February in Nara starts with a number of festivals and events marking Setsubun, or the beginning of spring. Don’t miss the special event for this month—the Nara Rurie 2025 light-up. It runs for one week from February 8th and ends with fireworks celebrating 145 years of Nara Park! The end of February is plum blossom season, but there are a couple of bonsai plum tree exhibitions in the beginning of the month. If you’re into snow hiking, the Mount Munie Frost Festival lasts until February 16th.
Best things to do in Nara in February 2025:
Enjoy winter hiking around Mount Mitake (until 02/16)
Cast out devils on Setsubun (02\03)
Experience the magic of Nara Rurie (02/08‒14)
Bonsai plum trees in Koriyama and Saidaiji (02/02‒03/10)
Dress up Man'yo style in Asuka Village (02/08-09)
Best place for plum blossoms in Nara City (end mnth)
1. Fun in the Snow at Mount Miune Ice Festival
Date: Until Feb 16
Entry: Free public area
Location: Mitsue Town, Uda
Transport: Car or Nara Kotsu bus from Haibara Station
If you want to enjoy some frosty landscapes and snow hiking before the spring arrives, your last chance is until February 16 at Mount Miune. There are various activities happening around the base of the mountain, including snow hiking courses and the local hot spring. The location is Mitsue Town on the eastern Uda district of Nara. There is a special 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. There is also a shuttle bus to Mitsue Onsen (800 yen one-way).
2. Asuka Village Onda Matsuri
Date: Sun 02/02
Entry: Free
Time: 14:00
Location: Asuka Niimasu-jinjya Shrine
Transport: Nara Kotsu bus from Kashiharajingu-mae Station bound for Okadera. Get off at Asuka Daibutsumae bus stop.
Nara Prefecture Intangible Cultural Asset Video Archive
Fertility and rice-planting festivals are also a feature during the turning of the seasons. One such festival is the Onda Festival at Asuka Niimasu-jinjya Shrine. This unique festival is noted as one of the most unusual in Japan. Masked devils, typical of this season, spank the bottoms of revelers and there is even a raunchy fertility scene between a goblin and a man dressed as a woman. The shrine itself is known for its many genitalia-like rock formations. The historic Asuka-dera Temple is nearby, and along the same bus route is Oka-dera Temple.
3. Juko Tea Gathering - Naramachi Nigiwai-no-Ie
Date: 02/07/9 & 11
Entry: 3000 yen
Time: 11:00 to 16:00
Location: Nigiwai-no-Ie, Naramachi
Transport: 15 min walk from Kintentsu-Nara Station
The annual Juko Tea Gathering hosts a number of traditional tea ceremonies at various historic locations around Nara City. In old town, Naramachi, you can join tea ceremonies throughout the day at Nigiwai-no-Ie historic house. It includes traditional sweets, and you get to make your own matcha. This event also caters to speakers of English, Chinese, and French. Door arrivals are fine, or you can call for a reservation in English (050-1721-8957). There is a also a special tea ceremony on Sunday the 2nd dedicated to inbound tourists.
If you miss out, you can join our Wednesday Tea Ceremonies at the Nara Visitors Center and Inn.
4. Good Luck In! Bad Luck out!
Setsubun celebrates the day before new year on the old Japanese calendar. Throughout Japan, various customs, traditions and festivals mark this seasonal division. At homes, adults and children throw beans out the front door to expel evil or bad luck, and then throw more beans into the house to bring good luck in.
Here are some key places to enjoy light-ups and antics of costumed devils:
1. Kasuga-taisha Shrine On February 03, there is a light-up of 3 000 thousand lanterns inside the main precinct. Entry is 500 yen and the light up is from 17:30 to 20:30.
2. Nigatsu-do Temple At Nigatsu-do Temple, you can get lucky beans at a bean throwing ceremony at 14:00. From 18:00 is a lantern light-up. Nigatsu-do is a short walk up from Todai-ji Temple, and you can walk also along the ridge path to Kasuga-taisha Shrine.
5. Nara Rurie 2025
Date: 02/08 to 02/14
Entry: Free with select pay venues
Time: 18:00 to 21:00
Location: Kofuku-ji, Todai-ji, Kasuga-taisha, Nara Park
Transport: Walking distance from Kintetsu-Nara Station
Nara Rurie, or the lapis lazuli light-up, celebrates Nara as the birthplace of Buddhism in Japan. The blue-colored lapis lazuli is the only gemstone found among the seven treasures of Buddhism, noted for its special relationship to the Medicine Buddha or Yakushi Nyorai.
During this festival, various locations come to resemble a blue-hued Milky Way. A special illumination called ‘Tanabata Road’ will be held outside the Kasugano International Forum (IRAKA) on Sat 08 from 18:45‒20:45 (1000 yen entry). Outside the same location will be the Rurie Market (16:30‒20:30) and hot cocoa stalls from 17:30.
6. Plum Blossoms in Koriyama City and Saidaiji
Date: Early Feb into March
Entry: 700 yen
Time: 9:30 to 16:30
Location: Koriyama Castle ruins, Otemae Gate
Transport: Take a train from Nara-Kintetsu or JR Nara stations.
Sugawara Tenmangu Shrine
Koriyama City is holding its 22nd Yamato-Koriyama Plum Blossom Bonsai Exhibition. This exhibition features around 120 stunning bonsai plum trees. You can also view plum trees around the castle grounds. The opening day is February 01 until March 10. Other things to do in Koriyama include the Goldfish Museum and the impressive Nara Prefectural Museum of Folklore.
Near to Nara City, at Sugawara Tenmangu Shrine, you can view some130 varieties of potted plum blossom trees. It’s about a 12-min-walk from Amagatsuji Station—one stop from Yamato-Saidaiji. The exhibition runs from Feb. 02 to March 02, and entry is 500 yen.
Read our dedicated article on plum blossoms in Nara here.
7. Dress up à la Man'yo in Asuka
Date: Sat/Sun 02/08-09
Entry: Free
Time: 10:20‒12:30 / 13:30‒15:00
Location: Nara Prefectural Museum of Man'yo Culture
Transport: Take a Kintetsu train from Yamato-Saidaiji Station to Kashiharajingu-mae Station and change to the Yoshino Line for Asuka Station.
As part of an ongoing series of interactive activities, the Nigiwai Festival is highlighting Asuka’s Man'yo culture. You can dress up as a ‘Man'yo person’ of the Asuka Era in clothing styles of the 7th to 8th centuries. Feel free to take pics and to share them on your social media.
There are many things to do in Asuka if you want to make a day of it, including Asuka Ruby strawberry picking.
The above video is not associated with the Nigiwai Festival, but its a great example of what kinds of clothes people wore during the era.
8. Nara Park Turn 145 Years Old!
Date: Fri, 02/14
Entry: Free
Time: 19:00
Location: Nara Deer Park
Transport: 20-min walk from Kintetsu Nara Station
As part of this year’s Nara Rurie light-up, is a birthday bash for Nara Park. Nara Park was established in 1880 on Friday 14th, which is the last day of the Rurie light-up. To mark this special occasion and to celebrate Nara’s beloved deer park, there will be a small fireworks display from 19:00.
9. Plum Blossoms in Nara City
Date: End-Feb into March
Entry: Free public space
Location: Nara Park and Sagi-ike Lake
Transport: 20-min walk either direction from Nara -Kintetsu Station
If you want to see plum blossoms in Nara City, then one of the best locations is the Kataoka Bai-en plum grove in Nara Park with its hundred or so trees. You can also find a few plum blossom trees around Sagiike Pond and Ukimido Pavilion.
10. Plum Blossoms in the Nara Countryside
Date: End Feb. into March
Entry: Free public space
Location: Tsukigase Town and Gojo City
Transport: Bus and train from JR Nara Station
Nara Prefectures most famous plum blossom grove is the Tsukigase plum grove (月ヶ瀬梅林). You can get there by car or catch the 94 or 95 bus from either JR Nara or Kintetsu Station. The nearest stop to the tourist office is Tsukisebashi (月瀬橋) near the bridge.
Another large plum grove area, although more remote, is the Kanao (賀名生) Plum Grove in Gojo City. To get there, take the JR Wakayama Line to Gojo Station, and then a Nara Kotsu bus bound for Shingu (新宮), Totsukawa Onsen (十津川温泉), or Kido (城戸). Get off at Kanaowada Kitaguchi (賀名生和田北口). The ride is about 20 minutes.
What’s on in Nara! - Music and The Arts, February 2025
02/01‒04/06: Nara born Shinya Imansihi, ‘Unchartered territories’ Exhibition, Moment Contemporary Art Center.
01/18‒03/09: Beauty of Yamato, Nara Prefectural Museum of Art, 800 yen.
01/18‒02/16: Shinya Imanashi, ‘Breath in, and breath out’ Exhibition, Nara Prefectural Museum of Art. As above.
02/24: Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Yamatotaka Sanzaka Hall, 15:00‒17:00, 4000 yen. Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1.
02/24: Osaka City Music Orchestra, Yamato Koriyama Castle Hall, 13:30‒14:30, 1000 yen. Contemporary Japanese classical.
Ongoing Recommended Activities
As always, there are things to do in Nara that run throughout the month or for the length of a particular season. Recommended ongoing activities in February are:
Dorogawa Onsen Hot Springs and Tenkawa Village
Totsukawa Village and Onsen
Shika Yose or ‘calling of the deer’ is an interesting event that happens on Saturday, Sunday and on public holidays. Starting from 10:00 for 15 minutes, a French horn player serenades willing deer with licks from Beethoven's Pastoral or 6th Symphony. The location is Tobihino, which is a wide stretch of open grass along the main path to the Kasuga-taisga Shrine towards Man'yo Botanical Gardens‒look for the huge trees and open ground to the right. Keep your ears pricked!
Thank you for reading Things To Do in Nara February.
We aim to be as accurate as possible with the information we provide, but all information, times and dates are subject to change. Please refer to official sources.
Things To Do In Nara
Author: NARA Visitor Center & Inn
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