Things To Do in Nara - August 2025 Events
- NARA Visitor Center & Inn
- Jul 13
- 7 min read
Updated: Jul 20
August may be the hottest month in Japan, but there’s a lot going on in Nara to take your mind off the heat! Most key events happen into the evening, like beer gardens, light-ups, and fireworks. During the day, there are some excellent special museum and art exhibitions not to be missed. Early morning on the 7th, you can catch the spectacular dusting off of the Great Buddha. Mid-month, especially the 15th, is packed with a hard choice of where to go and what to do. Three light-ups happen in Nara City, but in the countryside you can enjoy masked ogres, Obon dancing, thrilling Shinto festivals and huge fireworks in Gojo City.
Best things to do in Nara in August 2025:
1. Dorogawa Gyoja Festival
Date: Sun 03
Entry: Free
Time: 10:00 to 22:00 * Fireworks 21:00
Location: Dorogawa Onsen, Tenkawa Village
Transport: Nara Kotsu Bus from Shimoichiguchi Station
If you want to escape the city heat, then head to Dorogawa for their annual Gyoja Festival where masked clowns and ogres parade through the main town. The festival celebrates the ascetic En-no-Gyoja, founder of Mount Omine, being welcomed back by Dorogawa villagers after he was mistakenly exiled. You can get there on the Dorogawa Onsen 1-day ticket. The price varies according to where you get on, and it includes hot spring and souvenir discounts. From Shimoichiguchi Station, you take a Nara Kotsu bus bound for Dorogawa Onsen for approximately 1 hr 10 min.
2. Nara Tokae 2025 Lantern Festival
Date: Tue 5 to Thurs 14
Entry: 500 yen donation
Time: 19:00 to 21:30
Location: Various key spots
Transport: Walking distances from Kintetsu-Nara station
Nara Tokae is the key event to kick off the month in Nara City. This yearly light-up event starts from August 5 and runs for 10 days through to August 14, or just before the main Obon celebrations of August 15. Tokae (燈花会) means a gathering of light flowers, or a candle festival, named after how the finished wax of a candle resembles a flower. Vegetable oil candle cups are placed around various locations, including around Sarusawa Pond, Ukimido Lake, Kasuga-taisha Shrine, and especially Nara Park and Todai-ji Temple. A donation of 500 yen is requested to help finance the event for the following year. You can also view event details on the Tokae Facebook page.
3. Ominugui - Dusting off the Great Buddha of Nara
Date: Thurs 07
Entry: 800 yen
Time: 07:30 to 09:30
Location: Todai-ji Temple Main Hall (Daibutsu-den)
Transport: 25-min-walk from Kintetsu-Nara Station
In preparation for the key festivities of Obon, there is the annual cleaning of The Great Buddha of Nara. Known as ‘Omiugui’, 120 monks operating a series of ropes and pulleys dust and clean-off the statue of the Great Buddha, which is some 15 meters high. The event starts at 7:30 in the morning and around 9:30 it ends with a roll-out testing for the fire equipment.
4. Two Nights Free Entry to Todai-ji Temple
Date: Wed 13, Thurs 14
Entry: Free
Time: 19:00 to 21:00
Location: Todai-ji Temple Main Hall
Transport: 25-min walk from Kintetsu-Nara Station
The usual fee to enter Todai-ji Temple is 800 yen for adults, 400 yen for teenagers, and 200 yen for children. From April to October, the opening times are 07:00 to 17:30. However, for two days on August 13 and 14th, you can enter Todai-ji for free for their special Obon night services. The temple will close as scheduled at 17:30 and then re-open at 19:00 to 21:00 for the free-entry viewing. Numbers may be limited, or entry staggered, in the event of potential overcrowding.
5. Kasuga-taisha Chugen Mantoro
Date: Thurs 14, Fri 15
Entry: 500 yen
Time: 19:00 to 21:30
Location: Kasuga-taisha Shrine
Transport: 25-min-walk from Kintetsu-Nara Station
The Chugen Mantoro happens in and around the grounds of the Kasuga-taisha Shrine, and has a history of over 800 years. There are about 3 000 lanterns lighting up the paths around the shrine. If you go inside the main precinct, on the first night is a courtly ‘bugaku’ dance and on the second is a Shinto theatrical dance called ‘kagura’, both performed in the main hall.
6. Todai-ji Manto-Kuyo-e
Date: Fri 15
Entry: 800 yen
Time: 19:00 (ceremony) to 21:30
Location: Todai-ji Temple main hall
Transport: 25-min walk from Kintetsu-Nara Station
On August 15th, or the culmination of Obon, Todai-ji Temple’s special event is the Manto-Kuyo-e, a memorial service for the ancestors held in the Great Buddha Hall at 19:00. Around 2,500 lanterns will be lit and placed in front of the main building. Even if you don’t go inside, you can marvel at the impressive sight of the illuminated face of the Great Buddha gazing out the window above the entrance. This event requires the normal public entry fee, while the run-up days of the 13th and 14th are free to enter. Doors close at 17:30, and re-open for the evening events at 19:00.
7. Kashihara Horanya Fire Festival
Date: Fri 15
Entry: Free
Time: 12:00 ~
Location: Higashibojocho, Kashihara
Transport: 4-min-walk from Kintetsu Bojo Station
For an Obon festival with a little more flare and lots more fire, try the Horanya Fire Festival in Kashihara! This festival is centered around the Hachiman-jinja and Kasuga-jinja Shrines in Higashibojo Town. In the evening, six hamlets around the town parade giant torches between the two shrines, some measuring 4 meters high, 2 meters across, and weighing some 500 kilograms. Festivities start in the daytime from 12:30 at the Kasuga-jinja Shrine and 15:20 at the Hachiman-jinja Shrine. The Horanya Fire Festival is designated as an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of the prefecture.
8. Yoshino River Gojo Fireworks Festival
Date: Fri 15
Entry: Free
Time: 19:30 to 20:30
Location: Yoshino River, Gojo City
Transport: 2-min-walk from JR Gojo Station
If you want to finish off a day of sightseeing with a big bang, then head off to Nara’s historic Gojo City. Along the banks of the pristine Yoshino River, you can watch some 6 000 fireworks going off. There are also around 100 food stalls to browse, and the riverside will be decorated with paper lanterns. From JR Gojo Station, you head due south to the riverside. Just follow the crowds, and there are many Things to do in Gojo if you want to make a day of it.
9. Totsukawa Odori Festival
Date: Sat 16
Entry: Free
Time: From 17:00
Location: Totsukawa Onsen Subaru no Sato Square
Transport: Car rental or private vehicle
Totsukawa Village is a great choice for getting out into nature. Things to do in Totsukawa include hiking a part of the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Road, breezing through the Dorokyo Gorge, relaxing in hot springs baths, or taking in stupendous views from suspension bridges.
Their Summer Obon Festival features the ‘Big Totsukawa Dance’ or Totsukawa Odori, an intangible folk cultural property. The dancing starts at 18:15 and the fireworks will end the evening at 20:40.
There will also be food stalls and other summer festivities. If you want to stay the night in Totsukawa Village, there are some Unique Accommodation options
10. Best 5 Rooftop Beer Gardens and Terraces in Nara
From late spring all the way into late summer, outdoor rooftop and terraced beer gardens are popular all over Japan. Typically, they are found on department store rooftops, or on the roof terraces of popular hotels. Most beer gardens have various ‘nomi-hodai’ and ‘tabe-hodai’ plans, meaning all you can eat and drink. There may be waiting times involved or reservations needed, so check beforehand:
Here is a list of some of the major beer gardens in the prefecture
Goodspoon Takanohara Terrace Beer Garden 2025 is three minutes from Takanohara Station on the Kintetsu Kyoto Line. The beer garden runs until October 31, and you can choose between a beer garden plan or a BBQ plan on the open terrace. Set prices range from 1,500 yen to 5,000 yen, online reservation.
Nikko Nara Panoramic Rooftop on the rooftop area of Hotel Nikko Nara directly connected to the west exit of JR Nara Station. The garden runs until September 15. Adult price is 5.000 yen, children at a discount, online reservation.
Nara Hotel Beer Terrace is on the garden terrace of Nara’s most historic hotel, with views of Nara's three famous mountains of Yamato and the sunset over Mt. Ikoma. The garden runs until September 15. Two plates of food and 90 min. of all-you-can-drink at 7,000 yen, online reservation.
Kintetsu Department Store Kashihara Rooftop BBQ Beer Garden is a 5-min-walk from Yamato-Yagi Station and runs until the end of October. It has panoramic views of the Yamato Sanzan mountains. Set prices of 4,400 yen or 5,500 yen.
Kashihara Shrine Youseiden Cafe Beer Hall is held in the wedding hall of the Kashihara-jingu Shrine — a glass-walled space (with aircon) surrounded by the greenery of the vast shrine forest. Prices from 1,000 yen to 6,000 yen, 90 min, or 120 min. (Venue closed 8/11, 12,&13)
What’s on in Nara! - Music and The Arts, August 2025
07/05‒09/07: Japanese Gorgeous Armors, exhibition of Samurai outfits, Kasugataisha Museum, 10:00-17:00, 1500yen
07/19‒10/19: The Four Seasons of Nara, Irie Taikichi self-selected collection of best photographs, Irie Taikichi Memorial Museum of Photography, 9:30-17:00, 500 yen
07/26‒09/23: World Exploration Journey, commemorative exhibition of rare cultural global artifacts from Tenri University Reference Museum, Nara National Museum, 9:30-17:00, 700 yen.
08/09‒10/19: Atsushi Uemura Memorial Exhibition: The World of Birds, second of two memorial exhibitions showcasing the career of a master painter, Shouhaku Art Museum, 10:00-17:00, 820 yen.
08/10: INDORA NET, an afternoon of Japanese traditional music, drums, shamisen and percussion, Vanda Meililie, 15:30~16:30, 3 000 yen.
08/10: Soul Party “Black & Blue”, a jazz/soul/blues band led by Yoshie Ichikawa, Nara Blue Note, 16:00~19:00, 2 800 yen.
08/23: Kamen Riders Super Live, music and dramatizations from Kamen Riders, Nara Centennial Hall, 10:30 and 14:00 performances, 3 700 yen reserved.
08/23: Tamaki Kanaseki Violin Masterpiece Concert, classical and contemporary pieces, Kashihara Cultural Center (Small Hall), 15:00~, 3 000 yen.
08/30: Nara Clarinet Ensemble 3rd Concert, various arrangements such as quintets, quartets, and trios, Tomio Art Hall Timbre, 14:00~, 3 000 yen.
Things To Do In Nara
Author: NARA Visitor Center & Inn
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