How Do You Stay Safe in Yufuin? Mountain Roads, Volcanoes and Heavy Rain

Published 2026-10-04 · Sources checked 2026-10-04 · Treasure Hunting Co., Ltd.

This guide is for visitors to Yufuin, in Yufu City, Oita Prefecture, especially those who drive or plan to go up into the hills towards Beppu. It covers the busy mountain road to Beppu, a road that closes in heavy rain, the nearby volcano Tsurumi-Garan and how to call an ambulance.

We used pages from the Yufu City Tourism Bureau, Yufu City, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) and the Fire and Disaster Management Agency (FDMA), all read on 2026-10-04. Conditions change, so check current road, weather and volcano information on the day.

The short answer: roads and rain matter most

For most visitors, the main risks in Yufuin are on the roads. The town is crowded on holidays. Many streets are narrow. The mountain road to Beppu has many curves. Heavy rain can also close a hill road completely.

Roads and traffic

The Yufu City Tourism Bureau posted driving tips in September 2026. They say:

• Many roads in Yufuin are narrow, one-way or dead ends. Even if your GPS shows a route, it may be a residential path too narrow for a car. Drive with extra caution and avoid narrow side streets.
• Use designated paid car parks. Parking on private property or illegal street parking is strictly prohibited.
• The Yamanami Highway, Route 11 towards Beppu, is a mountain road with many sharp curves and is a high-accident area. It becomes especially crowded in the late afternoon. The bureau asks drivers to consider leaving Yufuin early to avoid the peak traffic.
• Route 216 in the town centre is where traffic builds up on busy days. Allow plenty of extra time.

A road that closes in heavy rain

Yufu City publishes a notice about a city road called the Echo Line. It runs between Tsukahara in Yufuin and Jojima in Beppu. The city says debris flows may occur on this road in heavy rain.

To protect travellers, the city closes the whole road when the total rainfall passes 150 mm and more rain is expected. It asks drivers to use a detour by one of two prefectural roads: the Beppu–Ichinomiya line or the Tsukahara–Tenma line. The notice carries a sign in English that reads "Heavy rain, road closed".

The city's notice is dated June 2025 in its web address. We did not find a newer version, so check the city's current road information before you set out on a rainy day.

Volcanoes near Yufuin

Two volcanoes lie close to Yufuin. JMA treats one of them as Tsurumi-dake and Garan-dake, together.

• Tsurumi-dake and Garan-dake. On 27 July 2022 at 11:00, JMA lifted its eruption warning and lowered the alert level from Level 2 to Level 1, "be aware this is an active volcano". JMA named Beppu and Yufu as the cities concerned. It said steam and volcanic gas can be seen inside the expected crater area, and asked people to take care. JMA's list shows no warning since then.
• Mount Yufu. JMA's page for Yufu-dake lists no eruption warnings, no commentary on the volcano's condition and no other notices.

The tourism bureau says Mount Garan, the source of the Tsukahara hot springs, has vents with steam above 120°C and a mud volcano, and is still an active volcano.

JMA's own notes on alert levels add two cautions. An eruption can happen without warning signs, and levels do not always rise or fall one step at a time. They also say rain can cause mud flows, which an eruption warning does not cover.

The 2026 Kumamoto earthquake

An earthquake struck Kumamoto on 28 July 2026. Yufu City's website carries a notice about a donation box for those affected, and JR Kyushu says the Kyushu Shinkansen was partly suspended and resumed on the whole line from 18 September 2026. We read no notice about damage in Yufuin itself.

Calling an ambulance

FDMA's English guide says to call 119 when you need an ambulance. It says anyone in Japan can use the service. We could not confirm from the pages we read whether operators answer in English.

What we could not verify, and therefore left out

• Whether the Echo Line is open now, and the current rainfall total.
• The state of the Mount Yufu hiking trails, and any climbing advice.
• Advice on earthquakes, floods and landslides for Yufuin. Yufu City has a hazard map page that we did not read in detail.
• Emergency numbers other than 119, and whether operators speak English.

Related guides

• How do you get to Yufuin from Fukuoka?
• What are the five hot spring areas of Yufu?

Sources

All URLs retrieved 2026-10-04.

1. 連休中の渋滞時には裏道の活用を！ Holiday Traffic Peak (9/20–9/23) (Yufu City Tourism Bureau) — (narrow roads, parking, Route 11 and Route 216)
2. 大雨時の事前通行止めについて（お知らせ） (Yufu City) — (Echo Line closure at 150 mm; detours)
3. 噴火予報：警報解除（鶴見岳・伽藍岳） (Japan Meteorological Agency) — (warning lifted 27 July 2022; Level 1; steam and gas)
4. 火山に関する情報の発表状況（鶴見岳・伽藍岳） (Japan Meteorological Agency) — (history of warnings; none since 2022)
5. 火山に関する情報の発表状況（由布岳） (Japan Meteorological Agency) — (no warnings or notices listed)
6. 噴火警戒レベルの説明 (Japan Meteorological Agency) — (levels do not always change in order; mud flows)
7. 温泉 (Yufu City Tourism Bureau, YUFUINFO) — (Mount Garan vents and mud volcano)
8. 令和8年熊本地震に係る義援金の受付について (Yufu City) — (notice dated 31 July 2026 about the earthquake of 28 July)
9. Future Service Outlook Following the Kumamoto Earthquake (JR Kyushu) — (Kyushu Shinkansen full resumption from 18 September 2026)
10. Guide for Ambulance Services (Fire and Disaster Management Agency) — (call 119 for an ambulance; anyone in Japan can use it)