Ｕターン

ユ

ー

タ

ー

ン

Ｕターンする · noun or participle which takes 'suru'

Meanings

U-turn

A 180-degree turn while driving or walking; also used metaphorically for a sharp reversal in policy or direction.

Used for the journey back home after a trip or holiday, often during peak travel seasons.

お盆ぼんのＵターンラッシュが始はじまった。
The rush of people returning home for the Obon holiday has begun.

moving back to one's rural hometown

Refers to the trend of people who moved to a big city returning to their rural hometown to live, often for lifestyle or family reasons.

〈場所ばしょ〉でＵターンするでゆーたーんするto make a U-turn at 〈place〉
この交こう差さ点てんでＵターンしてはいけません。
You can't make a U-turn at this intersection.
Ｕターンラッシュthe rush of people returning home after a holiday
お盆ぼんのＵターンラッシュで高こう速そく道どう路ろが渋じゅう滞たいしている。
The expressway is jammed with the U-turn rush during the Obon holiday.
〈人ひと〉がＵターンするがゆーたーんするfor someone to move back to their rural hometown
彼かれは会かい社しゃを辞やめて田舎いなかにＵターンした。
He quit his job and moved back to his rural hometown.

帰き省せいN2sense 2
帰省 specifically means going back to one's hometown to visit family, while Ｕターン more broadly covers the return trip after any vacation or holiday.
方ほう向こう転てん換かんN1sense 1
方向転換 is a general term for changing direction, while Ｕターン specifically implies reversing to face the opposite way.

Ｉターン sense 3
Ｉターン means moving from a city to a rural area with no prior connection, whereas Ｕターン means returning to one's own hometown.

回かいN4
The neutral counter for occurrences: how many times something happens.
度どN4
Counts times/occasions like 回, but often for one-off or notable occasions (一度 = once).

Loanword from English 'U-turn', referring to the shape of the letter U.