Discover Hita

Hita is a hot spring town on the Mikuma River. Highlights include river experiences, historic houses and museums, and long-standing festivals. If you’re looking for a hotel for a trip to Hita, these different themes can help you plan: consider whether you’re most interested in the city’s history, a seasonal festival, or an activity on the water.

The time of year also matters. Some activities are available only during a specific period or around festival dates. Other themes can be explored through exhibitions and historic sites. This makes it possible to shape your trip around your own interests without focusing all your plans on just one theme.

River Experiences on the Mikuma

Visitors can enjoy a meal aboard a sightseeing boat on the Mikuma River. Another experience is watching cormorant fishing from a sightseeing boat. The two activities offer different experiences: one centers on dining on the river, while the other is about observing traditional fishing from a boat.

Cormorant fishing can be observed in Hita from late May to late October; dates may vary slightly. If you’re planning this seasonal experience, keep the time frame in mind and check the specific dates. Sightseeing boat operating details may also vary. These river activities give your trip a clear connection to the Mikuma without requiring you to treat the different activities as the same thing.

Historic Houses and Museums

The Mameda area is home to some of Hita’s oldest merchant houses and storehouses. The Kusano House dates from the late 17th century and is considered the oldest house in Ōita Prefecture. Mameda is therefore a tangible point of interest if you’re interested in historic buildings and the history of commerce.

The museums also cover different subjects. The Tenryo Hita Museum features exhibitions on the culture of ordinary people in the region during the 17th and 18th centuries. The Hita Gion Yamaboko Museum displays the rear banners of six festival floats used in the Hita Gion procession ritual. This ritual is registered as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO. The museum’s displays may change seasonally.

Another historic site is Kangien in Bungo-Hita. This private school was founded by the Confucian scholar Hirose Tansō and was the largest of its kind in Japan. Together with the houses in Mameda and the museum exhibitions, Kangien offers insight into different aspects of local history, from historic buildings to educational traditions.

Festivals with Different Highlights

The Tenryo Hita Hina Festival and Hita Gion offer different ways to experience Hita’s traditions. During the Hina Festival, Hina dolls and related furnishings are displayed in historic houses and museums in Mameda and Kuma. The dates of this annual festival change. If you’d like to plan your trip around it, check the dates for the relevant year.

Hita Gion is a traditional summer festival with a history of about 300 years. Festival floats parade through the Kuma, Takeda, and Mameda districts to the sound of Gion music. The route for this annual festival passes through all three districts; the arrangements may vary from year to year. Unlike the Hina Festival exhibitions, the parades and their music are the main features of this experience. So, when planning around Hita Gion, check the specific festival dates and arrangements.

Discover more destinations: Taketa, Ōita, Bungo-Takada, Yufu, Beppu, Kunisaki, Nakatsu, Tsukumi.

For the broader travel overview: Ōita Prefecture.