Events in Nara 2026

Nara was Japan's first permanent capital and its event calendar reflects a depth of history that even Kyoto struggles to match. The great temples of Todaiji and Kofukuji host ceremonies conducted in essentially the same form for over twelve hundred years. The Omizutori fire ceremony at Todaiji involves monks swinging enormous flaming torches over a crowd of thousands — a ritual of purification not interrupted in over 1,270 years. Outside the central deer park, Nara prefecture spreads south through the Yoshino mountains and the sacred Kumano region, holding some of Japan's most ancient and least-visited religious ceremonies.