Things To Do In Nara - December Events
- NARA Visitor Center & Inn
- Nov 23
- 8 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
Nara in December tends to be somewhat low-key with boiled daikon radish being dished out to temple goers and seasonal illuminations bringing cheer. The best places to enjoy boiled daikon treats are Hozan-ji Temple and Chogosonshi-ji Temple along the Shigi-Ikoma mountain range. Winter peonies are a must-see at Hase-dera Temple and their New Year Light-up is a key event in Nara. We list seasonal illuminations around the prefecture and the best places to ring in the New Year for 2026! For those looking for a Christmas Day event, drop by the Nara Visitor Center & Inn for some traditional fun and games. So, let's get started with Things To Do in Nara - December Events.
Best things to do in Nara in December 2025:
1. Xmas Party 2025 at Nara Visitor Center & Inn!
Date:Â Thurs 25
Entry:Â Free
Time:Â 15:00 to 16:00
Location:Â 3-3 Ikenocho, Nara City
Transport: 7-min walk from Nara Kintetsu Station
The Nara Visitor Center & Inn, or Sarusawa Inn, will be having a get-together for guests and fans on Christmas Day! The location is the first floor reception area and decorations will be up by early December. This lively event includes popular Japanese party games and there are Nara related gifts to be won. Come and enjoy the fun and toast the festive season with Narasake! Non-alcoholic drinks and snacks for all will also be available. Check our Facebook page for updates closer to the event.
2. Ward off Evil With Boiled Daikon Radish Treats in Ikoma
Date:Â Mon 01
Entry:Â Free
Time:Â 08:30 to 13:00
Location:Â Hozan-ji Temple, 1-1 Monzencho, Ikoma
Transport: Cable from Kintetsu-Ikoma Station
Boiled white radish, or ‘daikon’, is a popular treat when the colder weather settles in. A number of temples in Nara serve boiled radish in a hot soup broth or with a sweet miso topping. This activity is believed to ward off evil spirits, bad luck, and illness during the cold of the winter months. To enjoy this treat, you should go to Hozan-ji Temple in Ikoma City, not too far from Nara City. If you go to Hozan-ji Temple on Tues. 16, you can view locals pulling into place the giant shimenawa straw wreath under the tori gate in preparation for New Year.
Shigisan Daihonzan Senjuin Temple, part of the Chogosonshi-ji Temple complex, has it’s boiled radish event a week later on Sunday 07 from 08:30 to 17:00. You can catch a bus from JR Oji or Shigisanshita Station.
3. Winter Market Pocket Marche
Date:Â Sat 13 and Sun 14
Entry:Â Free
Time:Â Daytime event
Location:Â Nara Prefecture Convention Center, Tenpyo Square
Transport: 9-min-walk from Nara’s Shin-Omiya Station
If you want to enjoy a winter market, Pocket Marche will have a lineup of 60 stores, not only from the local area but also from all over the Kinki and Tokai regions. There will be a selection of handmade goods, flowers, baked goods, a cafe, and more. These popular market events are held a number of times throughout the year in different locations.
4. Sakura Circus Nara Performance
Date:Â Sat 15 Nov. to Sun 08 March 2026
Entry:Â Adults 4 900 yen, Children from 2 500 yen
Time:Â Performance schedule varies
Location:Â Heijo Palace Ruins Historical Park Special Venue
Transport: Bus from Kintetsu-Nara Station
Sakura Circus, an internationally acclaimed family circus troupe, is back in Nara for the first time in four years! Sakura Circus will feature artists from 10 countries, including the Martinez Brothers, the first Japanese to win a gold medal at the Monte Carlo International Circus Competition in 2021. The troupe will perform spectacular acts, including the epic ‘Ecarios’, a Guinness World Record-holding tightrope walker, and the trapeze. This event started last month Nov. 15, 2025 and runs through to Sunday, March 8, 2026, but it’s a great choice for the festive season.
5. Ominugui Cleaning Ceremony at Toshodai-ji Temple
Date:Â Mon 15
Entry:Â 1000 yen
Time:Â 09:00 to 11:00
Location:Â 13-46 Gojocho, Nara City
Transport: From Yamato-Saidaiji Station, take a bus or its one stop by train to Nishinokyo Station.
In the tradition of cleaning and cleansing before the new year, many temples have ominugui ceremonies using giant dusters or even pulley systems to wipe the bodies of the large Buddha statues. Nara’s Toshodai-ji Temple has their ominugui on the Dec. 15 each year. Toshodaiji is a 10-min-walk from the historic Yakushi-ji Temple and is famous for its magnificent Buddha statues, which are 8th and 9th century national treasures.
6. Kasuga Wakamiya Onmatsuri Festival
Date:Â Mon 15 to Thurs 18
Entry:Â Free for events outside the shrine
Time:Â Various
Location:Â Kasuga-taisha Shrine, Nara City
Transport: 25-min-walk from Kintetsu-Nara Station
From mid-month, or Dec. 15 to 18, there are a series of public festivities centered around the Kasuga-taisha Shrine. The Onmatsuri Festival has an uninterrupted 900-year history.Â
Here are other highlights you can enjoy:Â
On Tues. 16, at the Wakamiya Shrine, adjacent to the main Kasuga Shrine precinct, young boys will offer sacred staffs starting at 14:00.
On Wed. 17, you can view a horse race from Ichinotorii Umadebashi Bridge to the Sakaki Tree in front of the Otabisho Shrine. At 14:30, in front of Umadeshibashi Bridge, young boys in costume will do some arrow shooting.
On the final day, Thurs. 18, you can catch some Sumo at Wakamiya Shrine from 13:00 and a Noh performance from 14:00.
7. Winter Peonies at Hase-dera Temple
Date:Â Mid- to end-December
Entry:Â 500 yen
Time:Â 09:00 to 16:30
Location:Â 731-1 Hase, Sakurai, Nara
Transport: Train from Yamato-Saidaiji, change at Yagi for the Kintetsu Osaka Line.
Hase-dera Temple in the Sakurai district is a temple in the Nara countryside not to be missed. Aside from its impressive and unique architecture, it delights in all seasons with its hard-to-beat flower displays. You can view their winter peonies, protected by cute little straw hats, as you walk up the ‘dragon staircase’. The peonies start blooming around mid-month, and you can also see winter cherry blossoms. Until Dec. 8, you can enter the main hall for 1000 yen and see the 11-meter-tall Kannon or Goddess of Mercy statue.
8. Kannon Mantou New Year Light-up: Hase-dera Temple
Date:Â Wed. Dec 31 to Sat. Jan 03
Entry:Â Free entry from 16:00
Time:Â Various per day
Location:Â 731-1 Hase, Sakurai, Nara
Transport: Train from Yamato-Saidaiji, change at Yagi for the Kintetsu Osaka Line.
From the evening of Dec. 31 to Jan. 03, Hase-dera Temple in Sakurai has its annual Kannon Mantou light-up from 19:00 to 05:00 and 17:00 to 20:00 on following days. During this event, lanterns light up the 399-step corridor to celebrate the New Year. Standing outside the main hall, you can view the 11-meter-high standing Kannon or Goddess of Mercy statue. You can also view their winter peonies, visit the shop, and explore the expansive and beautiful grounds. Along the way to the temple are various lively shops, stalls, and places to eat. The Hasedera valley can get quite cold and windy, so wrap up well.
9. Best Festive Illuminations in Nara
For winter or Christmas illuminations, there are a few locations in Nara (usually around stations) that are worth popping by after a day of sightseeing. Most start around 17:00 and end around 22:00, and a few up to midnight. If you want to enjoy more spectacular festive light-ups, your best bet is nearby Osaka City.Â
Tenri City has a display of around 300, 000 lights in Taishoike Park near the station. From Dec. 14 to Jan. 17. Admission is free, and there are many things to do in Tenri to fill your day.
Kashihara City has a light-up near to Yamato-Yagi Station that runs from the 2nd week of December to end-January. There is plenty to do in Yamato-Yagi, and it’s a major interchange for trains to Yoshino and Asuka areas.
The Kirameki Market and Umami Christmas Light Up in Umami Hillside Park runs from solstice period of Dec. 21 to Christmas Day. There’s a large Christmas tree and over 140,000 lights.
Around Sakurai Station, you can view some low-key light-ups from late November towards the end of January.
If you want to view some towering Christmas Trees over the festive season, the JW Marriott Hotel (Shin-omiya Station), Hotel Nikko Nara (JR Nara Station), and the historic Nara Hotel (Nara-Kintetsu Station) will have their usual seasonal displays and special promotions.
10. Best Places in Nara to Ring in the New Year - Joya no Kane
This year, New Year’s Eve falls on a Wednesday. If you aren’t visiting family, hanging out with friends, relaxing at home, or partying hard, you could always try a traditional event at any one of Nara’s historic temples. This typically takes the form of a special bell ringing events — joya no kane — which usually start 30 to 15 min before countdown, but you will need to arrive at least an hour early to get yourself a ‘bell ticket’ by standing in line. Make sure to check the special new year train services for these events.Â
Todai-ji Temple:Â Groups of 6 to 8 people on a first-served basis will pull the large bell rope together. The bell will ring 108 times, so over 800 people can participate. Once tickets have been distributed, the end of the line will be marked.
Toshodai-ji Temple: 108 numbered tickets will be distributed at the South Gate from around 11pm on a first-come, first-served basis, and the bell ringing starts from 23:40. Admission is free.
Yata-dera Temple:Â Yata-dera Temple starts its bell ringing right on midnight for the first 108 people standing in line. Buses are limited, so check the schedule.
Asuka-dera Temple: One of Japan’s most historic temples starts its highly popular bell ringing at around 23:40. Nearby Oka-dera Temple will start their new year bell ringing event at 23:50.
What’s on in Nara! - Music and The Arts, December 2025
In December, you can enjoy a number of festive music events, and there are plenty of indoor gallery activities. For musical events, seating is usually 30 in before the start and the last entry for museums and galleries is 30 minutes before closing.
11/01 - 12/25: Daido Moriyama + Monika Orpik: Senses Replicated, photography in black and white, Irie Taikichi Memorial Museum of Photography, 09:30‒17:00,Â
11/01 - 12/28:Â Uemura Shoen 150th Anniversary: Newly Discovered Sketches and Paintings, Shouhaku Art Museum, 10:00 to 17:00 (closed Mon. except Holidays), 820 yen.
11/05/ - 12/14: Autumn Special Exhibition: The Essence of Ancient Technology, 643 major items related to ancient workshops, Asuka History Museum, 09:00‒16:30, 250 yen
11/14 - 12/12: Autumn Special Exhibition: God's Treasure Chest, designs woven from plants, animals, and insects, Kasuga Taisha National Treasure Museum, 10:00‒17:00, 700 yen.
11/28 - 01/18: Masami Yamamoto: Earthen Skin, contemporary representation of ‘ceramic clothing’, Gallery Out of Place, Thu. to Sun. 12:00 ‒19:00 (closed on Mon., Tue., Wed. and from Dec. 22 to Jan. 08.
11/14 - 12/25: Painting the Waterside, depictions of waterside scenes ancient to modern, Yamato Bunkakan Museum, 10:00‒17:00, 630 yen.
12/12: Kana Wa/Tonosato Concert, afternoon of chamber music and Christmas classics, Ikaruga Small Hall, 14:00‒15:30, 1000 yen advanced, 1300 yen at the door.
12/14: Ikaruga Symphonic Band; Winter Concert, Japanese year-end classics, Ikaruga Large Hall, 13:00‒14:30, 500 yen advanced, 300 yen at the door.
12/20: Miyata Kohei and Eguchi Hiroshi: Christmas Concert, dynamic piano and cello duet, Naramachi Center, 14:30~, 4000yen.
Best things to do in Nara in December 2025:
        🎵What’s on in Nara - Music and the Arts🎨
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Things To Do In Nara
Author: NARA Visitor Center & Inn