Gyoki-san Grand Thanksgiving Festival 2026

Dates & time: November 15, 2026 (Sun) 11:00–15:30 (planned)
Price & booking: Free admission (hands-on booths are also free) No sign-up is needed for the festival. The commemorative symposium (capacity 100, free) requires advance registration via the official website.
Venue & access: Tobihino Field in the Kasuga Taisha Shrine grounds and other venues From JR or Kintetsu Nara Station, take the city loop bus to Kasuga Taisha Omotesando.

There are 7 car parks within a 12-minute walk of Tobihino Field in the Kasuga Taisha Shrine grounds and other venues, and 2 public restrooms within 8 minutes. The map shows each with its walking time.

Facility data comes from OpenStreetMap. It does not include opening hours, fees or availability.

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Why You Should Visit

A festival honoring Gyoki, the Nara-period monk who worked alongside ordinary people to build bridges and reservoirs and helped raise the Great Buddha of Todaiji. It centers on Tobihino Field in the grounds of Kasuga Taisha, and the 2026 theme is "KOME & PEACE", tracing a line from rice farming to the Great Buddha and the building of the nation. Free hands-on classes in temple carpentry and civil engineering, a food court using rice linked to Gyoki and a same-day symposium are on the program, with Kasuga Taisha, Todaiji, Kikoji and Toshodaiji among the special partners. An easy add-on to a walk through Nara Park, and a way to get to know a figure closely tied to Nara's history.

NOTE

Hands-on & stage (Tobihino)

Temple carpentry class led by master carpenters Ogawa Mitsuo and Maeda Seiki (Ikaruga Kosha) and Hirakawa Yoshihisa (Hirakawa Komuten) (free)
Civil engineering class: learn about flood control on the Yamato River / build a brick bridge (MLIT Kinki Regional Development Bureau, free)
Hands-on metal casting (limited places, free)
Karauchi, a Nara-period board game (Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, free)
Kite flying, Gyoki picture-story and puppet shows, osunafumi pilgrimage walk
"Everyone's Square" gathering places linked to Gyoki from across Japan
Open-air live show by Hioki Shin and Kawashima Shoma (including the theme song "Tsunagu Sennen")

Open-air food court

New-crop rice grown with water from Sayama, Kumeda and Koya ponds, all linked to Gyoki, served as rice balls, chicken curry, oyakodon, gohei-mochi and more, plus a new Gyoki hotpot
Vendor details are updated on the official site

Pilgrimage to the Great Buddha

Walk to Todaiji together with "Gyoki". How to join is explained at the information desk on the day

Symposium for the 1,358th anniversary of Gyoki's birth

10:00–15:00, Conference Room, Nara Kasugano International Forum IRAKA
Lecture on Gyoki, regional seminar, 6th photo contest award ceremony and more

* Inquiries: contact form

History Heritage Events Festivals Parks Half Day

出典: 行基さん大感謝祭公式サイト

Kobe · Gluten-free

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FAQ

Is there a fee?

Admission is free, and hands-on booths such as the temple carpentry and civil engineering classes are free too.

Does it go ahead in the rain?

It goes ahead in the rain and is cancelled only in stormy weather.

What booths and events will there be?

Temple carpentry and civil engineering classes, hands-on casting, a Nara-period board game, kite flying, picture-story and puppet shows, an open-air live show and a food court using rice linked to Gyoki.