Bungochaya Beppu Station Review: Local Comfort Food

Must-Try Restaurant at Beppu Station, Japan

Beppu Getaway

Family Dining at Bungochaya

Hi there, fellow travelers!

I'm Nabongsoon, your go-to travel creator.

My family and my brother's family teamed up

for an amazing trip to Japan,

and the highlight we were all looking forward to

was our 2-day, 1-night adventure in Beppu.

We soaked in the relaxing hot springs at our ryokan, explored local sights,

and had an absolute blast on our trip.

To wrap up our incredible journey before catching the train

back to downtown Fukuoka,

we stopped by Bungochaya, a historic, must-visit restaurant right inside Beppu Station.

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It's a wildly popular local spot where you can experience

authentic Oita-style home-cooked meals,

so expect a bit of a wait!

Perfect for families traveling through Oita,

let me take you through Bungochaya's

location, menu, and my honest taste review!

01. Where is Bungochaya?

Did you know? The "Bungo" in Bungochaya

comes from "Bungo Province,"

the ancient name for this regional area.

Blessed with rich natural surroundings,

this region has long been famous for its fresh seafood and agricultural produce.

The restaurant's name represents its mission to serve

the traditional culinary heritage of Oita.

🥢 🍱

Bungochaya

Bungochaya Beppu Station Branch (豊後茶屋 別府駅店)

📍

Address

12-13 Ekimaecho, Beppu,

Oita 874-0935, Japan

🕒

Hours

10:00 AM - 8:00 PM

It's a super convenient Beppu Station eatery,

with the entrance located right inside the station building.

Even though there are plenty of other cafes and restaurants nearby,

Bungochaya was the only place with

a massive line outside.

It's safe to say that almost everyone

who visits Beppu stops by at least once,

making it one of the most iconic

local dining spots in town.

When you arrive, just write down your name and group size on the waiting list near the entrance.

While waiting, we browsed the nearby souvenir shops

and snapped some photos at the station's photo zones

to make the most of the final leg of our Beppu trip.

However, the wait was a bit longer than expected,

and as our train departure time drew closer, we started getting

a little anxious!

We ended up waiting about 30 minutes

on a weekday lunchtime before getting seated.

Since it's incredibly popular,

I'd highly recommend leaving yourself plenty of buffer time

if you're planning to eat here during peak hours.

02. Popular Menu Items

I usually travel to Japan several times a year,

and one of my absolute favorite things to do

is exploring and tasting unique regional specialties.

It's always such a fun culinary adventure!

Inside, Bungochaya has a clean, modern vibe.

However, there weren't many large tables to accommodate big groups.

Even though we were traveling together as a big family,

my family and my brother's family had to split up and sit at separate tables.

Each table is equipped with an iPad/kiosk,

and it supports multiple languages, making ordering a breeze!

We were able to order without any hassle.

Here is what my son and I ordered,

with prices including tax:

First, Oita's famous signature dish:

Bungo Set Meal (Toriten Set, 豊後定食)

with a standard portion of white rice

1,490 JPY (approx. $10)

Tempura Rice Bowl Set (Tendon, 天丼)

with a standard portion of white rice

and Toriten (chicken tempura) instead of Karaage

1,230 JPY (approx. $8)

The famous local dessert:

Yaseuma (やせうま)

480 JPY (approx. $3)

Our total came to 3,200 JPY (approx. $21) for the two of us.

At my brother's family table, they went for the signature

Toriten Set, along with the

Zaru Soba Set (1,340 JPY / approx. $9).

They also have comfortable seating suitable for kids,

making it a great spot for family travelers to grab a meal.

They serve complimentary tea,

so we didn't feel the need to order separate drinks.

03. The Taste of Local Specialties

To wrap up our 2-day, 1-night trip to Japan,

we tried the signature dish at Bungochaya.

Toriten refers to Japanese-style chicken tempura.

The batter is light and crispy,

and it's characterized by not being greasy at all.

Personally, I love my tempura to be super crispy.

In some regions of Japan, people prefer soft, moist tempura

over crispy ones,

which can sometimes be a hit or miss for me. But here,

the Toriten was perfectly crispy on the outside—just how I like it!

It wasn't overly salty, unlike some Japanese food,

and had a clean, light taste that you won't get tired of.

On the table, they have a ponzu sauce infused with Kabosu,

a citrus fruit that is a specialty of Oita,

which was absolutely perfect for dipping the Toriten.

The thinly shredded cabbage salad, typical of Japanese diners, was incredibly fresh,

and the side dish with konjac was delicious too.

The soup wasn't just your standard Japanese miso soup either—

it was Dangojiru, another local specialty.

You can think of it as a hearty miso-based soup

filled with flat, hand-pulled noodles.

With wide noodles, carrots, green onions, mushrooms, radish, and fried tofu,

it's packed with various ingredients

that make each bite fun and textured.

Overall, the food we had in Beppu

wasn't too heavily seasoned, so it felt very easy on the stomach.

The Tendon that my son ordered

also had a unique flavor thanks to the local sauce.

The crispy tempura combined with the local sauce

gave the bowl a clean yet tangy twist.

My son said he loved taking the crispy tempura pieces out first

to enjoy them one by one, and then mixing the rice

with the soy-based sauce at the end.

Finally, we ordered Yaseuma for dessert.

It's a traditional Oita dessert

that you must try during your Beppu trip!

It has a unique texture somewhere between a rice cake and a thick noodle.

Generously coated in nutty roasted soybean powder,

it was wonderfully chewy and fragrant.

Drizzled with what tasted like a sweet grain syrup,

it had a subtle, lovely sweetness that was completely charming.

It's a crowd-pleasing flavor that absolutely everyone will love,

so if you're on a family trip to Japan, make sure to order at least one

to try for yourselves!

Even though our train time was creeping up and we were in a bit of a rush,

we absolutely couldn't leave without fully savoring this traditional local dessert.

04. Wrapping Up Our Oita Trip

If you're looking for a fantastic place to eat near Beppu Station to kick off or wrap up your Beppu travels,

I highly recommend experiencing the local home-style cooking at Bungochaya—

a beloved spot that gets everything right, from accessibility and flavor to atmosphere and service.

There might be a bit of a wait during lunch hours,

but it's a truly charming spot where it's incredibly clear

why so many people keep coming back.

For nearby things to do, you've got

the famous Hells of Beppu tour, relaxing hot springs, the wild monkey park,

Umitamago Aquarium, and Beppu Tower.

This was the final stop of our 2-day, 1-night Beppu itinerary,

and wrapping it up with a warm, comforting Japanese home-style meal

was the perfect grand finale, leaving us with wonderful memories

that will stay with us for a long time.

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