Things To Do in Nara - January 2026 Events
- NARA Visitor Center & Inn
- Dec 18, 2025
- 9 min read
Nara welcomes you to 2026 and the Year of the Horse! You can jump start your new year at any one of Nara’s historic shrines and temples, and stop by some festive illumination. For a traditional lantern light-up, head to Hase-dera Temple in Sakurai. This year, the famed Yamato Drummers rock Nara for 4 days at the start of the new year. Mid-month is the thrilling Chihara Otondo bonfire festival in Gose City, and we cover all the things to know about Mt. Wakakusa Yamayaki 2026. Events throughout the month include Asuka Ruby strawberry picking, the Mount Miune Frost Festival, and we help out with links to our activity guides.
Best things to do in Nara in January 2026
🎵What’s on in Nara - Music and the Arts🎨
1. Where to celebrate New Year in Nara?
For most people, New Year in Japan is about ‘hatsumode’, a customary visit to a shrine or temple. Traditionally, this should fall within the first week of the new year. The first three days of the year, however, are the busiest when most people are still on vacation. If you’re planning to join the jovial crowds, snacking on hot winter treats, and picking up an ‘omikuji’ fortune card, here are Nara’s most popular spots:
Kasuga-taisha Grand Shrine
Todai-ji Temple or Nara Daibutsu
Omiwa-jinja Shrine in Sakurai
Hase-dera Temple in Sakurai
Hozan-ji Temple on Mount Ikoma
Chogosonshi-ji Temple on Mount Shigi
In Nara City, you can join the New Year illuminations on January 1st with 135 stone lanterns illuminated around Nigatsu-do Temple and Kagami-ike Pond.
Omiwa-jinja Shrine in Sakurai is one of the oldest and most sacred shrines associated with mountain worship. There will be various shops and stalls to browse along the way to the shrine.
Hase-dera Temple’s light up runs from New Year’s Eve from 19:00 to 05:00 and 17:00 to 20:00 on the following days. Lanterns will light up the 399-step corridor, and you can also enjoy winter peonies.
Mount Ikoma's Hozan-ji Temple and Mount Shigi’s Chogosonshi-ji Temple are fun mountain-top destinations. In both these places, local businesses, shops, and restaurants will be doing their best to draw in new year revelers.
2. Hase-dera Kannon Mantoe New Year Lantern Light-up
Date: Wed 12/31 to Sat 01/03
Entry: No charge
Time: 17:00 to 05:00 (Wed/Thurs); 17:00 to 20:00
Location: 731-1 Hase, Sakurai, 633-0112
Transport: Hasedera Station, Kintetsu-Osaka Line
If you’re looking for a traditional light-up or a nostalgic winter illumination, then head to Hase-dera Temple for their Kannon Manto. The event celebrates the temple’s 10-meter-high Goddess of Mercy statue, or Kannon, which is also a national treasure. There are numerous stalls and shops on the way to the temple, and 339 stone steps take you through a stunning wooden corridor with winter peonies in bloom.
You can buy your own lantern to make an offering—large 20,000 yen, medium 10,000 yen, or small 1,000 yen-and entry to the feat of the Kannon statue is 1,000 yen. The temple will also have various special goshuin, or sacred stamps and seals, to celebrate the new year.
3. Yamato Drummers 2026 New Year Performances
Date: Fri 02 to Mon 05
Entry: 3 500 yen
Time: Daily at 11:00, 15:00, and 18:00
Location: Nara Park Bus Terminal Lecture Hall
Transport: 8-min walk from Kintetsu-Nara Station
The Yamato Drummers are an internationally acclaimed Taiko drumming troupe hailing from Asuka Village. Their huge taiko drums—up to 2 meters wide—are played with extreme energy, blending power, precision, and humor. Tickets have been on sale since October 27, so make sure to buy your tickets soon if you want to add this unique event to your New Year revelries around Nara. See the English language Yamato Drummer website for more details and purchase options.
Another popular ongoing event is the Sakura Circus, an internationally acclaimed family circus troupe, featuring performers from 10 countries.
4. Oyumi Hajime Kyudo Event in Tenri
Date: Sun 04
Entry: No charge
Time: 13:00 to 15:00
Location: Oyamato-jinja Shrine, 306 Niizumicho, Tenri, 632-0057
Transport: Nara Kotsu Bus from Sakurai Station or a 7-min-walk from Nagara Station on JR Manyo Mahoroba Line.
Kyudo, or traditional Japanese archery, often forms part of religious ceremonies in both Shinto and Shugendo practices. At the Hajime Kyudo event, or first arrow shooting, students from local schools and the Kyudo Federation will send their arrows flying to ward off evil spirits, marking the end of the new year celebrations. You can get some steaming hot sweet red bean soup (zenzai) from around 11:50—limited to first takers. The archery shooting starts at 13:30. The Oyamato-jinjya Shrine, in Tenri City, is one of the oldest Shinto shrines in Japan.
You can also join a regular kyudo experience right here in Nara City.
5. Asuka Village Strawberry Picking
Date: Weekends, Holidays from Sat 10th
Entry: 2,500 yen adults, 2,100 yen children
Time: 10:00 to 16:00
Location: Asuka Village surroundings
Transport: Asuka Station, Kintetsu-Yoshino Line
Asuka Ruby Strawberries are a special type of plump and juicy strawberry grown at waist height in some eighteen or so greenhouses around Asuka. For the first season of 2026, strawberry picking is scheduled to run from Jan 10 (Sat) to May 31 (Sun). Picking days are weekends and holidays until Jan 03, and then additionally on Wednesdays from Jan 04.
You can check the Strawberry picking calendar (Japanese) to make a reservation, and you can pick-and-eat for 30 minutes, or pay by weight for 300 yen/100 g. There is a bicycle rental at Asuka Station and there are plenty of Things to do in Asuka. If you can’t make strawberry picking, make sure to pick up some up from a local fruit seller.
6. Chihara O-tondo Bonfire Festival in Katsuragi
Date: Wed 14
Entry: No charge
Time: 19:40
Location: Kisshoso-ji Temple, 279 Chihara, Gose City
Transport: 5-min-walk from JR Tamade Station
Another great Japanese tradition is annual tondo-yaki or bonfire festivals. At these bonfire festivals, new year decorations and old talismans from shrines, temples, and people’s homes are set ablaze. The smoke ascends to the heavenly gods as a prayer of benediction. The most impressive tondo-yaki festival in Nara is the Chihara Otondo where 6-meter tall torches, each weighing 700 kg, are set ablaze in a spectacular fashion. The Chihara Otondo is recognized as an intangible cultural folk asset of Nara Prefecture. You can also make a day of it by exploring all the great things to do in Gose City.
7. Mount Miune Frost Festival
Date: 01/17 to 02/15
Entry: Free and charged events
Time: Daytime events
Location: Mitsue Village, Uda District
Transport: Car or Nara Kotsu bus from Haibara Station
Mt. Miune is popular for its fantastical frosty scenery and natural ice flowers. The annual "Frost Festival" will be held at Mitsue Youth Travel Village at the foot of Mt. Miune. Activities include sale of local products, commemorative stamps and badges for climbers, discount coupon raffle or Mitsue Onsen. If you have experience in snow climbing and are in good shape, you can take part in Mt. Miune summit climbing, but only with a partner or in a group. There’s a seasonal bus that runs from Kintetsu Haibara Station (1,600 yen one-way). The bus departs at 07:45 and the bus back is 16:00. Be aware that this bus requires 24 hr advanced reservation. There is also a shuttle bus to Mitsue Onsen (800 yen one-way).
8. Fight off Cancer with Sake at Daian-ji Temple
Date: Fri 23
Entry: Free
Time: 08:00 to 16:00
Location: 630-8133, Daianji 2-18-1
Transport: Nara Kotsu Bus from JR or Kintetsu-Nara Station
Daian-ji Temple near Nara City is one of Nara’s key historic temples. Twice a year, the temple has a sake pouring event known as sasazake where ladies in kimonos pour out sake from bamboo poles. This festival honors the Emperor Konin (709-781) and his legacy of caring for citizens’ health. The specially blessed sake is said to prevent cancer. You will receive a small bamboo cup, and you can probably drink as much as you need to.
9. Wakakusa Yamayaki Mountain Burning
Date: Sat 24
Entry: No charge
Time: Mnt burning starts 18:30
Location: Mount Wakakusa, above Nara Park
Transport: 30-min-walk from Kintetsu-Nara Station
Yamayaki is one of Nara’s most popular festivals. Every year toward the end of winter, Mount Wakakusa is set alight in a tradition going back over 250 years. Throughout the day, there are supporting events in and around the Nara Park area:
You can enjoy Yosakoi dancing (3:30 pm to 4 pm), celebration drumming (4:45 pm to 5:15 pm), taiko drumming (6:30 pm to 6:45 pm) and a dance finale (7 pm to 7:30 pm). A fun contest activity (500 yen) is throwing deer cracker or shika senbei from 10:30 am to 2 pm from Mount Wakakusa itself.
Fireworks start at 6:15 pm (600 shots) and the Yamayaki starts at 6:30 pm from multiple locations and the fire lasts around 30 minutes.
All You Need to Know: Nara Yamayaki
Q: Will there be restricted areas?A: All areas within the Mt. Wakakusa foot gate and the rooftop of Nara Park Bus Terminal are paid venues. Access will be restricted from 2:30 pm.
Q: How can I buy a VIP ticket? A: Tickets cost 2,000 yen via Nara Kasugano International Forum IRAKA and Nara Park Bus Terminal or Ticket Pia.
Q: Will the event be canceled in case of rain? A: Possibly, but a decision will be made early on the day.
Q: Will the hilltop bus be operating? A: No, buses are suspended for Jan. 24. The Shin-Wakakusayama Driveway, Takamadoyama Driveway, and promenade will also be closed.
Q: Can I take a taxi to the Wakakusa Summit Parking Lot via the Okuyama Driveway? A: Taxis can go up to the summit until 12:00 pm or noon.
Q: How can I get to Mount Wakakusa on Jan. 24?A: From JR or Kintetsu Nara Station, take the Nara City Loop Bus and get off at “Daibutsuden Kasuga-taisha-mae”, then walk for 12 minutes.
Please take note of crowd control measures and make sure to follow directives. Although it’s not a peak tourist season, the event attracts around 190,000 people.
10. Koriyama Castle Winter Illumination
Date: until 02/08
Entry: No charge
Time: 17:00 to 21:30
Location: DMG Mori Concert Hall
Transport: 7-min-walk from Kintetsu Koriyama Station (Kashihara Line from Yamato-Saidaiji), or 15-min-walk from JR Koriyama Station (Yamato Line from JR Nara Station).
A fun winter illumination is happening in the grounds of the DMG Mori Concert Hall within the old castle grounds of Koriyama City. This event actually started in mid-November and runs until February 08. In total, there are some 52,000 LED bulbs creating various displays designed by the Kansai Cultural and Art High School. The light-up lasts until 21:30 every evening, while food and drink stalls will generally run until 19:30. For other winter illuminations in Nara, see our December newsletter.
What’s on in Nara! - Music and The Arts, Jan 2026
Every month in Nara there are various classical, jazz, and other art events well-worth attending. Here are the key events for January 2026. For music events, seating is usually 30 minutes before the start, while last entry to galleries and museums is 30 minutes before closing.
01/02 - 01/05: Yamato Drummers New Year Concerts, globally acclaimed drummer troop from Asuka, Nara Park Bus Terminal Lecture Hall, 11:00, 15:00, and 18:00, 3,500 yen.
01/04: Steve Eto New Year Solo "Go Towards 2027”, legendary American-born percussionist, composer and Nara resident, Nara Beverly Hills, 16:20 for 17:00, 3,500 yen.
01/12: The Aitakatta Tour #21, four-piece rock band from Nagoya, Nara Beverly Hills, 16:30 for 17:00, 4 000 yen.
01/18: Classics for the Future, Three young pianists play masterpieces by Schumann, Liszt, Debussy, Chopin, Bach, and Beethoven, Nara Centennial Medium Hall, 14:30, 1,000 yen.
01/25: Saint Cindy Animu Brass Band Concert, Ghibli and other anime classics, Yamato-Takada Sazanka Large Hall 14:00 to 16:00, 1,000 yen.
01/31: Fuyumi Sakamoto 40th Anniversary Tour, renowned enka singer, Nara 100th Anniversary Large Hall, 14:00 to 16:30, 7,700 yen.
11/15-03/08: Sakura Circus, world famous family circus troupe, Heijo Palace Park Special Venue, various times, Adults 4 900 yen, Children 2,500 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.
12/13 - 01/18: Kasuga Wakamiya Onmatsuri:Art and Devotion, artifacts of Kasuga-taisha Shrine and Wakamiya Onmatsuri, Nara National Museum, 9:30-17:00, 700 yen.
12/20 - 02/15: Costume Revival From Mythology to Asuka and Nara, recreations of elegant kimono and costume design, Heijo Palace Izanai Hall Special Exhibition Room, 09:00 to 17:00, free entry.
Best things to do in Nara in January 2026
🎵What’s on in Nara - Music and the Arts🎨
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Things To Do In Nara
Author: NARA Visitor Center & Inn
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