What's on in Beppu, Japan through the year

Busy — Winter break (fuyuyasumi) in Japan, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in February.

Busy — Spring break (haruyasumi) in Japan

Nothing new starts in March.

Peak crowds — Beppu Hatto Onsen Festival, Golden Week

• Festival

  Beppu Hatto Onsen Festival

  1–5 AprMajor festivalCrowded

  Five days from 1 April, the town's Onsen Appreciation Day. Hoses spray hot-spring water over the parade near the station, and the slope of Mt Ogiyama is set alight after dark. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Golden Week

  29 Apr – 5 MayCrowdedBook early

  Four national holidays in a row and the country on the move. Beppu is a domestic onsen town first, so the ryokan go months ahead and the road up to Kannawa backs up. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Golden Week, Golden Week in Japan

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Golden Week (29 Apr – 5 May)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  Tsuyu rain season

  4 Jun – 19 Jul · usuallyMonsoon

  The rain front reaches northern Kyushu in the first week of June and sits over it for six weeks. It is the cheapest time to have the baths to yourself, and the steam never lifts.

Busy — Summer break (natsuyasumi) in Japan, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Tsuyu rain season (4 Jun – 19 Jul (usually))

Busy — Summer break (natsuyasumi) in Japan, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Hazard

  Typhoon season

  1 Aug – 5 Oct · usuallyClosures

  Kyushu takes more landfalls than any other part of Japan, and the island's ferries and the Sonic to Hakata are the first things to stop. It decides your travel day, rarely your week. Source ↗

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Typhoon season (1 Aug – 5 Oct (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

• Nature

  Autumn colour on Mt Tsurumi

  20 Oct – 20 Nov · usually

  The colour starts at the ropeway top station in late October and walks down the mountain over about five weeks, reaching the town and the Kannawa baths in the second half of November. Source ↗

Still on: Typhoon season (1 Aug – 5 Oct (usually))

Busy — one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Autumn colour on Mt Tsurumi (20 Oct – 20 Nov (usually))

Busy — Winter break (fuyuyasumi) in Japan, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in December.