Kansai by month · 3–10°C
Kansai's quietest month, with plum blossoms and sake
February is the coldest stretch of the year, but it's usually dry and sunny, and by the end of the month the first plum blossoms bring a soft pink to shrine gardens. Kyoto's famous spots are the emptiest they will be all year.
It's ideal for travellers on a budget, photographers who want temples without the crowds, and anyone who loves sake, since the breweries are in full swing. The trade-off is simply the cold, especially early in the morning and in unheated temple halls.
Kitano Tenmangu shrine
About 1,500 plum trees flower at a shrine to the god of learning, weeks before the cherry blossoms. The plum festival, with an outdoor tea ceremony, is on 25 February.
Getting there · About 35 min by bus from Kyoto Station
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Temples and shrines across Kansai
On the day before spring in the old calendar, people throw roasted beans to chase out bad luck, shouting “demons out, luck in”. Many temples hold lively bean-throwing events.
Open in Google Maps ↗Temples without queues and the lowest prices of the year. Cold, but rarely snowy in the cities.
Willow-lined canals, old brewery storehouses and tasting rooms, a short walk from Fushimi Inari.
Kyoto Fushimi, around Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum
Each winter Kyoto opens temple halls, gardens and art that are usually closed to the public, for a limited time only.
Kyoto Temples across Kyoto (Kyoto Winter Special Opening)
In recent years Nara Park's temples and shrines have been lit with colored lights for a winter light-up in February.
Nara Nara Park, around Todai-ji and Kasuga Taisha
Department stores fill whole floors with chocolate from Japanese and European makers ahead of 14 February. It's fun even if you're only tasting.
Osaka Hankyu Umeda and other Umeda department stores
A classic winter trip: stroll between seven public baths in a yukata, then have a snow crab dinner. It's about 2.5 hours from Osaka by train.
Kansai Kinosaki Onsen, northern Hyogo