What Is Hita Like Through the Year? Hot Springs, Cormorant Fishing and Waterfalls
This guide is for visitors deciding when to go to Hita and what to plan around the river and the hot springs. It follows the English pages of the Oita prefectural tourism site and of Hita City's official sightseeing site, which we read on 2026-10-04. The prefectural pages note that their English text includes machine translation.
Hita Onsen and the Mikuma River
The prefectural site describes Hita Onsen as a historic onsen area near the borders of Fukuoka and Kumamoto Prefectures. The waters are described as simple thermal springs, said to help with rheumatism, neuralgia and fatigue. The Mikuma River runs through the middle of the area, and a ryokan district lines its banks. Two experiences are named as unique to the area: dining aboard a yakatabune, a traditional houseboat, and watching cormorant fishing.
The city's events list gives the dates: cormorant watching from a houseboat from the end of May to October, and the Hita River Open Festival, with ayu fish and fireworks, also from the end of May to October. One hotel listed on the prefectural page says that from May to the end of October guests can have dinner on a houseboat while watching the fishing. The River Festa on the Mikuma River follows at the end of August. From Hita Station the onsen area is about 5 minutes by taxi or 15 minutes on foot.
Amagase Onsen and Sakura Falls
Amagase Onsen is in Amagase-machi in Hita City and is described as part of the Three Great Onsens of Bungo. It has bicarbonate, sulfate and chloride springs, and its signature is the kawayu, a series of riverside open-air baths along the Kusu River. The page says the area has a history of over 1,300 years. Amagase Park and the Jion Falls are nearby. Sakura Falls is about a 6 minutes' walk from JR Amagase Station on one page; another page says about 10 minutes. The page explains that the spray hitting the rocks looks like cherry blossom petals, and that the falls are lit in the autumn.
Takatsuka Atago Jizo-son
This site in Amagase-cho is described as a place where Shinto and Buddhist beliefs merge, with a history of over 1,200 years. The grounds have more than 2,000 Jizo statues and a 1,300-year-old ginkgo tree. The city's events list puts its autumn ceremony on September 24. It is about 2 minutes by car from Amagase Takatsuka IC.
More in Amagase and Oyama
The city's own spot lists show how much lies beyond the onsen. The Amagase list includes the Jion, Kannon and Sakura waterfalls, the Kusu River, Sota Pond, the Kawabaru tunnel and several farms and parks. The Oyama list includes Hibiki Canyon, the Karadomari-Yama natural forest and a roadside station. The site adds that Oyama is most famous for its ume (Japanese plum) production and that products made from ume suit souvenirs, and that it has a hot spring with an outdoor bath overlooking a river gorge.
Month by month
The city's events list gives a rough calendar:
- February to March: the Doll Festival (from February 15) and the Oyama plum festival (mid-February to mid-March).
- Late March to mid-April: cherry blossoms at Ohara and along the Nakano River.
- Mid-May: the Amagase Flower Festival. Early June: firefly watching.
- End of May to October: cormorant watching and the river festival. End of July: the Gion Festival.
- August to November: pear and grape picking.
- October: the Onta Folk Pottery Festival and other harvest events. Mid-November: the Tenryo Festival and the bamboo lantern festival.
Bathing rules and tattoos
Policies differ from one inn to the next. The prefectural page says one hotel does not admit guests with tattoos to its large public bath but allows its private baths; another lets guests use only the family bath; a third welcomes guests with tattoos. Ask when you book.
What we could not verify, and therefore left out
- Cormorant fishing and houseboat dinner prices, which are not listed in the pages we read.
- Whether each event runs on the dates given in the current year.
- Which inns take day visitors.
Related guides
- How do you get to Hita from Fukuoka and Oita, and get around?
- What is Hita? The Edo-period merchant town of Mameda-machi and its festivals
Sources
All URLs retrieved 2026-10-04.
- Hita Onsen (Visit Oita) — (Mikuma River, cormorant fishing, tattoo notes)
- Amagase Onsen (Visit Oita) — (kawayu, history, tattoo notes)
- Sakura Falls (Visit Oita) — (the falls)
- Takatsuka Atago Jizo-son Statue (Visit Oita) — (the jizo site)
- Main events (Hita City's Official Sightseeing Information Site) — (calendar)