At a Glance
Compared to this destination's peak season
Kyoto in March — Travel Guide
By Harry Nara · Last updated
Kyoto in March offers some of the best conditions of the year, ideal for spring photographers & couples. Expect temperatures of 4–14°C, around 11 days of rain, and medium crowds across the city. Daily budgets typically land around ¥9,000–16,000 for mid-range travellers. Book three to four weeks ahead for the best mid-range rates and the widest hotel choice.
Contents14 sections
#Weather in Kyoto in March
Kyoto in March averages 4–14°C (39–57°F) with around 11 days of rain, and crowds are medium.
| Measure | March in Kyoto |
|---|---|
| Daytime high | About 14°C / 57°F |
| Overnight low | About 4°C / 39°F |
| Wet days | About 11 |
| Sunset | 5:52pm on the 1st, 6:17pm by the 31st |
| Cherry blossom | Average first bloom 26 March, full bloom 4 April |
| Crowds | Quiet until the last week, then rising fast |
Figures are Japan Meteorological Agency 1991–2020 normals for Kyoto, including the average cherry-blossom dates observed at the Kyoto Local Meteorological Office.
What that actually means for your trip:
- March is a month of waiting. The first half is still cool and quiet; the plum blossom fades, the weeping cherries start in the last third, and the main somei-yoshino cherries open, on average, on 26 March, with full bloom about nine days later.
- The averages move. In a warm year the first blossoms open a week early, in a cold one a week late. The forecasts published from January onwards are the thing to watch, not this table.
- It is wetter than February. Showers are more frequent, though rarely heavy, and a cold morning near freezing can still follow a mild afternoon.
- Pollen arrives. Japanese cedar pollen peaks in March, and visitors with hay fever often feel it; pharmacies sell masks and remedies.
Is March a good time to visit Kyoto? Yes, especially the first three weeks. The city is still calm, hotel rates have not yet climbed to sakura levels, and the season's first flowers are out. The gamble is the last week: come then and you may catch the first cherries, or you may arrive a few days before them with prices already rising. If the cherries are the point, plan for the turn of March and April and watch the forecast.
#What to Do in Kyoto in March
Hinamatsuri and the floating dolls (3 March)
On 3 March, the Doll Festival, Shimogamo Shrine holds nagashi-bina: people in Heian-period dress set small paper dolls on round straw rafts and float them down the shrine's stream, carrying away bad luck from the children of the house. The ceremony is in the late morning, around 11am, and visitors can float a doll themselves afterwards. In 2027 the 3rd is a Wednesday.
Waiting for the cherries
Kyoto's cherry season does not start all at once.
- Early March: the last plum blossom at Kitano Tenmangu and in the Imperial Palace grounds.
- Mid-March: early varieties such as kawazu-zakura, deep pink and early-flowering, in a few gardens.
- Late March: the weeping cherries, shidare-zakura, which open before the main trees, at temples such as Daigo-ji and in Maruyama Park.
- From about 26 March: the somei-yoshino, the classic pale cherry, along the Philosopher's Path, the Kamo River and at Heian Shrine, reaching full bloom in early April.
The Spring Grand Sumo in Osaka (14–28 March 2027)
The Haru Basho, the spring tournament, runs from 14 to 28 March 2027 at the Edion Arena Osaka in Namba, about an hour from Kyoto by train. Tickets go on sale in early February and the best seats sell out fast, but same-day tickets for the back rows are released each morning. The early bouts start in the morning; the top division wrestles from late afternoon.
Higashiyama without the crowds
The stone lanes of Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka between Yasaka Shrine and Kiyomizu-dera are calm in early March in a way they will not be again until winter. Walk them early in the morning, before the shops open, or at dusk.
The Higashiyama Hanatouro lantern festival that older guides mention ended in 2022 and has not returned in March.
Arashiyama before the crowds
In the west of the city, Arashiyama is still manageable in early March.
Walk through the bamboo grove first thing in the morning, then visit Tenryu-ji, whose garden borrows the hills behind it as scenery, and cross the Togetsukyo Bridge over the river. By the end of the month the cherries along the river and on the hillsides begin to open, and the crowds come with them.
Night openings
As the cherries open, several temples hold special evening openings with their gardens and blossom lit, usually from the last days of March into early April. Kiyomizu-dera has run a spring night viewing in most recent years. The dates depend on each year's bloom and are announced in winter, so check the temples' own sites before you go.
Solo Travellers
Walk Fushimi Inari at dawn, when the vermilion gates are empty, and then the Philosopher's Path in the afternoon as the first cherries open towards the end of the month.
The Kyoto National Museum is quiet in early March.
Couples
Book a kaiseki dinner as the menus turn to spring: sea bream, bamboo shoots and the first wild vegetables.
Walk the lanes of Gion Shirakawa after dark, where the willows and early cherries lean over the canal.
Families
The Kyoto Railway Museum and the Kyoto Aquarium fill a wet day.
In late March, Maruyama Park and the Kamo River banks are where families picnic under the first blossom; the Imperial Palace grounds are free and big enough for children to run.
Groups
A day at the sumo in Osaka is a natural group outing, with Dotonbori for dinner afterwards. In Kyoto, a hanami picnic under the early cherries at the end of the month, with bento and drinks from a department store food hall, is the most Japanese way to spend a group afternoon.
#Getting Around
From Kansai International, the JR Haruka reaches Kyoto Station in about 75 minutes; from Tokyo, the Nozomi shinkansen takes about 2 hours 15 minutes. Book trains early for the last week of March and the first of April, when cherry-season demand fills them.
A city bus ride is ¥230 and the Subway and Bus 1-Day Pass ¥1,100. Kyoto's planned visitor bus fare, about ¥350–400, is due during fiscal 2027, which starts on 1 April, so a March 2027 trip still pays ¥230. In the last week of March the buses to Higashiyama and Arashiyama fill up; the subway and the Keihan and Randen lines are the better choice.
#Budget & Costs
| Travel style | Per day | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | ¥9,000–12,000 | Hostel or capsule, set lunches, bus pass, two temples |
| Mid-range | ¥17,000–28,000 | Business hotel, restaurant meals, a few paid sights |
| Luxury | ¥50,000+ | Ryokan with kaiseki dinner, taxis, private guiding |
Rates are close to winter levels for the first three weeks, then climb steeply into the cherry season from the last week of March.
Costs worth knowing:
| What | Price |
|---|---|
| City bus, single ride | ¥230 |
| Subway and Bus 1-Day Pass | ¥1,100 |
| Kinkaku-ji | ¥500 |
| Accommodation tax, room ¥6,000–20,000 | ¥400 per person per night |
| Accommodation tax, room ¥20,000–50,000 | ¥1,000 per person per night |
- The accommodation tax scales with the room rate, from ¥200 to ¥10,000 per person per night since 1 March 2026, on top of the room.
- Book the last week of March early; it prices like April.
- The bus fare change is planned for fiscal 2027, from April, after a March trip.
#Food & Dining
March is the start of spring on the Kyoto table:
- Sea bream and bamboo shoots, the first spring ingredients in kaiseki.
- Sakura mochi, pink rice cakes wrapped in a salted cherry leaf, in every confectioner's window from late February.
- Hishi mochi, the three-coloured diamond-shaped rice cakes of the Doll Festival.
- Yudofu, still welcome on a cool evening, at the restaurants around Nanzen-ji and in Arashiyama.
For a grazing lunch, Nishiki Market sells yuba, rolled omelette and pickles; Honke Owariya serves classic soba.
Department store food halls at Daimaru and Takashimaya are the best place to assemble a picnic.
#Nightlife
Kyoto's evenings are small and quiet.
Pontocho and Kiyamachi along the Takase canal hold dozens of izakayas and bars, and the longer evenings of late March make them more pleasant.
Sake Bar Yoramu on Nijo-dori and Bar Rocking Chair are among the city's best bars. Most restaurants stop seating by about 9pm.
#Shopping
From mid-March the shops fill with cherry-blossom designs: wagashi, ceramics, tenugui cloths and stationery.
Nishiki Market, Aritsugu for knives, Ippodo on Teramachi for tea and the covered Teramachi and Shinkyogoku arcades are good on a wet day.
#Culture & Etiquette
- Respect the private lanes of Gion. Photography has been banned on its private streets since 2019, and some alleys have been closed to walkers since April 2024, with fines of up to ¥10,000 posted.
- Never follow or photograph geiko and maiko in the street.
- At hanami, take your rubbish home and keep music low.
- Do not shake the cherry branches for photographs, or pick the blossom.
- Do not tip.
#Essential Local Phrases
| Japanese | Romaji | When you'll use it |
|---|---|---|
| 桜 | Sakura | Cherry blossom |
| 開花 | Kaika | First bloom |
| 満開 | Mankai | Full bloom |
| 花見 | Hanami | Blossom viewing |
| ひな祭り | Hinamatsuri | The Doll Festival |
| 花粉症 | Kafunshō | Hay fever |
| きれいですね | Kirei desu ne | It's beautiful, isn't it |
| ありがとうございます | Arigatou gozaimasu | Thank you |
#Packing List
- Layers for cold mornings and mild afternoons
- A warm jacket for the evenings
- A light waterproof jacket or a folding umbrella
- Comfortable walking shoes that slip off at temples
- Hay-fever medicine if you are sensitive to pollen
- A picnic sheet if you plan a hanami at the end of the month
- A power bank
- An IC card for buses and trains
#Backup Plans
If it rains: the Kyoto National Museum, Sanjusangen-do's hall of a thousand statues and Nijo Castle's Ninomaru Palace are all under cover.
If the cherries are late: go to Daigo-ji or Maruyama Park for the weeping cherries, which open first, or to the plum gardens still in flower.
If the cherry crowds are too much: visit the big spots at dawn, or head for Ohara and the temples of the northern hills, where the blossom comes later and the crowds are thinner.
#Safety & Health
Kyoto is one of the safest cities you will visit. March's risks are minor: wet temple steps and wooden verandas, cold evenings after mild days, and cedar pollen, which can be miserable for hay-fever sufferers. In the last week of March the cherry spots get crowded; keep to the paths and give way to older visitors. Tap water is safe.
Emergency: 110 for police, 119 for fire and ambulance.
#What's New for March 2027
- The Spring Grand Sumo in Osaka runs from 14 to 28 March 2027
- Nagashi-bina at Shimogamo Shrine is on Wednesday 3 March
- The average first cherry blossom in Kyoto is 26 March, with full bloom around 4 April
- The Higashiyama Hanatouro lantern festival ended in 2022
- The Eizan cable car reopens for the season around the third week of March
#About This Guide
By Harry Nara (founder of WhenToWander), updated October 2026 for March 2027. Climate figures are Japan Meteorological Agency 1991–2020 normals. Dates and prices verified against:
- Kyoto Local Meteorological Office for the average cherry-blossom dates
- Japan Sumo Association for the 2027 tournament schedule
- Shimogamo Shrine for nagashi-bina
- Keihan for the Eizan cable car's winter closure
- City of Kyoto for the accommodation tax
For the season ahead, see Kyoto in spring, and for full bloom, Kyoto in April.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Are cherry blossoms blooming in Kyoto in March?
Early cherry varieties (kawazu-zakura) begin blooming in mid-March, but the iconic Yoshino cherries usually peak in the last few days of March or first week of April. The exact date shifts each year — check the Japan Meteorological Corporation’s sakura forecast (released in January) before booking.
What has changed in Kyoto recently?
Three things. Kyoto restructured its accommodation tax on 1 March 2026 into five tiers per person per night: ¥200 for rooms under ¥6,000, ¥400 up to ¥20,000, ¥1,000 up to ¥50,000, ¥4,000 up to ¥100,000, and ¥10,000 above that. City buses are still ¥230 a ride, but Kyoto plans a visitor fare of about ¥350–400 during fiscal 2027, from April. And photography is banned on Gion’s private lanes, with some alleys closed to walkers since April 2024.
How is the weather in Kyoto in March?
March is unpredictable — highs of 12–16°C, lows of 3–6°C, with occasional cold snaps. Late March can feel genuinely spring-like. Pack layers, a warm jacket, and a folding umbrella. Rain is more frequent than January or February but rarely heavy.
Is March a good month for Kyoto?
Yes, if you can be flexible. Early March is quiet and affordable, with the last plum blossom and Hinamatsuri on the 3rd. The cherries open, on average, on 26 March, with full bloom around 4 April, so the last week may catch the start of the season as prices rise. The Higashiyama Hanatouro lantern festival that older guides mention ended in 2022.
How much does it cost to visit Kyoto in March?
Budget-conscious travellers can expect daily costs of ¥9,000–16,000, covering accommodation, food, and local transport. Flexible dates can save up to 20% compared with peak-week rates.