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 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 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 ...
Nagaoka Tenmangu Shrine
Crimson Kirishima azaleas line the pond crossing at Nagaoka Tenmangu, a shrine associated with sc...
Nakayamadera Temple
A vivid blue five-story pagoda rises above Nakayamadera, a temple closely associated with prayers...
Nara National Museum
Buddhist Art in Nara Park, and the Two Autumn Weeks of the Shosoin Exhibition
Japan's second-oldest national museum, on the edge of Nara Park between Kofuku-ji and Todai-ji. I...
Nishi Hongan-ji
A Free Head Temple 15 Minutes from Kyoto Station, Open from 5:30
Head temple of the Hongwanji branch of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, on this site since 1591. Entry is f...
Saidai-ji
Three Minutes from Yamato-Saidaiji Station, a Temple Where Tea Is Passed Round in a Giant Bowl
Once the western counterpart of Todai-ji, now a set of Edo-period halls three minutes from a busy...
Uda Matsuyama
A Quiet Old Medicine and Kuzu Town in Uda, with an Herb Garden Planted in 1729
A former castle town in the Ouda part of Uda City that turned into a merchant town for medicines,...
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 ...
Abe Monju-in
Kaikei's 7-Metre Monju on a Lion, Abe no Seimei's Hall and a Cosmos Maze in Sakurai
A temple of the Abe clan south of Sakurai Station. The main hall holds a group of five National T...
Akashi Castle Ruins
Two surviving three-story turrets stand above massive walls just north of Akashi Station. The cas...
Asahi Group Oyamazaki Villa Museum of Art
A former hillside villa brings domestic architecture, craft and modern gallery spaces together ab...
Ashiu Forest
Kyoto University's Old-Growth Research Forest, Where the Best Valleys Need a Guide
About 4,200 hectares of beech and cedar forest at the source of the Yura River, run by Kyoto Univ...
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...
Chugu-ji
A Nunnery Beside Horyu-ji's Yumedono, Kept for One Dark Wooden Bodhisattva
A small nunnery right next to the Yumedono in Horyu-ji's east precinct. It is kept for its main i...