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
Mount Katsuragi
A Ropeway Up to the Azalea Slopes of Mount Katsuragi, Above Gose
A 959 m mountain on the Nara-Osaka border above Gose, with a wide grassy summit plateau that turn...
Nagaoka Tenmangu Shrine
Crimson Kirishima azaleas line the pond crossing at Nagaoka Tenmangu, a shrine associated with sc...
Osaka Cathedral (St. Mary's, Tamatsukuri)
Osaka's Catholic Cathedral, With Hosokawa Gracia and Takayama Ukon at the Door
The cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Osaka-Takamatsu, built in 1963 on ground linked to t...
Seimei Shrine
A Pentagram on the Torii Where Kyoto's Court Diviner Lived
A small shrine on busy Horikawa-dori, built in 1007 on the site of the house of Abe no Seimei, th...
Settsukyo Park
The Akutagawa River cuts through wooded hills north of Takatsuki, creating a gorge of rocky banks...
Tanize Suspension Bridge
A 297-Meter Village Footbridge That Sways 54 Meters Above the Totsukawa River
A steel-wire footbridge about 297 meters long and 54 meters above the Totsukawa River, built in 1...
Tenkawa Daibenzaiten Shrine
A Benzaiten Shrine for Performers in the Omine Valleys, Where Noh Is Still Staged
A shrine to Benzaiten, goddess of water, eloquence and the performing arts, in the village of Ten...
Tsukigase Plum Grove
About 10,000 Plum Trees on the Slopes of a River Gorge in Far-East Nara City
Around 10,000 red and white plum trees on both sides of the Nabari river gorge (called the Satsuk...
Ujigami Shrine
Japan's Oldest Shrine Building, in Kyoto Prefecture's Words, Across the River from Byodo-in
A small, free shrine on the east bank of the Uji River whose main hall Kyoto Prefecture lists as ...
Yoshiminedera Temple
Yoshiminedera spreads across Kyoto’s western hills, with terraced temple paths, wide city views a...
Byakugo-ji
Stone Steps Up the Foot of Mount Takamado to a View Across Nara, with a 400-Year-Old Camellia
A small hillside temple south-east of central Nara, under a kilometre from Shin-Yakushi-ji, reach...
Kushimoto Turkish Memorial Museum
The 1890 Ertugrul Shipwreck, Beside Japan's Oldest Stone Lighthouse
A small museum on the eastern cliffs of Kii-Oshima about the Ottoman frigate Ertugrul, wrecked on...
Michi-no-Eki Aito Margaret Station
Farm gelato and flower fields in eastern Shiga
A roadside station on Route 307 that grew out of a farmers' market. Come for the gelato made with...
Okadera
Asuka's Hillside Temple for Warding Off Bad Luck, with Japan's Largest Clay Buddha
A temple on the slope of Mount Oka in Asuka, formally Ryugai-ji, that calls itself Japan's first ...
Yoshino Mikumari Shrine
Hideyori's 1604 Shrine to the Water God and Guardian of Children, High on Mount Yoshino
A shrine to the god who shares out the water, in the upper reaches of Mount Yoshino and part of t...