Family-Friendly Hotels near Takasakiyama: Wild Monkeys & Beppu Hot Springs

If you're taking your kids to Takasakiyama Natural Zoological Garden, you may be wondering where to stay so that getting around stays easy. Takasakiyama is known as a place where you can see troops of wild Japanese macaques up close. It sits on Beppu Bay, between the city of Beppu and the city of Oita. The hotels we can introduce are mostly clustered around Beppu Onsen (hot spring area) and Beppu Station, so for families the most realistic plan is to base yourselves in the hot spring town and make day trips from there.

There are 10 hotels in this guide. Within the prefecture you'll find areas such as Beppu Onsen and the Beppu Port area, and if Takasakiyama is the center of your itinerary, hotels on the Beppu side are easier to choose because it's easy to head along the coast toward Oita. The aquarium Umitamago is also very close by, so after watching the monkeys you can take a break with indoor exhibits, which is one of the things that makes this area special.

The first thing to look at when choosing a hotel is the room type. 7 hotels offer Japanese-style or Japanese-Western rooms, where futon bedding lets little ones who roll around a lot sleep without worrying about falling out of bed. For meals, 5 hotels have a toddler meal menu, and some, like Beppu Onsen Tenku Yubo Seikaiso, offer children's tableware and aprons as well as private or semi-private dining rooms. If you're traveling with a baby, Beppu Daiichi Hotel is also worth considering, as it lists crib rentals and lets you bring your own baby food, which it will warm for you.

Bathing together with kids is a common worry in a hot spring town. 4 hotels have a family bath or private bath, and you can confirm this at places such as Beppu Onsen Takatsubaki no Oyado Hanabeppu and Beppu Onsen Nogami Honkan. If you care about how you'll spend the evening after dinner or a rainy day, the kids' rooms and play spaces at Kamenoi Hotel Beppu and Hanabeppu are reassuring, and there are also hotels with simple hot spring water, which is described as gentle enough for babies.

Takasakiyama is mostly an outdoor visit with some slopes, so spring and fall, when the weather is mild, are the easiest seasons to get around. In summer, combine it with the aquarium and plan for the heat. In winter, a stay built around warming up in the hot springs opens up another way to enjoy the trip. If you decide in advance how to split your time between the monkeys, the aquarium, and the hot springs, it becomes easier to narrow down what you need from a hotel.