Kyoto in March is spectacular – there’s the blooming of the plum blossoms and, later, the cherry blossoms, both celebrated with “hanami”, karaoke and sake-soaked flower-viewing parties. There’s also the stunning Higashiyama Hanatoro, where the Higashiyama district is lit by lanterns to dramatic effect.
10 January-18 March 2025
Event: To-ji Temple Pagoda Winter Special Opening
Location: To-ji Temple
Time: 8:30am-5:00pm (enter by 4:30pm)
Admission: ¥800
Website: Official website (Japanese)
It’s not normally possible to enter the beautiful pagoda at To-ji Temple, but during this special opening, you can enter the first (ground) floor of the pagoda to examine some of the fine Buddhist images contained therein.
1-23 March 2025
Event: Feature Exhibition: Celebrating the Japanese Doll Festival
Location: Kyoto National Museum, Heisei Chishinkan Wing (The Collections Galleries), Galleries 1F-2
Time: 9:30am–5:00pm (Last entry 4:30pm); 9:30am–8:00pm on Fridays; closed Mondays
Admission: ¥700
Website: Official website (Japanese)
Held to celebrate the Hina Matsuri Festival on March 3, when families display traditional Japanese dolls, this special exhibition traces the evolution of hina dolls across the centuries. This is a must for fans of Japanese traditional dolls.
1 To End March 2025
Event: Baien Opening
Location: Kitano Tenmangu
Time: 10:00am-4:00pm
Admission: Plum Garden ¥800
Website: Official website (English)
In mid- to late February, the plum blossoms start to bloom in Kyoto, which marks the real beginning of spring in Kyoto (preceding the cherry blossoms by a few weeks). Kyotoites, who are intensely conscious of the seasons, welcome the arrival of the plum blossoms with something approaching religious fervor (and you’ll see plum motifs of sweets in all the shops). Starting on 9 February, Kitano Tenman-gu Shrine opens its famous plum garden and crowds descend on it to gaze in wonder at the pink and white blossoms and enjoy their bubble-gum-like fragrance. It’s a nice way to mark the coming of spring in Kyoto and the adjoining shrine is always lovely.
2 March 2025
Event: “Garakuta-ichi,” To-ji Temple Flea Market
Location: To-ji Temple
Time: 7:00am-4:30pm
Admission: Free
If you can’t be in town for Kyoto’s two famous flea markets (Kobo-san Market and Tenjin-san Market), this is a good choice. Like the Kobo-san Market, it’s held on the grounds of To-ji Temple. You’ll usually find a good selection of antiques at this market.
15 March 2025
Event: Chion-ji Temple Handicraft Market
Location: Hyakumanben Chion-ji Temple
Time: 8:00am-4:00pm
Admission: Free
Website: Official website (Japanese)
Chion-ji Temple hosts a fabulous handicraft market on the 15th of every month. It’s a great place to pick up unique, locally made souvenirs during your travels to Kyoto. It’s also a good chance to see Japan’s alternative community and local expats.
15 March-13 April 2025 (To be confirmed)
Event: Night Sakura Illumination
Location: To-ji Temple
Time: 5:30pm-9:30pm (enter by 9:00pm)
Admission: ¥1000
Website: Official website (Japanese)
To-ji Temple looks magical in the evening when everything is lit up, including the towering pagoda for which the temple is famous. It’s a nice chance to check out this wonderful and historical temple.
20 March-2 April 2025
Event: Kitano Odori
Location: Kamishichiken Kaburenjo
Time: Starts at 2:00pm and 4:30pm
Admission: ¥6000 (¥7000 with tea ceremony)
Website: Official website (Japanese)
Each of Kyoto’s five geisha districts holds a major series of dance performances once a year. Four of these happen in the spring. This one, held by the geisha houses of the northern Kamishichiken Geisha District, is very special. The scale is rather intimate and the dance is always superb. It doesn’t necessarily feel like stepping back in time, it feels more like stepping out of time. Some of Kyoto’s specialist tour companies and concierges at high-end hotels and ryokan may be able to source you tickets for these and the other geisha dances. Check out our Kyoto Geisha page for more details on Kyoto’s geisha.
20 March-25 May 2025
Event: Spring Special Opening
Location: To-ji Temple
Time: 9:00am-5:00pm (enter by 4:30pm)
Admission: ¥500
Website: Official website (Japanese)
It’s not normally possible to enter the beautiful pagoda at To-ji Temple, but during this special opening, you can enter the first (ground) floor of the pagoda to examine some of the fine Buddhist images contained therein.
21 March 2025
Event: Kobo-san Market
Location: To-ji Temple
Time: 8:00am-4:00pm
Admission: Free
Named for Japan’s most revered Buddhist Saint, Kobo Daishi, this market is one of the two best markets in town (the other being the Tenjin-san Market, held on the 25th). You’ll find all manner of goods on sale here including used kimono, antiques, ceramics, food, bric-a-brac, old postcards and books, and assorted Japanalia. In addition to being a great market, this is also a chance to see Kyoto’s foreign community, which turns out in full, along with hordes of locals.
Kyoto Higashiyama Hanatouro
22 March-7 April 2025 (To be confirmed)
Event: Higashiyama Hanatoro
Location: Southern Higashiyama district
Time: 6:00pm–9:30pm
Admission: Free
Website: Official website (Japanese)
Higashiyama’s Hanatoro event is one of the cooler events of the Kyoto year. It’s held in the Southern Higashiyama sightseeing district. Lanterns are placed along the lanes and roads of the area, all converging on Maruyama-koen Park, where various light sculptures and installations are on display (provided by Kyoto art school students). The effect is utterly magical. There is no better time for a stroll in this area. Don’t miss it if you’re in town.
Last year, the organisers announced dates on their website one day before the event started. The dates above are tentative, based on last year’s event.
25 March 2025
Event: Tenjin-san Market (Hatsu Tenjin)
Location: Kitano Tenmangu
Time: 6:00am-4:00pm
Admission: Free
Like the Kobo-san market (see previous), this is one of the two best markets in town. It’s named for Sugawara no Michizane, a 9th-century poet and scholar who is the patron saint of academic pursuits in Japan. Known colloquially as Tenjin-san, the market is a great excuse to visit this shrine and see people, especially school children, rubbing the two stone bulls in front of the main hall of the shrine (doing so is said to make one more intelligent).
As with the Kobo-san market, this is a great chance to buy used kimono, ceramics, antiques and bric-a-brac, along with food and drink. You’ll also rub shoulders with an interesting assortment of expats and locals.
Kiyomizu-dera temple
25 March-3 April 2025
Event: Night Time Illumination
Location: Kiyomizu-dera Temple
Time: 6:00am-9:30pm
Admission: ¥500
Website: Official website (English)
Commanding a magnificent position on a hill in the Higashiyama District, overlooking the entire basin of Kyoto, no temple is more spectacular after dark than Kiyomizu-dera Temple. A pilgrimage here to enjoy the night time illumination is not to be missed!
28-30 March 2025
Event: Kyoto Grand Antique Fair
Location: Kyoto Pulse Plaza
Time: 10:00am-5:00pm (finish at 4:00pm on the last day)
Admission: Free
Website: Official website (English)
This is the mother of all Japanese antiques and art fairs. Held at the Pulse Plaza event hall in the southern Kyoto suburb of Takeda (on the Karasuma subway line), it brings together some of the country’s best dealers and eager crowds of collectors. If you’re in the market for Japanese arts, crafts, collectibles and crafts, don’t miss this. But, don’t expect bargains – this is no flea market! On the days of the fair, there is a free shuttle bus from outside Takeda Station to the event hall. See our Pulse Plaza Antiques Grand Fair page for more details.
28 March-18 May 2025
Event: Spring Special Opening
Location: Daitoku-ji Temple, Oubai-in
Time: 10:00am-4:00pm
Admission: ¥800
Website: Official website (Japanese)
Daitoku-ji Temple is actually a collection of subtemples, a walled-in world of miniature Zen paradises. The eponymous Daitoku-ji itself is very fine and is open all year round. However, if you’re here in April or the first half of May, make tracks for the Daitoku-ji complex because this is your chance to see what is perhaps the most spectacular subtemple there: Obai-in (sometimes written as Oubai-in in English). It’s only opened briefly in the spring and fall each year. It’s a collection of fine halls, superb karesansui (Zen gardens) and beautiful vistas from each room and window. Don’t miss it. See also Michael Lambe’s detailed Exploring Daitoku-ji article which guides you around the highlights of the complex.
Maruyama Park during the cherry blossom festival
End March To Mid-April 2025
Event: Cherry Blossom Night Time Illumination
Location: Maruyama Koen Park
Time: After sunset-midnight
Admission: Free
Maruyama-koen Park is cherry blossom central in Kyoto. Here is where you go to find the biggest crowds, the wildest hanami (cherry blossom viewing) parties and some of the best trees in the city. It gets pretty rowdy here on weekend evenings when the blossoms are in full bloom, but it’s a pretty tame crowd. If the crowd gets to be too much, you can see refuge at the higher eastern end of the park, overlooking the madness below. If you can’t be bothered to fix up your own hanami party, just grab a seat on one of the tables in the center of the park – you just have to buy some drinks and snacks from the nearby vendors to claim a place.
Kyoto Events Month By Month 2025
- Kyoto Events January 2025
- Kyoto Events February 2025
- Kyoto Events March 2025
- Kyoto Events April 2025
- Kyoto Events May 2025
- Kyoto Events June 2025
- Kyoto Events July 2025
- Kyoto Events August 2025
- Kyoto Events September 2025
- Kyoto Events October 2025
- Kyoto Events November 2025
- Kyoto Events December 2025
Kyoto Vacation Checklist
- For all the essentials in a brief overview, see my First Time In Kyoto guide
- Check Kyoto accommodation availability on Booking.com and Agoda.com - often you can book with no upfront payment and free cancellation
- You can buy shinkansen (bullet train) tickets online from Klook - popular routes include Tokyo to Kyoto, Kyoto to Osaka and Kyoto to Tokyo
- Need tips on where to stay? See my one page guide Where To Stay In Kyoto
- See my comprehensive Packing List For Japan
- You can buy an eSim to activate in Japan or buy a data-only SIM card online for collection when you arrive at Tokyo's Narita or Haneda Airports or Kansai International Airport. You can also rent an unlimited data pocket wifi router
- Compare Japan flight prices and timings to find the best deals
- If you're making frequent train journeys during your visit, you might save money with Japan Rail Pass – see if it's worth it for you
- World Nomads offers simple and flexible travel insurance. Buy at home or while traveling and claim online from anywhere in the world
- Do you want help planning your trip? Chris Rowthorn and his team of Japan experts at Japan Travel Consulting can help
