What's on in Furano, 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.

Still on: Ski season (28 Nov – 5 May (usually))

Quiet — travelers describe it as quiet, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Ski season (28 Nov – 5 May (usually))

Busy — Spring break (haruyasumi) in Japan

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Ski season (28 Nov – 5 May (usually))

Busy — Spring break (haruyasumi) in Japan, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Ski season (28 Nov – 5 May (usually))

Busy — Golden Week in Japan

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Ski season (28 Nov – 5 May (usually))

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

Nothing new starts in June.

Peak crowds — Lavender season, Hokkai Heso Matsuri

• Nature

  Lavender season

  1–31 Jul · usuallyWildflowers & bloomsCrowdedBook early

  Farm Tomita peaks for about ten days in mid-July and JR opens a temporary station for it. Come on a weekday; the coach parks fill by nine.

• Festival

  Hokkai Heso Matsuri

  28–29 JulMajor festivalCrowded

  Four thousand people dance down Shin-Aioi street with faces painted on their stomachs, because Furano is the geographic middle of Hokkaido. Visitors can register in the afternoon and join in. Source ↗

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

Nothing new starts in August.

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

• Nature

  Autumn colour

  15 Sep – 20 Oct · usually

  Daisetsuzan an hour north turns first, from the top of the ropeway down, usually from the third week of September. The valley follows a fortnight later.

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

• Season

  Between the seasons

  15 Oct – 25 Nov · usuallyOff-season shutdownClosures

  Lifts shut, farms closed, half the restaurants on holiday and the snow not yet down. Cheap and genuinely empty if that is what you are after.

Still on: Autumn colour (15 Sep – 20 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Season

  Ski season

  28 Nov – 5 May · usually

  Furano opens in the last days of November and runs to early May. Colder and drier than the coast resorts, with a proper town at the bottom instead of a purpose-built village.

Still on: Between the seasons (15 Oct – 25 Nov (usually))

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

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Ski season (28 Nov – 5 May (usually))