Things to Do in Kansai, Japan

Japan's cultural heart: Kyoto, Nara and Osaka, plus the pilgrim trails and islands of the Kii Peninsula.

372 destinations across 7 prefectures

Festivals in Kansai

Awaji Island Festival Fireworks

8 November 2026

Hyogo · Fireworks festival

Kasuga Wakamiya On-matsuri

15 to 18 December 2026

Nara · Float procession

Toka Ebisu at Imamiya Ebisu Shrine

9 to 11 January 2027

Osaka · Festival

Wakakusa Yamayaki

23 January 2027

Nara · Fire festival

Kobe Luminarie

29 January 2027 to 7 February 2027

Hyogo · Lantern festival

Omizutori

1 to 14 March 2027

Nara · Fire festival

Aoi Matsuri

15 May 2027

Kyoto · Float procession

Gion Matsuri

1 to 31 July 2027

Kyoto · Float procession

Tenjin Matsuri

24 to 25 July 2027

Osaka · Boat festival

Kyoto Gozan Okuribi

16 August 2027

Kyoto · Fire festival

Photo: Idushin at Japanese Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri

18 to 19 September 2027

Osaka · Float procession

Nada Kenka Matsuri

14 to 15 October 2027

Hyogo · Float procession

Jidai Matsuri

22 October 2027

Kyoto · Float procession

Suggested Itineraries

New Year in Japan 2026-2027: What Is Closed, What Is Open, and Hatsumode

New Year in Japan 2026-2027: What Is Closed, What Is Open, and Hatsumode Shogatsu, the New Year holiday, is the one time of year when Japan really stops. Offices close, banks close, family resta...

Photo: lumoplank / Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)

Kyoto and Kamakura Autumn Leaves 2026: Peak Dates and Light-Ups

Kyoto and Kamakura Autumn Leaves 2026: Peak Dates and Light-Ups The maples in Kyoto turn red in the second half of November, and Kamakura's a week or two later, often into December. This guide c...

Japan Winter Illuminations 2026-2027: Dates, Hours and Prices

Japan Winter Illuminations 2026-2027: Dates, Hours and Prices From late October to spring, Japanese parks, shopping districts and main streets string up lights, and some of them stay lit for six...

Japan's Famous Day-Trip Onsen: Historic Public Bathhouses You Can Just Walk Into

Japan's Famous Day-Trip Onsen: Historic Public Bathhouses You Can Just Walk Into You do not need a ryokan booking to bathe in Japan's best-known hot spring water. Most onsen towns keep public ba...

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Hitō: Japan's Hidden Hot Springs at the End of the Road

Hitō: Japan's Hidden Hot Springs at the End of the Road Hitō (秘湯) means "hidden hot spring". It is the onsen you reach only after a long mountain road, a forest trail or a boat, and very often i...

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Hikyo: Japan's Secluded, Hard-to-Reach Places and How to Get There

Hikyo: Japan's Secluded, Hard-to-Reach Places and How to Get There Hikyo (秘境) is the Japanese word for a remote, secluded place. The two characters mean something like "hidden region", and in Ja...

Kyoto beyond the crowds: quiet temples and mountain shrines

Kyoto beyond the crowds: quiet temples and mountain shrines Kyoto's crowding problem is smaller than it looks. It is concentrated in about six places: Kiyomizu-dera, Fushimi Inari, Kinkaku-ji, t...

Awaji Island and Nushima: An Off-the-Beaten-Path Itinerary (2026)

Awaji Island and Nushima: An Off-the-Beaten-Path Itinerary (2026) Awaji Island sits in the sea between Kobe and Shikoku, crossed by most people at 100km/h on the highway bus and seen by almost n...

Silver grass on the Tonomine Highlands under a blue autumn sky

Hyogo's Hidden North: A San'in-Side Off-the-Beaten-Path Itinerary (2026)

Hyogo's Hidden North: A San'in-Side Off-the-Beaten-Path Itinerary (2026) Almost everyone who comes to Hyogo sees Himeji Castle and Kobe and goes no further. Head north from Himeji, though, and t...

Lake Biwa and Hidden Shiga: An Off-the-Beaten-Path Itinerary (2026)

Lake Biwa and Hidden Shiga: An Off-the-Beaten-Path Itinerary (2026) Shiga sits right next to Kyoto, barely fifteen minutes by train, yet almost no visitors stop. That is their loss. Wrapped arou...

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Off the Beaten Path in the Kii Peninsula: A Kumano Kodo Itinerary (2026)

Off the Beaten Path in the Kii Peninsula: A Kumano Kodo Itinerary (2026) Most first trips to Kansai never leave the Kyoto to Osaka to Nara triangle. The Kii Peninsula, the big forested block of ...

The Weirdest and Most Exciting Soft Serves in Kansai

The Weirdest and Most Exciting Soft Serves in Kansai Soft serve is a road-trip institution in Japan, and the best place to find it is a michi-no-eki, the roadside stations that double as farm mark...

When Do Japan's Beaches Open in 2026? Swimming Season Dates by Region

When Do Japan's Beaches Open in 2026? Swimming Season Dates by Region Most Japanese beaches are only open for swimming during a fixed season. A beach holds an "umibiraki" (海開き), the official ope...

How to Get from Kansai Airport to Umeda (Osaka) by Train – 2026 Guide

Traveling from Kansai International Airport to the Umeda area of Osaka is simple and convenient. One of the easiest options is to take the Haruka Limited Express and get off at Osaka Station. The ...

The Easiest Way to Travel from KIX to Kobe, Sannomiya (2026 Guide)

Traveling from Kansai International Airport to Sannomiya Station in Kobe is easy and comfortable using the Airport Limousine Bus that is operated by Hankyu. The bus goes directly from the airport t...

The Fastest and Easiest Way to Kyoto From Kansai International Airport (2026 Guide)

Traveling from Kansai International Airport to Kyoto is simple and convenient. The most direct option is the Haruka Limited Express, which connects the airport directly to Kyoto Station in about 75...

Places to Visit in Kansai

Shrine World Heritage

Wakayama

Kumano Nachi Taisha

Sacred Grand Shrine Beside Japan's Tallest Waterfall

One of the three Kumano Grand Shrines, perched on a mountainside next to Nachi Falls and Seiganto...

Nachikatsuura, Wakayama, Japan

Photo: Saigen Jiro / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

Shrine

Hyogo

Ikuta Shrine

One of Japan's Oldest Shinto Shrines

One of Japan's oldest Shinto shrines, said to have been founded in 201 AD, located in the heart o...

Kobe, Hyogo, Japan

Attraction

Kyoto

Hozugawa River Boat Ride

A Thrilling River Boat Ride Through a Scenic Mountain Gorge

A two-hour wooden boat ride down the Hozu River from Kameoka to Arashiyama, navigating gentle rap...

Kyoto, Japan

Photo: Saigen Jiro / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

Shrine World Heritage

Nara

Kasuga Taisha

Kasuga Grand Shrine

Ancient Shinto shrine set in a primeval forest, famous for thousands of stone and bronze lanterns.

Nara, Japan

Temple

Kyoto

Kennin-ji

Kyoto's Oldest Zen Temple in the Heart of Gion

Kyoto's oldest Zen temple. Founded 1202 by Eisai, who brought Zen and tea to Japan. Twin Dragons ...

Osaka Museum of Housing and Living

Walk Through a Full-Scale Edo-Period Osaka Townscape

A full-scale, walk-through reconstruction of a 19th-century Osaka townscape on the 9th floor, com...

Osaka, Japan

Shrine

Mie

Ise Grand Shrine

Ise Grand Shrine (Ise Jingu)

Japan's most sacred Shinto shrine dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu, rebuilt every 20 years ...

Ise, Mie, Japan

Neighborhood

Osaka

Dotonbori

Osaka's Neon-Lit Food Street

Osaka's neon-drenched heart, where the Glico Running Man has watched over the Dotonbori canal sin...

Osaka, Japan

Photo: nnh / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

Shrine

Kyoto

Nonomiya Shrine

A Small Shrine in the Bamboo Grove Linked to The Tale of Genji

Small shrine at the bamboo grove entrance. Featured in The Tale of Genji. The black torii (bark-c...

Kyoto, Japan

Garden

Hyogo

Nunobiki Herb Gardens

Hilltop Herb Garden with Panoramic Ropeway Views

Hilltop herb and flower garden reached by a scenic ropeway ride from Shin-Kobe Station, offering ...

Kobe, Hyogo, Japan

Amusement Park

Hyogo

Sumaura Sanjo Yuen Park

Retro Ropeway and Sea Views Above Suma, Kobe

A nostalgic hilltop park above Suma reached by ropeway, a quirky 1966 'Karreta' inclined people-m...

Kobe, Hyogo, Japan

Neighborhood

Nara

Naramachi

Charming Edo-Period Merchant Quarter with Machiya Townhouses

A charming old merchant district south of Sarusawa Pond with well-preserved Edo-period machiya to...

Nara, Japan

Temple

Kyoto

Otagi Nenbutsu-ji

1,200 Whimsical Stone Buddhas Hidden in the Arashiyama Hills

A hillside temple at the far end of Arashiyama covered in 1,200 stone rakan carved by ordinary vi...

Kyoto, Japan

Shrine

Osaka

Hoshida Myoken-gu Shrine

North Star Shrine and the Star-Fall Legend

Hoshida Myoken-gu, also called Komatsu Shrine, is a hillside shrine in Katano, Osaka, counted amo...

Katano, Osaka, Japan

Shrine

Kyoto

Yasaka Shrine

Heart of Gion and Home of the Gion Matsuri

A Shinto shrine at the heart of Gion, center of the Gion Matsuri festival every July, one of Japa...

Kyoto, Japan

Prefectures in Kansai

Hyogo Kyoto Mie Nara Osaka Shiga Wakayama

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