If you’re a foodie and also love great beer, then October is the month to be in Nara City. On the first weekend is the Nara Craft Beer Festival. From the second weekend, or from the 12th through to the 20th, is the C’festa Nara Food Festival featuring top chefs, acclaimed restaurants, fresh produce, and locally made foodstuffs from around Nara Prefecture. There will also be a big outdoor stone pizza oven! Other exciting events are festivals in the towns of Yoshino, Asuka, and Soni Village. For nature lovers, delight in blooming cosmos flowers, watch Nara’s annual deer horn cutting ceremonies, or take a leisurely hike up Wakakusayama Mountain.
Cheers to Nara Craft Beer Festival - 5th and 6th Oct
The perfect way to kick-start your October in Nara is the Nara Craft Beer Festival. It takes place on the first Saturday and Sunday of the month. The place is Noborioji Park, just behind Kohfuku-ji Temple where you will see the tents pitched. A ticket system will be implemented for food and drinks. You will receive your own dedicated plastic cup for the booze, but please return food plates to their respective stall. You can see a preview of beers on the craft beer website. Last drink orders are 16:30.
Date: Sat, Oct 5 and Sun, Oct 6
Time: 10:00 to 17:00
Location: Noborioji Park (Nara Park)
Fee: No cover charge.
Top Nosh at C’festa Nara Food Festival 2024 - Oct 12‒20
C’festa has grown into Nara Prefecture’s largest food festival since its inception in 2009. The location is Noborioji Park situated between Kofuku-ji Temple and the Nara National Museum. The event lasts from Saturday, October 12th to Sunday, October 20th.
This food extravaganza features restaurateurs and chefs from some of Nara’s top chefs, acclaimed restaurants, popular cuisines, and local foodstuffs. You can check information on the C’festa website (mostly in Japanese), but here is a breakdown of the key highlights:
The Chef’s Kitchen stall (シェフズキッチン) is the key attraction, featuring a different chef each day. Meal prices vary from around 2,500 to 3,800 yen with limited total servings, so get there early!
Premium Events (プレミアムイベント) happen only on the weekend dates and public holidays. The first weekend (Sat12/Sun13) features ramen dishes from around the prefecture; the Mon 14 public holiday is dedicated to breads and sweets; Fri 18 and Sat 19 features Nara sake, and the last day, Sun 20, is for curry lovers.
The Blue Sky Stone Pizza oven will be turning out offerings from some of Nara’s top pizzerias, for every day of the festival!
To add to the festivities and variety, you will be able to find a number of cute food trucks parked in different locations.
Festa Food Stalls and Marche (シェフェスタ屋台＆マルシェ) are various food stalls and market stalls where you can sample and/or buy various foods and other souvenirs from around Nara Prefecture.
C’fest for Families will be an area with activities and foods for young children. The location is nearby on the opposite side of the main road at the Nara Park Bus Terminal and the Prefectural Office area. There, your young family can enjoy workshops, snacks, light meals, and other attractions for young children.
Here's a short livestream we did in 2022.
Yoshino 20 Art Festival
Yoshino 20 is a host of events and festivities celebrating 20 years since Yoshino Town became as a World Heritage Site. Events center around Kinpusen-ji Temple and Yoshino’s deep history of Shugendo, or ascetic mountain practices. There will be special Noh performances, artifact exhibitions, nighttime temple viewings, as well as art and music events. You can see the Yoshino 20 website for more details in English. Tickets for the Noh performance on Oct 11 must be purchased in advance. Music and art events run through until Nov 4, but key performances and exhibitions are from Oct 11th to 13th. You can catch some early Yoshino autumn leaves too!
Date: Oct 11,12,13, and to Nov 4
Time: Morning till early evening
Location: Yoshino Town
Fee: Select fees may apply
Ogawa Festival in Yoshino District - Oct 13
If you want to go deeper into 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 Niu-Kawakami Shrine (Middle shrine) This shrine in eastern Yoshino has a rich and esteemed history. The float parade is around 1:00 pm. The best way there is by private transportation. However, there is a direct bus service on the festival day. The bus leaves Kintetsu Haibara Station at 10 a.m., and the return bus leaves at 4 p.m.
Date: Sun, Oct 13
Time: 09:00 to late afternoon
Location: 968 Omura, Higashiyoshino, Yoshino District
Fee: None
Dress Up at the Manyo Nigiwai Festival in Asuka
The Complex of Manyo Culture is a large museum and educational space in Asuka Village dedicated to preserving Asuka Period art, artifacts, and literatures. From September to the end of the year, there are a number of special events taking place, including for October:
Sat, Oct 5 and Sun, Oct 6 between the times of 10:30 to 12:00 and 13:30 to 15:00 you can have fun dressing up in Manyo period style costumes.
Mon, Oct 14 on the Sports Day public holiday, the Nara Philharmonic will play a program of English compositions by Elgar, Holst, and popular Beetles melodies. The time is 14:00 to 15:00, seats are free.
Watch Nara’s Deer Antler Cutting Ceremony
In Autumn, Nara’s male deer start to get a little ‘heated’, and in order to minimize ‘incidents of aggression’, many of the friskier deer get their horns snipped. The rites and ceremonies of ‘tsunokiri’ go back some 350 years. This tradition also helps to prevent excessive damage to trees and other foliage. The event happens every year on the October ‘Sports Day’ public holiday weekend.
Date: Oct 12,13,14
Time: 11:45〜15:00, last admission 14:30
Location: Rokuen Deer Enclosure
Fee: 1,000 yen.
Frolic Up Wakakusayama
Mount Wakakusa is open this season for those who want to climb up its slopey bank. Although mostly an attraction for young children, especially the lower part, you can actually climb the path right to the upper peak with splendid views of Nara City. During this season, you may be able to catch the golden hue of ripening rice fields dotted around the city. Entry from below is only 150 yen.
Alternatively, you can hike around the back to the top along the Kasugayama Hiking Trail, then walk the shortcut down and exit the turnstiles at the bottom. To get onto the path, you walk along the mountain base road towards Kasuga-taisha Shrine, head down the stairs and turn left onto the road which leads past some restaurants and then into the forest.
Cosmos Flowers a Bloom
Just before the Autumn really starts to set in, there are some excellent places to catch blooming cosmos flowers. These popular and 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 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. The temple entry is 700 yen (September 21 - November 10 during cosmos season) and there are tens of thousands of blooms in multiple varieties to see.
To get to the Fujiwara Palace Site flower fields, there is a community bus from Yamato Yagi Station (Stand 1) and you alight at the first stop, Kashihara-shi-fujiwarakyo-shiryoshitsu-mae. Alternatively, it’s a 30-min-walk from either JR Unebi or Kintetsu Miminashi stations.
Hoki-ji Temple can be accessed from Kintetsu Koriyama Station riding the bus bound for Horyuji-mae, and you get off at Hokiji-mae bus stop. Entry is 300 yen.
Here's a live stream from Hannya-ji Temple from a couple of years ago.
Special Exhibitions in Nara for October
There are a number of special viewing opportunities around Nara of historic objects and artifacts in either museums or temples.
Kairyu-ji Temple will have a special viewing of their eleven-headed Avalokteshvara. The event lasts from Oct 25 to Nov 11 and entry is 600 yen. It’s a 20-min-walk from Kintetsu Shin-omiya Station, or there’s a bus from Kintetsu Nara Station.
Fukuchi-in Temple will also display their eleven-headed Kannon from Oct 17 to 23 and entry is likewise 600 yen. The temple is walking distance to the Garden of the Former Daijo-in Temple.
Kasuga-taisha Shrine Museum, attached to the Kasugataisha Shrine, has a special Autumn exhibition of lacquerware. It runs from Oct 16 into Dec 13. Entry is 500 yen.
Kohfuku-ji Chukondo, or the reconstructed Central Golden Hall of Kohfuku-ji Temple, is open all month for a special public viewing of the interior. You can see the presiding image of Gautama Buddha and national treasures from nearby Nanen-do Temple. Entry is 300 yen, or you can get a combined ticket for the nearby National Treasure Hall Museum.
Soni Village Lion Dancing - Oct 13
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 13 (Sunday), the Kodofusa-jinja Shrine hosts a rare cultural heritage Shishi-mai 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 be suitable for most tourists.
Date: Oct 13
Time: 08:00 to 11:30
Location: Kodofusa-jinja Shrine, Soni Village.
Catch Some Early Autumn Leaves
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 Festivities in October
The Nara for Culture (Japanese) musical arts festival runs until the end of December 2024. For October, there is a delightful selection of (mostly free) classical music events happening around Nara. For regular weekend jazz and blues evening sessions, check out the schedule for the Nara Blue Note. The Heijo Palace site also has a couple of free daytime variety shows or ‘Diva Concerts’ on Oct 5 and 6 from 12:30‒14:50.
Oct 6: Nara Prefecture Junior Orchestra, Kashihara Cultural Center, Beethoven, Purcell, Mozart, Khachaturian - 14:00, free with reservation.
Oct, 12: 11th Aoniyoshi Music Competition Nara 2024 Piano Finals, Ikaruga Hall - 10:00‒20:30, free entry.
Oct, 19: Parfem Musik Academy (famed female ensemble), ‘Autumn A Cappella Concert’, Nara Park Bus Terminal Hall, 14:00‒15:30, free entry.
Oct, 20: Kana Wa Tonosato, Contemporary Classical, Ikaruga Hall, 14:00‒15:30, 1,000 or 1,300 yen.
Oct, 26: 11th Aoniyoshi Music Competition Nara 2024 String Finals, Ikaruga Hall - 10:00‒20:30, free entry.
Oct, 27: 11th Aoniyoshi Music Competition Nara 2024 Vocal and Wind Finals, Ikaruga Hall - 10:00‒20:30, free entry.
Thank you for reading Things To Do in Nara - October 2024 Events.
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Author: NARA Visitor Center & Inn