Things To Do in Nara - October 2025 Events
- NARA Visitor Center & Inn
- Sep 15
- 7 min read
Updated: Sep 22
October is a month of unique and special events happening across Nara Prefecture. In Nara City, there’s the annual craft beer festival at the start of the month. Shortly after, is the popular Uneme Festival around Sarusawa Pond and the Harvest Moon Festival at Toshodai-ji Temple. The following week, Soni Village has its Lion Dancing Festival and Yoshino hosts the Ogawa Festival—both unique and significant events—not to mention the Utano Autumn Festival in Uda which continues a 1000-year-old tradition. Other fun things to do in Nara include a bamboo light-up, bell ringing, cosmos flowers, and early autumn leaves for those who don’t mind a bit of hiking.
Best things to do in Nara in Oct. 2025:
1. Cheers to Nara Craft Beer Festival
Date: Sat 04, Sun 05
Entry: 100 yen for reusable cup
Time: 10:00 to 17:00
Location: Noborioji Park, Nara City
Transport: 7-min walk from Kintetsu-Nara Station
The Nara Craft Beer Festival is an annual event that started in 2018. Participating breweries are from Nara Prefecture and breweries that have ties to Nara. Beer is offered at the Himuro Shrine at 11 a.m. on Friday to pray for the prosperity of brewing techniques. After the offering ritual, beer is offered to visitors as a sacred event on the kick-off day (15:00 to 18:00).
Entry is free, but to drink beer you have to buy a 100 yen reusable plastic beer cup. Booths don’t take cash, so you have to buy tickets. A set of 5 tickets costs 1 500 yen. You can view a list of participating breweries and their beers on the event website. The location is Noborioji Park which is right behind Kofuku-ji Temple, beer snacks will also be sold, and you can buy tickets in advance.
2. Uneme Matsuri Festival
Date: Sun 05, Mon 06
Entry: None
Time: 17:00 to 19:00
Location: Sarusawa Pond
Transport: 10-min-walk from Kintetsu-Nara Station
The Uneme Matsuri is one of Nara’s most popular festivals and always happens on the night of the Harvest Moon. The key event is Monday 6th when two dragon boats launch onto the lake and breeze around the shore past onlookers to the captivating sounds of traditional gagaku court music. The festival is said to appease the ghost or spirit of a courtier who drowned in the lake.
Before the boat launching, there’s a short flower-fan offering at the lake’s shrine said to mark the spot where the courtier threw herself into the water. The event concludes when more flower fans are gently thrown into the pond to carry away the spirits and the prayers of the participants.
3. Toshodai-ji Temple Harvest Moon Festival
Date: Mon 06
Entry: 1,000 yen
Time: 18:00 to 20:00
Location: 13-46 Gojo-cho, Nara City
Transport: 10-min walk from Nishinokyo Station or a bus from Kintetsu Yamato-Saidaiji Station.
This year, the Autumn Harvest Moon occurs on the first Monday of October. Toshodai-ji Temple in Nishinokyo has their annual prayer and tea offering ceremony on this day, and the temple’s private garden will be opened for public viewing. Toshodai-ji Temple is a short walk from Yakushi-ji Temple and there is a bus route to and from Saidaiji Station. From October 3rd to 5th, Saidai-ji Temple has its largest prayer service and gatherings for the year.
4. Bamboo Light-up in Takayama
Date: Sat 11, Sun 12
Entry: Free
Time: [Sat 11] 17:00 to 20:00 [Sun 12] 17:30 to 20:00
Location: 3440 Takayamacho, Ikoma City
Transport: Bus from Tomio Station bound for Shoda or bus from Gakken-Kita-Ikoma Station bound for Hoji and get off at Kamiogita.
This cozy light up, or the 29th Takayama Bamboo Lantern Festival, is held at Takayama Bamboo Grove Park in Ikoma City. Numerous bamboo light sculptures will create a magical autumn atmosphere, and there is no entry fee. You can also enjoy performances of traditional instruments such as the shakuhachi, sho, and shinobue. During the day there are various experience events. From 14:00 to 16:00 on both days is a unique tea ceremony event - Enraku Dairakucha - which serves matcha tea in large bowls. On Sunday from 15:00 to 19:00, a tea ceremony will be performed by the Ikoma City Tea Ceremony Association. Participation fees vary.
5. Soni Village Lion Dancing
Date: Sun 12
Entry: Free
Time: 08:00 to 11:30
Location: : Kadofusa-jinja Shrine, Soni Village
Soni Village, ranked as one of Nara’s most picturesque rural locations, is situated to the northeast of the prefecture on the Soni Kogen plateau. October is a great season for hiking around Soni, especially its grass pampas, even though Autumn colors only peak around mid-November. However, on Oct.12, the Kodofusa-jinja Shrine hosts a rare cultural heritage Lion Dance which is part of the shrine’s Autumn offering schedule.
To get to Soni Village, you would need a car or to hire private transportation. There is bus from Kintetsu Haibara Station, but times may not so suitable for most tourists.
6. Ogawa Festival in Yoshino District
Date: Sun 12
Entry: Free
Time: 13:00
Location: 968 Omura, Higashiyoshino, Nara
Transport: Train and bus or private transportation
Deep in the Yoshino countryside, the Ogawa Festival offers a unique and exciting insight into local affairs. The festival features eight taiko palanquins from the eight districts that boisterously gather and parade around the Niukawakami-jinja Shrine. This shrine in eastern Yoshino has a rich and esteemed history. The float parade is around 1:00 p.m.
The best way there is by private transportation. However, from Haibara Station on the Kintetsu-Osaka Line, you can catch a Nara Kotsu Bus to Utano and then a community bus for Aridoshi. A reservation is required for the community bus (TEL: 0746-32-5050).
7. Utano Akimatsuri in Uda City
Date: Sun 19
Entry: Free
Time: All day event
Location: Udano Mikumari Shrine, 245 Utanofuruichiba, Uda
Transport: Bus from Kintetsu Haibara Station bound for Utano or Higashiyoshinomura Yakuba.
The Uta Autumn Festival is said to date back more than 1000 years. The festival features a parade called ‘Owatari’ in which the goddess from Sosha Mikumari Shrine is carried 12 km on a palanquin to Udano Mikumari Shrine to meet her husband god only once a year. This is a rare romantic-themed festival for Japan. Another highlight of the festival is the competitive performance of six ‘taikodai’, or drum floats, which are carried by scores of local revelers.
8. Kohfuku-ji Temple Bell Ringing Experience
Date: As per booking availability
Entry: 2,500 yen
Time: 11:20 to 12:10
Location: Nanen-do Temple, Nara
Transport: 7-min walk from Kintetsu-Nara Station
Kohfuku-ji Temple is one of Nara’s most important and historic Buddhist temples. The temple has been running a special bell-ringing experience for foreign visits since July 1st, and it runs until November 28th. Guided by a monk in English, you will learn first hand about Buddhist teachings and the profound meaning behind the temple bell, and then have the rare opportunity to ring the bell yourself. The minimum number of participants is two and the maximum is six. Reservations must be made on the tour site by noon, one business day in advance. The cost is 2 500 yen, and you can view details on the event website.
9. Cosmos Flowers in Nara
Just before the leaves start turning in the Fall, cosmos flowers start to bloom. These delicate blooms, appearing mostly in white and pink, can be seen at Nara’s Hannya-ji Temple, Fujiwara Palace Site Ruins, and also Hokki-ji Temple which is part of the Horyu-ji Heritage Site.
For Hannya-ji Temple, take a number 27, 81, 188, or 153 bus from either JR or Kintetsu Nara Stations and get off at Hannyaji bus stop. 700 yen entry.
For Fujiwara Palace Site flower fields, there’s a community bus from Yamato Yagi Station (Stand 1) and you alight at the first stop, Kashihara-shi-fujiwarakyo-shiryoshitsu-mae. Or, walk 30 mins from either JR Unebi or Kintetsu Miminashi stations.
For Hokki-ji Temple, take the Horyu-ji-mae bus from Kintetsu Koriyama Station and get off at Hokkiji-mae bus stop. Entry is 500 yen.
Here's a live stream from Hannya-ji Temple from a few years ago.
10. Where to See Early Autumn Leaves in Nara
The best time to view Autumn leaves is generally from around mid-November. If you want to catch Autumn leaves in Nara before then, you will need to be into hiking some more mountainous areas.
In Yoshino district, the leaves near the higher inclines start to change around mid-October and peak by the end of November.
For more serious climbers and hikers, there is also the Mt. Odaigahara region where leaves can start changing as early as the beginning of October.
‘Nara for Culture’ Music and the Art, October 2025
For musical events, seating is usually 30 minutes before the start of the event and last entry for museums and galleries is 30 minutes before closing.
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
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.
09/14‒10/13: Nara City Artists Association exhibition, a show of local talent in painting, sculpture, crafts, photography, and calligraphy, Nara City Museum of Art, 10:00 to 17:30, free entry, closed Mon 06.
10/04: Autumn Cantabile, world acclaimed classical trio performs Beethoven, Sibelius, Villa Lobos and Brahms, Kawakami General Center Yamabuki Hall, 13:30 to 15:30, 5,000 yen adults or 2,000 yen teens.
10/13: Yuki Toritada Violin Recital 2025, Paganini’s Caprice, Campanella, and Cantabile, DMG MORI Yamato Koriyama Castle Small Hall, 14:00 to 15:40, 1000 yen.
10/25‒11/10: 77th Shosoin Exhibition, treasures of Emperor Shomu's beloved items, Nara National Museum, 8:00 to 18:00 or 20:00 on weekends, 2,000 yen.
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Things To Do In Nara
Author: NARA Visitor Center & Inn
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