Things To Do In Nara - April 2024 Events

For the lovely, spring month of April, we highlight 10 of the best places to view cherry blossoms in Nara. We also tell you to go to enjoy cherry blossom light-ups at night. Coinciding with cherry blossom season is the 64th Yamato Koriyama Castle Festival. A unique and fun event is the Waku Waku Tipsy Sake Festival hosted by one of Nara’s iconoclastic sake breweries. More flowers are popping up, especially peonies and wisteria, and be sure to check out our best beginner hiking trails in Nara to put the spring back in your step.

Best things to do in Nara in April 2025:

1. Top 10 Cherry Blossom Viewing Spots in Nara (~mid-month)

2. Best 5 Night Cherry Blossoms or ‘Yozakura’ in Nara (until mid-month)

3. 64th Yamato Koriyama Castle Festival (03/24 to 04/07)

4. Umenoyado Waku Waku Tipsy Sake Festival (04/19-20)

5. Rhododendrons at Muruo-ji Temple (mid-month~)

6. Peonies at Taima-dera Temple (mid-month~)

7. Canolas with Cherry Blossoms at Fujiwara Palace Ruins (~ mid-month)

8. Wisteria at Man'you Botanical Garden (last week)

9. Kemari Festival at Tanzan-jinja Shrine (04/29)

10. Best Spring Hiking Trails in Nara (all month)

What’s on in Nara - 🎵Music and the Arts🎨

1. Top 10 Cherry Blossom Viewing Spots in Nara

For cherry blossom viewing in Nara City, the best places are (1) Nara Deer Park, the edge of (2) Wakakusa Mountain, and around (3) Ukimdo Pavilion, and (4) the Saho River. 

Here are our picks for the 10 best cherry blossom spots outside of Nara City. Before you go, be sure to keep an eye on the 2025 Cherry Bloom forecast! 

1. Mount Yoshino - a top favorite with 30,000 trees spread over a wide area.

2. Matabei-zakura (Hongo Takizakura) - visit a 300 year old weeping cherry blossom tree in Uda district, surrounded by an additional small grove. 

3. Hase-dera Temple - famous for its many varieties, especially its 300 weeping cherry blossom trees.

4. Tsubosaka-dera Temple - known as the ‘Buddha cherry blossoms’ with huge trees surrounding its massive outdoor statues.

5. Koriyama Castle - some 800 trees surrounding the castle ruins, free entry.

6. Takami-no-Sato - In Higashiyoshino, 1000 weeping cherry trees bloom bloom over an entire hilltop.

7. Abemonju-in Temple - many large trees in a tranquil setting.

8. Ishibutai Tumulus in Asuaka - around 60 trees in Nara’s best walking and cycling destination.

9. Shimokitayama Sports Park - a tranquil river with wide camping and recreational grounds, in the heart of Yoshino.

10. Chogosonshi-ji Temple - enjoy a stunning location along the Shigi-Ikoma mountain line with great panoramic views.

2. Best 5 Night Cherry Blossoms or ‘Yozakura’ in Nara

Some of the best cherry blossom spots in Nara also have cherry blossom light-ups at night—or ‘yozakura’ in Japanese. You can enjoy the best of both by visiting both day and night locations, or enjoy a scenic location late afternoon into the evening.

1. Yoshino Mountain: If you walk down the mountain instead of paying for the ropeway, there are more lit-up trees to enjoy.

2. Saho River: The Saho River Kawaji Sakura Festival runs from March 30 to April 05, lasting until about 8 pm. (Cancelled for 2025)

3. Tsubosaka-dera Temple: You can combine this with sightseeing around Asuka Village or Hase-dera Temple.

4. Koriyama Castle: The evening light-up adds a little extra fanfare—especially for photography lovers.

5. Takada River Festival: Stroll along the Takada River with festive food stalls along the road. Runs from late March into early April.

3. 64th Yamato Koriyama Castle Festival

• Date: March 24 to April 07

• Entry: Free entry

• Time: Daytime business hours

• Location: Yamato-Koriyama City

• Transport: Train from JR or Kintetsu-Nara stations.

The Yamato Koriyama Castle Festival runs from March 24 to April 7. During this time, there are various events held in and around the castle ruins. Here are the main events:

• 03/29, Sat: 103nd Gold Fish Competition

• 03/30, Sun: White Fox procession

• 04/07, Sun: Music concert

Other events include judo and kendo demonstrations, traditional music and dance. The goldfish exhibition runs throughout the festival.

4. Umenoyado Waku Waku Tipsy Sake Festival

• Date: Sat 19 to Sun 20 

• Entry: Free 

• Time: 10:00‒15:00

• Location: Umenoyado, 27-1 Teraguchi, Katsuragi-shi, 639-2135

• Transport: About a 25-min-walk from Kintetsu Shinjo Station.

Umenoyado, located in Katsuragi City, is one of Nara’s most well-known sake breweries. This event is a standing only location with a variety of food stalls including curry, pizza, tacos, yakitori, okonomiyaki, skewers and more. There will be plenty of alcohol to drink and lottery tickets every day for bottled prizes. They will be selling limited editions of their special liquors, and you can freely shop in their souvenir store.

5.  Rhododendrons at Muro-ji Temple

• Date: Mid to end-April

• Entry: 600 yen

• Time: 08:30 to 17:00

• Location: 78 Murou, Uda, Nara, 633-0421

• Transport: Kintetsu-Osaka Line bound for Nabari via Hasedera

Muro-ji Temple is a unique cultural heritage site famous for its history as a ‘women’s temple’. The rhododendrons run up along either side to its 5-story pagoda—the smallest and cutest in Japan. You can catch the flowers in shades of deep red, changing into pink and then white. Take a bus or try the 13 km hiking route from Muroguchi-Ono Station.

6. Peonies at Taima-dera Temple

• Date: Mon 14

• Entry: 500 yen

• Time: 16:00, Princess Chushou Parade

• Location: 1263 Taima, Katsuragi, Nara, 639-0276.

• Transport:  Change at Kashiharajingu-mae to the Kintetsu Minami Osaka Line.

Taima-dera Temple, in Katsuragi, is one of Nara’s jewels. The temple has various gardens, but spring peonies are a special delight. You can also enjoy the Princess Chushou Festival or Nerikuyo Ceremony. Princess Chushou is a legendary figure in Buddhist women’s culture, said to have woven the temple’s famous mandala from lotus threads. 

To enjoy their traditional Shojin Ryori vegan meals, you must make a reservation. Just a 10-min-walk from the temple is the Kehayaza Sumo Museum.

7. Canolas with Cherry Blossoms at Fujiwara Palace Ruins

• Date: Beginning to mid-April

• Entry: No charge

• Time: Open 24/7 public area

• Location: Daigocho, Kashihara, Nara, 634-0072.

• Transport: Bus from Yamato-Yagi Station or walk from either JR Unebi or Kintetsu Unebi Goryo-mae Station.

The Fujiwara Palace Ruins in Kashihara City is a unique location where you can enjoy sitting under cherry blossom trees with fields of yellow, mustard-colored canolas or rapeseeds in the background. It’s a quieter and less crowded location. If you get off at JR Unebi Station, you can walk to the site via Ofusa Kannon Temple.

8. Wisteria at Man'you Botanical Garden

• Date:  End-April to May 10

• Entry: 500 yen

• Time: 09:00 to 14:30

• Location: Kasuga Shrine precincts

• Transport: 20-min-walk from Kintetsu-Nara Station

The Manyou Botanical Garden is a lovely garden annexed to the Kasuga-taisha Shrine. It has a grove of over 200 wisteria trees of 20 varieties. The wisterias usually start blooming in the last week of April, which is less crowded than in May. At the end of April, you can enjoy rare green Goiyo Cherry blossoms and Golden Tea Camellia.

9. Kemari Festival at Tanzan-jinja Shrine

• Date: Tues 29

• Entry: 600 yen

• Time: 11:30 am

• Location: 319 Tonomine, Sakurai (Tanzan-jinja Shrine)

• Transport:  From Kintetsu-Sakurai Station south exit, catch a number 45 or 50 bus bound for Tanzan-jinja (談山神社).

Kemari is an ancient type of courtly football. Twice a year, Shinto priests in full regalia put on an amusing show with a game of Kemari. The Tanzan area is famous for its superb sake, which you can sample and buy from vendors along the way to the shrine. There’s a small restaurant and various souvenir shops. The first bus is 09:45 and there is one bus per hour. The price is 500 yen one-way.

10. Best Spring Hiking Trails in Nara

April and May are the two best months for hiking in Nara Prefecture. For both beginner and pro hikers, these are some of the best Nara hiking trails (details): 

1. The Yagyu Kaido runs through the Kasuga Primeval Forest to Engyo-ji Temple from where you can catch a bus back to Nara City.

2. The Takatori Town hike starts at Tsubosakayama Station and passes by old traditional houses, country eateries, and historical landmarks to the impressive stone ruins 6km outside town. You can take a bus halfway to Tsubosaka-dera Temple.

3. Mt. Yamato Katsuragi is accessible by train from Kintetsu Gose and then a bus to the cableway. There are various hiking trails along the mountain ridge.

4. Yamanobe-no-Michi is an historic country path running along the edge of the Tenri basin starting from Tenri station via Isonokami-jingu Shrine to Omiwa-jinja Shrine. 

5. Mt. Wakakusa is a perfect half-day hike, taking you through a Kasuga Primeval Forest hiking trail to stupendous views over Nara City. From there, it’s a short walk down to the mountain base, just above Nara Park.

   
   
   
   

What’s on in Nara! - Music and The Arts, April 2025

These are some select music and arts events happening in Nara for April. Entry times for exhibitions are generally 30 minutes before closing.

• 02/15‒04/13: Three Generations of the Uemura Shoen Legacy, depictions of women in Japanese art, Shouhaku Art Museum (Gakuenmae Station-Bus), 10:00‒16:00, 1100 yen.

• 03/01‒04/06: The Arrival of Spring, depictions of spring in historic artifacts, Yamato Bunkakan (Gakuenmae Station), 10:00‒16:30, 630 yen.

• 04/19: Yuki Torita, famed Nara Violinist, fusion of classical and film music, DMG MORI Yamato Koriyama Castle Hall Small Hall, 14:00‒15:30.

• 04/05‒05/18: New Ways of Seeing Japanese Art, new perspective on ancient art, Nara Prefectural Museum of Art, 9:00‒17:00, 400 yen.

• 04/19‒06/15: Nara National Museum 130th Anniversary Special Exhibition, "Super National Treasures - The Brilliance of Prayer", a grand collection of national Buddhist treasures, 09:30‒17:00, 700 yen

Thank you for reading Thing To Do In Nara - April

 Things To Do In Nara

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Author: NARA Visitor Center & Inn