Yufuin Film Festival | One of Japan's Foremost Film Festivals, Enjoyed in a Hot-Spring Area

The "Yufuin Film Festival," held every summer at Yufuin Onsen spreading at the foot of Mt. Yufu, is one of Japan's most historic independent film festivals, begun in 1976. Apart from commercialism, its great charm is the warm, intimate atmosphere where audience and film people gather knee to knee in a hot-spring area and talk together. It continues to be loved as a distinctive event unique to Yufuin, where famous hot waters and film culture meet.

The History of the Yufuin Film Festival

The Yufuin Film Festival is a film festival rooted in the region, which has walked together with the development of Yufuin as a tourist destination. Drawing a clear line from large-scale commercial film festivals, it has been run by hand by people who love film. The tradition is the "joint critique session," where directors, actors, and audience talk together without barriers around the screened works, and passionate discussion of the works continues late into the night. As a warm community place where person connects with person through film, it has been supported by many fans throughout its long history.

Charm Unique to a Hot-Spring Area

The greatest distinguishing feature of this film festival is the superb location of Yufuin Onsen. By day you appreciate films, and at night you heal your fatigue at the hot springs while conversing with other participants—you can spend time in such a luxurious way. The distance between film people and audience is close, and being able to directly interact with directors and actors active on the front line is a charm precisely because it is small in scale. In a hot-spring town where steam rises, a one-of-a-kind experience awaits where people interact through the common topic of film.

The Pleasures of Yufuin Onsen

What you want to enjoy together with the film festival is the charm of Yufuin Onsen itself. The area around Kinrin Lake, which overlooks the symbol Mt. Yufu, is known for fantastical scenery wrapped in morning mist. Distinctive shops, cafés, and art museums line up along Yunotsubo-kaido, where you can enjoy a stroll. Being able to relax to your heart's content while soaking in famous hot water that boasts an abundant volume is also unique to Yufuin. Yufuin, where art, hot springs, and nature harmonize, is a popular hot-spring area worth visiting even outside the film-festival period.

Best Season and Access

The Yufuin Film Festival is usually held in summer (around August). If you visit with the film festival as your purpose, this is the time, but Yufuin Onsen can be enjoyed through all four seasons, and the fresh-greenery and autumn-foliage seasons are also exceptional. For access, the hot-spring town is within walking distance from Yufuin Station on the JR Kyudai Main Line, and a trip on the limited express "Yufuin no Mori" is also popular. By car, the Yufuin Interchange on the Oita Expressway is convenient. In Yufuin, where famous hot waters and film culture meet, by all means spend a memorable while.