Beppu Buzz: My Caffeinated Chaos in Japan's Hottest Spot
i landed in beppu with a suitcase full of instant coffee packets and zero regrets. turns out, this place is a *therapeutic whirlpool for the soul and a caffeine desert for the snob. i just checked and it's 11 degrees with a dew point that makes your bones ache, hope you like that kind of thing.
first stop: kannawa district. those steam vents aren't just for mud baths - they're natural espresso machines. or so the locals claim. someone told me that the blue onsen water has secret coffee grounds simmering underneath, but that might've been the cheap sake talking. heard from a beppu local that the real buzz comes from the "hell" themed springs - especially the "sea hell" where you can boil ramen in the pool. check out the reviews on TripAdvisor.
spent three days hunting for brew worthy of my french press. the city's coffee scene is either nonexistent or aggressively mediocre until i stumbled into this alleyway stall run by a grandma with biceps like steel cables. she served me something called "black thunder" - a bitter, smoky concoction that tasted like burnt tire rubber mixed with hope. yelp says it's a cult classic.
“if you order a latte here, they'll stare at you like you asked for unicorn tears mixed with gasoline”
“real tip: the 7am train to fukuoka has the best coffee cart on kyushu. just avoid the guy selling questionable onsen eggs”
if you get bored, okinawa is just a short drive away, but honestly why would you leave when you can watch tourists try to drink the blood pond hell while clutching their stomachs? the humidity here is 47% but feels like 100% regret after that first sip of instant. found this gem on local boards.
“heard that the best coffee beans grow where the steam hits the volcanic soil - but nobody will tell you where exactly”
discovered that the pressure here (1019 hpa) makes the coffee bloom weirdly. or maybe it's just the altitude. my final takeaway: beppu is a beautiful, steaming mess that'll either make you question your life choices or your taste in coffee. probably both. the mountains in the distance look like giant sleeping volcanoes - perfect backdrop for when your caffeine high crashes.
packing now. leaving half my coffee beans behind as tribute to the onsen spirits. maybe i'll come back when they discover single origin* brewing.