Kansai by month · 6–15°C
Winter lets go and the whole region wakes up
March is a month of change. Early on it can still feel like winter, but the days lengthen, plum blossoms finish, and by the last week the first cherry trees open. There's a lively sense of anticipation everywhere, and seasonal pink sweets appear in every shop.
It's a great month for travellers who want spring atmosphere without full cherry-blossom prices, and for sumo fans. The trade-offs: the weather swings between mild and chilly, late March gets busy with Japanese school holidays, and cherry timing is never guaranteed.
Todai-ji temple
Every evening, monks swing huge burning torches along the balcony of Nigatsu-do hall, showering sparks over the crowd. The ritual has been held every year for more than 1,250 years.
Getting there · About 40 min from Namba on the Kintetsu line
Open in Google Maps ↗Osaka and Kyoto
Blossoms usually open in the last week of March. Forecasts are published from February, so you can check before you book.
Japanese schools break up in late March, so trains and popular sights get busier.
One of the year's six grand tournaments is held in Osaka in March. Afternoon same-day tickets may be possible, but advance booking is much safer.
Osaka Edion Arena Osaka (Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium), Namba
For about ten days in March, Kyoto lines the stone lanes between Shoren-in and Kiyomizu-dera with lanterns and lights up temples at night.
Kyoto Higashiyama, from Shoren-in to Kiyomizu-dera
Osaka Castle's plum grove has over a hundred varieties, and some bloom into early March.
Osaka Osaka Castle Park plum grove
Early-blooming trees along Kyoto's Takase river and Kiyamachi-dori often open in the last week of March, beautiful after dark.
Kyoto Kiyamachi-dori and the Takase river
Still pleasantly quiet before April. The lantern-lined paths of Kasuga Taisha are lovely in soft spring light.
Nara Nara Park and Kasuga Taisha
