Okamotoya Baiten (Jigoku Mushi Pudding)

Perched on the sulphur-scented slopes of Myoban Onsen high above central Beppu, Okamotoya is a beloved family-run shop whose steam-baked pudding has become one of the city's most photographed and craved sweets. The setting alone is worth the trip: Myoban is where distinctive thatched huts called 'yunohana goya' harvest natural bath minerals from escaping steam, and the whole hillside exhales white vapour against a backdrop of forested mountains.

Okamotoya's signature is its 'jigoku mushi purin', a firm, old-fashioned custard pudding cooked in the same geothermal steam the region is famous for. Unlike the silky, wobbly puddings fashionable elsewhere in Japan, this one is deliberately dense and slightly bittersweet, topped with a genuinely bitter caramel that cuts the richness. The steam cooking gives it a smooth, even set and a subtle depth locals insist cannot be reproduced with an ordinary oven. Served warm, it is comforting and nostalgic; chilled, it is dense and satisfying. Each cup is modestly priced, making it easy to try more than one.

The shop is far more than a single dessert, however. Okamotoya is attached to a historic ryokan and roadside stand that has fed travellers on the Myoban route for generations. Alongside the pudding you will find onsen-steamed eggs with their characteristic mineral tang, steamed buns, local sweets and seasonal snacks, plus soft-serve ice cream that pairs perfectly with the mountain air. There is a small terrace where you can sit and eat with a view over the steaming valley, and a free public footbath nearby where visitors soothe tired legs while the vapour curls around them.

What makes the experience special is the sense of place. You are eating a sweet cooked by the same volcanic energy that draws bathers to Myoban's milky, sulphur-rich waters, surrounded by an landscape that feels closer to a geothermal frontier than a modern city. The combination of humble roadside food, dramatic scenery and living onsen culture captures the character of Beppu better than almost anywhere.

Morning is the ideal time to visit, when the puddings are freshly steamed and the crowds thinner; weekends and holidays can see queues of day-trippers. The shop is reachable by a scenic bus ride from Beppu Station, and pairs naturally with a walk among the thatched sulphur huts and a soak at one of Myoban's rustic bathhouses. Cash is appreciated for small purchases, and there is parking for those driving the mountain road. Accessible parking and a mostly level shop area make it manageable for most visitors, though the surrounding lanes are sloped.

For anyone exploring Beppu's onsen districts, a warm jigoku mushi pudding at Okamotoya is a small, delicious ritual, a taste of the earth's warmth turned into dessert and a memory that lingers long after the sulphur smell fades.