WESTEAST Posted October 1, 2023 #1 Share Posted October 1, 2023 We are not particularly interested in hot springs, thermal pools nor spas. Looking for suggestions to see in the town of Beppu that are easily accessible from the cruise port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceMuzz Posted October 1, 2023 #2 Share Posted October 1, 2023 Beppu is a small city of hot springs, thermal pools, spas, and ceramic producers. If you are not interested in the water-related aspects, the only thing really left is the ceramics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Milhouse Posted October 1, 2023 #3 Share Posted October 1, 2023 We visited Beppu as a daytrip by train from Fukuoka during a land trip in late May of 2018. However, we only spent about three hours from about 10am to about 1pm on a Monday there as we didn't find a lot of things of interest to us. Part of it was our fault though because we didn't do a lot of research so maybe we didn't get to the better places. We basically walked one of the main streets from the train station to the waterfront, walked a covered arcade (Sol Paseo Ginza) that stretched out from that main street, and briefly explored some of the backstreets that led to an onsen (Takegawara Onsen) that looked interesting. We enjoy walking seawalls and waterfront promenades but struggled to find a great stretch for a walk. I'm not sure if it was because it was somewhat early on a Monday but a lot of shops seemed closed along Sol Paseo Ginza so that strech wasn't very fun either. As an option, maybe consider visiting Yufuin? We ended up ditching Beppu and taking a 1.5 hour trainride to Yufuin and spent about 3pm to about 5:30pm there. It's a small village but we found it more quaint. There's a pedestrian orientated road (that splinters off from the main road a few blocks from the train station and then runs parallel to it) with a lot of shops and eateries. There's also a nice lake (Kinrin Lake) that's small enough and that you can walk around the perimeter along a path. Not a tonne to see but we enjoyed it more than Beppu. YMMV of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WESTEAST Posted October 2, 2023 Author #4 Share Posted October 2, 2023 On 10/1/2023 at 1:19 AM, Milhouse said: We visited Beppu as a daytrip by train from Fukuoka during a land trip in late May of 2018. However, we only spent about three hours from about 10am to about 1pm on a Monday there as we didn't find a lot of things of interest to us. Part of it was our fault though because we didn't do a lot of research so maybe we didn't get to the better places. We basically walked one of the main streets from the train station to the waterfront, walked a covered arcade (Sol Paseo Ginza) that stretched out from that main street, and briefly explored some of the backstreets that led to an onsen (Takegawara Onsen) that looked interesting. We enjoy walking seawalls and waterfront promenades but struggled to find a great stretch for a walk. I'm not sure if it was because it was somewhat early on a Monday but a lot of shops seemed closed along Sol Paseo Ginza so that strech wasn't very fun either. As an option, maybe consider visiting Yufuin? We ended up ditching Beppu and taking a 1.5 hour trainride to Yufuin and spent about 3pm to about 5:30pm there. It's a small village but we found it more quaint. There's a pedestrian orientated road (that splinters off from the main road a few blocks from the train station and then runs parallel to it) with a lot of shops and eateries. There's also a nice lake (Kinrin Lake) that's small enough and that you can walk around the perimeter along a path. Not a tonne to see but we enjoyed it more than Beppu. YMMV of course. Thank you for this information. Still not sure what we will do for this port of call. Will look into taking a bus or a train for the day. Where did you take the train in Beppu? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Milhouse Posted October 2, 2023 #5 Share Posted October 2, 2023 We got off and on at Beppu Station (12-13 Ekimaecho, Beppu, Oita 874-0935, Japan). Not sure where your ship would dock but I'm guessing it would be near the ferry terminal (??). If it is, Beppu station is kind of far. There does appear to be a closer station, Beppudaigaku Station, but you would need to research if your train stops there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WESTEAST Posted October 3, 2023 Author #6 Share Posted October 3, 2023 3 hours ago, Milhouse said: We got off and on at Beppu Station (12-13 Ekimaecho, Beppu, Oita 874-0935, Japan). Not sure where your ship would dock but I'm guessing it would be near the ferry terminal (??). If it is, Beppu station is kind of far. There does appear to be a closer station, Beppudaigaku Station, but you would need to research if your train stops there. Once again thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack1 Posted July 7 #7 Share Posted July 7 On 10/2/2023 at 8:25 PM, WESTEAST said: Once again thank you. We'll be doing Oceania Asian cruise in March 2025. What did you end up doing in Beppu? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WESTEAST Posted July 9 Author #8 Share Posted July 9 On 7/7/2024 at 1:29 PM, Jack1 said: We'll be doing Oceania Asian cruise in March 2025. What did you end up doing in Beppu? Thanks First must say that we loved Japan and the only negative was with the Japanese customs/immigration upon arriving at Haneda airport and subsequently onboard Riviera departing to South Korea and then returning: facial recognition, fingerprinting and passport control! Each Japanese port of call, we also had to present passports disembarking and embarking to the ship hence, you carry your passports with you. Found the Japanese people to be very polite, courteous and helpful; also, very strict on debris and even Tokyo was the cleanest big city we've visited. To your question, we decided to have a lazy day in Beppu and merely walked around the dock area and returned to a lovely lunch in the Terrace Cafe as we were busy every other day. There was a complimentary shuttle to town though observed long queue and not too frequent. Enjoy Oceania and Japan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare frantic36 Posted July 9 #9 Share Posted July 9 10 hours ago, WESTEAST said: First must say that we loved Japan and the only negative was with the Japanese customs/immigration upon arriving at Haneda airport I understand your frustration but as non-Americans I have found both LAX and MIA difficult and long. In fact one time in LHR in England our business class line took almost 3 hours. I will be interested how our first time through in Haneda will go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare monkey@cruise Posted July 9 #10 Share Posted July 9 1 hour ago, frantic36 said: I understand your frustration but as non-Americans I have found both LAX and MIA difficult and long. In fact one time in LHR in England our business class line took almost 3 hours. I will be interested how our first time through in Haneda will go. All foreign nationals are required to provide both index fingers fingerprint scans and to be photographed at the port of entry. If using Visiting Japan Web app will shorten the customs processing time. If flight arrival during peak hours, do expect long queue time. You are legally required to have original passport on you in Japan. If you are stopped without one, you will get a fine (100,000 yen) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack1 Posted July 10 #11 Share Posted July 10 Thank you everyone for replies and suggestions. We will be arriving in Japan by the cruise ship (and several ports)..I wonder how the ship will assist with the customs processing? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare monkey@cruise Posted July 10 #12 Share Posted July 10 (edited) 39 minutes ago, Jack1 said: Thank you everyone for replies and suggestions. We will be arriving in Japan by the cruise ship (and several ports)..I wonder how the ship will assist with the customs processing? Cheers Immigration clearance at first port of entry, and customs clearance at each port (no meat, dairy products,,, to bring ashore), luggage clearance when disembark. Ship will provide sample and instructions how to fill out the paper declaration forms. Ship will assign time slots for passengers to clear immigration, priority will be assigned: shore excursion passengers; confirmed private tours passengers; suite passengers...... Edited July 10 by monkey@cruise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WESTEAST Posted July 10 Author #13 Share Posted July 10 On 7/9/2024 at 7:50 AM, monkey@cruise said: All foreign nationals are required to provide both index fingers fingerprint scans and to be photographed at the port of entry. If using Visiting Japan Web app will shorten the customs processing time. If flight arrival during peak hours, do expect long queue time. You are legally required to have original passport on you in Japan. If you are stopped without one, you will get a fine (100,000 yen) Our experience was that despite having pre-registered on the Visit Japan Web app and with our QR codes in hand, we still had long queues upon arrival in Haneda. We had to line up three times and scan our QR codes, complete finger printing scan, facial recognition and passport review. In addition in one queue, the machine would not read one of our QR codes - we presented the hard copy of the yellow forms and was passed through quickly. Hence, wise to complete the manual forms as a back-up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WESTEAST Posted July 10 Author #14 Share Posted July 10 20 hours ago, Jack1 said: Thank you everyone for replies and suggestions. We will be arriving in Japan by the cruise ship (and several ports)..I wonder how the ship will assist with the customs processing? Cheers 20 hours ago, monkey@cruise said: Immigration clearance at first port of entry, and customs clearance at each port (no meat, dairy products,,, to bring ashore), luggage clearance when disembark. Ship will provide sample and instructions how to fill out the paper declaration forms. Ship will assign time slots for passengers to clear immigration, priority will be assigned: shore excursion passengers; confirmed private tours passengers; suite passengers...... Hope your experience is better than what we had onboard Oceania in March/April this year: Japanese authorities boarded when we returned from South Korea, it was a very long queue with no preference/priority to passengers for shore excursions, etc. Of note, when we departed Japan for South Korea, it was same process (plus, Japanese officials had problems with their equipment which resulted in a longer queue). Pack your patience - in Japan at each port of call you carry your passport with you which is checked by Japanese authorities when you depart the ship and repeated when you return to the ship after your excursion/tour. That said, we loved our visit to Japan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare monkey@cruise Posted July 10 #15 Share Posted July 10 44 minutes ago, WESTEAST said: Our experience was that despite having pre-registered on the Visit Japan Web app and with our QR codes in hand, we still had long queues upon arrival in Haneda. We had to line up three times and scan our QR codes, complete finger printing scan, facial recognition and passport review. In addition in one queue, the machine would not read one of our QR codes - we presented the hard copy of the yellow forms and was passed through quickly. Hence, wise to complete the manual forms as a back-up! Honestly, I think it has less to do whether you went with QR codes or paper forms and more to do with how many flights arrived at the same time and if the airport is properly staffed. Usually I fly into Osaka KIX, under an hour from plane to arrival hall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WESTEAST Posted July 11 Author #16 Share Posted July 11 2 hours ago, monkey@cruise said: Honestly, I think it has less to do whether you went with QR codes or paper forms and more to do with how many flights arrived at the same time and if the airport is properly staffed. Usually I fly into Osaka KIX, under an hour from plane to arrival hall. Other passengers arriving at Narita did not have this issue and all Haneda counters were fully staffed; it wasn't just that the queues were long (no longer than waiting at other airports) but mostly having to do this check-in three times that was surprising to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald Posted July 11 #17 Share Posted July 11 Despite Japan’s general practice of their wonderful Omotenashi, Japan Immigration apparently never received the memo. That said, the only immigration problems you will encounter in Japan are the long lines. Illegal aliens, people over-staying visas, smuggling are nearly non-existent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack1 Posted July 12 #18 Share Posted July 12 Thank you everyone. As mentioned, we will pack our patience and go with the flow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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