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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

© ignis / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Omizutori

1 to 14 March 2027

Nara · Fire festival

Aoi Matsuri

© J o / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Aoi Matsuri

15 May 2027

Kyoto · Float procession

Gion Matsuri

© 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

Tenjin Matsuri

© 663highland / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)

Tenjin Matsuri

24 to 25 July 2027

Osaka · Boat festival

Kyoto Gozan Okuribi

16 August 2027

Kyoto · Fire festival

Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri

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

Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri

18 to 19 September 2027

Osaka · Float procession

Nada Kenka Matsuri

© sailko / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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

© vitalsine / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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...

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

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

© 掬茶 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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...

Dogo Onsen photo

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...

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...

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...

Okochi Sanso Garden photo

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...

Nushima photo

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...

Okishima photo

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...

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

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

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

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)

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)

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

Photo from review by Sampo.kuokkanen

Okochi Sanso Garden

A Hilltop Garden with Panoramic Views of Kyoto and Arashiyama

The former villa garden of silent film actor Okochi Denjiro, perched on a hillside above the bamb...

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Shimogamo Shrine

© Kakidai / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Shrine World Heritage

Shimogamo Shrine

Ancient World Heritage Shrine in a Primeval Forest

One of Kyoto's oldest shrines (UNESCO World Heritage), located within the Tadasu no Mori primeval...

Arima Onsen

© 663highland / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)

Arima Onsen

One of Japan's Oldest and Most Famous Hot Springs

One of Japan's three oldest hot spring towns, renowned for its iron-rich golden waters and radium...

Kobe, Hyogo, Japan

Atago Shrine

Photo: Saigen Jiro / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

Atago Shrine

A Mountaintop Fire God Shrine Reached by a Rewarding Hike

Perched atop 924-meter Mt. Atago, this ancient shrine dedicated to the fire deity has protected K...

Daikaku-ji

© PlusMinus / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Daikaku-ji

An Imperial Temple with Japan's Oldest Artificial Lake

A former imperial palace turned Shingon temple, famous for Osawa Pond, Japan's oldest artificial ...

Cup Noodles Museum Osaka Ikeda

© 663highland / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Cup Noodles Museum Osaka Ikeda

The Birthplace of Instant Ramen

An interactive museum where Momofuku Ando invented chicken ramen in 1958, featuring hands-on work...

Ikeda, Osaka, Japan

Nara

Photo: Saigen Jiro / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

Nara

Ancient Capital with Friendly Deer

Japan's first permanent capital, famous for free-roaming sacred deer and the world's largest bron...

Ippudo Umeda photo

Ippudo Umeda

World-Famous Hakata Tonkotsu Ramen

Hakata-style tonkotsu ramen chain with unlimited free spicy moyashi (bean sprouts) at every table.

Himeji Castle

© Nikos Kitsakis / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Castle World Heritage

Himeji Castle

Japan's Most Spectacular Castle

Japan's best preserved feudal castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the White Heron Castl...

Himeji, Hyogo, Japan

Kobe Kaientai Monument (The Kobe Moai) photo

Kobe Kaientai Monument (The Kobe Moai)

Five Moai-Like Statues Honouring Kobe's Naval Cadets

A row of five moai-like stone statues facing Kobe's harbor in Meriken Park, dedicated to the youn...

Kobe, Hyogo, Japan

Miho Museum photo

Miho Museum

I. M. Pei-Designed Museum Hidden in the Shigaraki Mountains

A mountain museum near Shigaraki designed by I. M. Pei, reached through a tunnel and suspension b...

Koka, Shiga, Japan

Okage Yokocho

© Oilstreet / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)

Okage Yokocho

A charming recreated Edo-to-Meiji period street adjacent to Ise Grand Shrine, packed with traditi...

Ise, Mie, Japan

Awaji Hanasajiki

© Mti / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Awaji Hanasajiki

Hillside Flower Park with Panoramic Sea Views

A vast hillside flower park on northern Awaji Island with seasonal displays of canola, lavender, ...

Awaji, Hyogo, Japan

Amanohashidate photo

Amanohashidate

One of Japan's three most scenic views, a pine-covered sandbar spanning Miyazu Bay on the Sea of ...

A three-sake tasting set with sake ice cream and coffee at Fushimi Yume Hyakushu

Fushimi Sake District

Historic Sake Brewing Quarter with Canal Walks and Tasting Rooms

A historic sake brewing quarter in southern Kyoto where famous brands like Gekkeikan and Kizakura...

Prefectures in Kansai

Hyogo Kyoto Mie Nara Osaka Shiga Wakayama

Explore all regions of Japan