions below with regards to this tour.
1. How much does the tour cost?
2.Will there be ample time to walk around or would it be very rush ?
3. Will a senior citizen be capable of doing this tour since the bus brings you directly to the spot ? I read that one doesn't have to walk up the many slopes leading to the Jigoku.

Thanks in advance for any advice .

Here's a Japanese webpage about the tour bus: http://www.kamenoibus.com/teikikanko_01.php

It says it costs 3,650 yen. At 3 hours for 7 hells, that's under a half hour per site, including transit time between them, so it won't exactly be a long stay at each one. Taking a regular city bus between the hells instead of the tour bus will give you a chance to enjoy a more leisurely walk around them, and it's far cheaper. A taxi wouldn't be a bad option either, though I'm not sure how much that would cost.

Either way, bus or taxi, you can pick the hells that interest you most based on descriptions and photos, which is the best way to go. Personally I thought umi jigoku and chinoike jigoku were the most appealing, and the others were skippable. If you search for "Beppu jigoku" in google images, you'll notice it's mostly those two (the red one and the sky blue one) that are photographed.

While in Beppu, don't miss Hyotan onsen, if you like hot spring bathing. They have a wonderful room with hot spring waterfalls you can sit under. Those waterfalls create the best massage-like feeling. http://www.hyotan-onsen.com/english/

By the way, you may want to ask your hotel to call and make a tour bus reservation for you, if you decide to go that way: 0977-23-5170

Thanks Kate, for the most helpful and detailed information. I will take up your suggestion to visit the more popular hells rather than do all of it as I would prefer to have more leisurely time at these spots. And yes I already had in mind to visit Hyotan onsen. Thanks again, really appreciate it!

Hi Evey,

The price for the tour mentioned is not that bad - but you will be rushing around to see 7 of them in an hour.

I've included my post from this last year: https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-2889

From memory, 5 of the hells are roughly 10-15 minutes walk from one another and the other two require buses. One was not really worth visiting (the one with a geyser - it's in the post above). Note that it was highly touristy and it's much better when not in large tour groups - but that's my style so you might be different. I did unexpectedly enjoy the hells more than expected though.

Hi Mfedley,
I read your post. Very informative with many beautiful photos. Thanks very much!