Things to Do in Kansai, Japan
Japan's cultural heart: Kyoto, Nara and Osaka, plus the pilgrim trails and islands of the Kii Peninsula.
361 destinations across 7 prefectures
Festivals in Kansai
Jidai Matsuri
22 October 2026
Kyoto · Float procession
Awaji Island Festival Fireworks
8 November 2026
Hyogo · Fireworks festival
Wakakusa Yamayaki
23 January 2027
Nara · Fire festival
© ignis / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Omizutori
1 to 14 March 2027
Nara · Fire festival
© J o / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Aoi Matsuri
15 May 2027
Kyoto · Float procession
© 江戸村のとくぞう / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Gion Matsuri
1 to 31 July 2027
Kyoto · Float procession
© 663highland / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)
Tenjin Matsuri
24 to 25 July 2027
Osaka · Boat festival
Photo: Idushin at Japanese Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri
18 to 19 September 2027
Osaka · Float procession
© sailko / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Nada Kenka Matsuri
14 to 15 October 2027
Hyogo · Float procession
Suggested Itineraries
Places to Visit in Kansai
Michi-no-Eki Katsuragi
Taro rice cakes and cut flowers at the Katsuragi exit
A farm market right at the Katsuragi exit of the Minami-Hanna Road, the quick way from Osaka into...
Michi-no-Eki Kii-Nagashima Manbo
Grilled sunfish skewers on the Kumano-nada coast
A Route 42 station named after the ocean sunfish. On weekends and holidays a stall outside grills...
Michi-no-Eki Kitaharima Eco-Museum
A roadside introduction to Nishiwaki and Taka
Kitaharima Eco-Museum is a roadside information and shopping stop for Nishiwaki and Taka. Its mus...
Michi-no-Eki Kyoto Shinkoetsu Mura
Local rice and farm produce at Sonobe IC
Beside Sonobe IC, Kyoto Shinkoetsu Mura gathers local rice, vegetables and prepared products from...
Michi-no-Eki Maizuru Port Toretore Center
Choose seafood for lunch in western Maizuru
Maizuru Port Toretore Center turns a Route 175 stop into a seafood-market visit. Fish sellers can...
Michi-no-Eki Miki
Tools, blades and local food in Miki
Michi-no-Eki Miki turns a break on Route 175 into an introduction to the city’s toolmaking tradit...
Michi-no-Eki Miyama Fureai Hiroba
Miyama milk and farm produce before the thatched village
Miyama Fureai Hiroba combines the Flat Miyama farm shop, a dairy counter and visitor information ...
Michi-no-Eki Mizuho-no-Sato Sarabiki
Kyotamba soba and produce on Route 173
Mizuho-no-Sato Sarabiki pairs a produce market with soba made from Kyotamba buckwheat on Route 17...
Michi-no-Eki Nagomi
A riverside food stop in Wachi
Nagomi sits beside the Yura River on Route 27 in northern Kyotamba. Farm vegetables, Wachi specia...
Michi-no-Eki Nara Rekishi Geijutsu Bunkamura
Watch cultural treasures being restored in Tenri
Few roadside stations let you watch conservators at work. At this prefectural culture village in ...
Michi-no-Eki Nose Kuri-no-Sato
Chestnuts and local rice in northern Osaka
A farm market and food stop on Route 173 in Nose, at the northern edge of Osaka. Seasonal chestnu...
Michi-no-Eki Ogo
Soba and farm shopping in rural northern Kobe
Ogo is a small roadside station in Kobe’s northern farming district, beside the Miki-Sanda prefec...
Michi-no-Eki Park Shichiri Mihama
Citrus juice and a pebble beach on Route 42
A Route 42 stop in Mihama, a town that sells itself on having mandarins in every season. Its own ...
Michi-no-Eki Susami
Shrimp, crabs and a sea view on the Kii coast
Right off the Susami-minami exit of the Kisei Expressway, this Route 42 station has a seafood res...
Michi-no-Eki Tajima-no-Mahoroba
Tajima food shopping at Santo PA
Tajima-no-Mahoroba combines a regional food market, restaurant and food court at Santo PA in Asag...