Praying for health and good harvests in the new year
To welcome in the new year, Nara's Oyamato Shrine holds their annual Oyumi Hajime Festival on January 4th. The purpose of the festival is to pray for good health and good harvests for the coming 12 months, and the highlight of the event is the display of Ogasawara style archery in front of the worship hall.
Both local junior high school students and members of the Nara Prefecture Archery Federation will be showing off their skills at the festival, which is scheduled to run from 1 pm until 3 pm.
Oyamato Shrine is located an easy 7 minutes on foot (or under 5 minutes by taxi) from JR Nagara Station, which is served by the Manyo Mahoroba Line (also known as the Sakurai Line).
For those who opt to drive, the shrine is around 15 minutes from the Tenri Interchange on the Nishi Meihan Expressway. Limited on-site parking is available.
Oyumi Hajime Festival (お弓始め祭)
Early January 2025
Free entry
Oyamato Shrine, Tenri, Nara
306 Niizumicho, Tenri, Nara 632-0057, Japan (Map) (Directions)
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