Discover Kyoto in February: Setsubun Demons, Beans and Plum Blossoms

Kyoto in February feels absolutely wintry. The air still bites. Your fingers still go numb without gloves. Yet, around mid-month, plum blossoms begin to appear - they fall in line with the calendar, which has been insisting since the start of the month that spring has arrived.

But before the season can be ushered in, a bit of exorcism needs to be done. You could call Setsubun practices spring-cleaning - if spring-cleaning involved roasted soybeans, masks and an eviction notice for invisible troublemakers.

Below is a February event guide that points you to shrines where you can enjoy the unique atmosphere of Setsubun: exorcism done with good humor and a gentle reminder not to throw beans too hard because demons also deserve a safe working environment.

Setsubun Celebrations in Kyoto

Originally referring to the day before the start of the four seasons, Setsubun is now commonly understood as the eve of spring.

You’ll see multiple customs to drive inauspicious influences away and invite good fortune in. The rituals include pelting people dressed as demons with beans, all while chanting oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi - ‘Demons out, good fortune in'.

Rice cakes are sometimes thrown; receive them with your hands, not your head.

The beans used are roasted soybeans called fukumame - good luck beans. There's also a tradition of eating the number of beans equivalent to one's age plus one as a wish for good health.

The overall vibe is part spiritual housekeeping, part festival - here are recommendations for Shinto shrines in Kyoto where you can watch the rites and maybe help shoo a few demons away.

Ancient Court Rituals at Heian Jingu's Setsubun

Venue: Heian Jingu (Heian Shrine)
Date: February 3, 2026
Time: 9:30 - around 16:00
Highlights:
12:00 - Dedicatory kyogen performance
14:00 - Daina no Gi ritual
15:00 - Demon dance and lucky bean throwing
Around 15:30 - Ohitaki sacred bonfire ritual

Founded in 1895 to commemorate the 1,100th anniversary of the establishment of the capital at Kyoto, Heian Jingu enshrines Emperor Kanmu and Emperor Komei - the first and last emperors to reign from Kyoto.

The shrine is a partial replica of the Heian-period palace style and, for Setsubun, it turns the clock back to that era with Daina no Gi, a court ritual in which a four-eyed figure drives evil spirits away.

About an hour later, demons played by members of a kyogen troupe burst onto the scene. They rampage theatrically across the grounds and do a dance but are ultimately driven off by a barrage of beans.

Once the demons leave, the crowd rushes to the Daigokuden hall to catch the packets of fukumame that rain down. Geiko and maiko from the city’s geisha districts help to throw the lucky beans, giving the frenzy a veneer of Kyoto elegance.

Yoshida Jinja: Kyoto's largest Setsubun festival

Venue: Yoshida Jinja
Date: February 2 - February 4, 2026
Time: From 8:30 (February 2-3); from 9:30 (February 4)
Highlights:
February 2, 18:00 - Tsuina ceremony (oni-yarai rite)
February 3, 23:00 - Karosai (bonfire ritual)

Attracting about 500,000 visitors over three days with around 800 stalls, a dramatic demon-expelling ritual and a massive fire ritual, Yoshida Jinja is usually cited as the must-see Setsubun spot in Kyoto.

The shrine dates back to 859, when it was established as a guardian for the new capital, and it has been holding Setsubun rituals since medieval times.

The crowds reach their peak for the tsuina ceremony, a demon-expelling rite of Chinese origin also known as oni-yarai.

But it's worth staying late into the night on the eve of spring for the Karosai, a spectacular bonfire where old talismans and amulets brought by worshippers are ritually burned in a dramatic closure of one cycle before the next begins.

Kitano Tenmangu: Setsubun with theater and dance

Venue: Kitano Tenmangu
Date: February 3, 2026
Time:
10:00 - Ceremony at main hall
13:00 - Kyogen and dance performances followed by bean-throwing

Though better known for its ume trees and monthly flea market, Kitano Tenmangu also pulls out the stops for Setsubun.

The highlight: a performance of kyogen comedic theater followed by dances by geiko and maiko from Kamishichiken, the geisha area next to the shrine, and the mandatory bean throwing.

If you want a chance to see traditional Kyoto performance culture, not to mention a crowd competing for beans with the focus of Olympic athletes, this is a good bet.

Nanakusa-gayu: An Offering of Spring Herbs

Venue: Jonan-gu
Date: February 11, 2026
Time: 10:00 - 15:30
Fee: JPY 500 per serving

Nanakusa-gayu, or seven-herb rice porridge, is traditionally eaten on the seventh day of the first month as a wish for health and long life, and to help the stomach recover after the rich foods of New Year.

At Jonan-gu, the dish is served not on January 7, as is common, but nearer the seventh day of the first month in the traditional Japanese calendar, which aligns more closely with early February.

Jonan-gu, literally 'the shrine south of the capital', was built in 794, the year the capital was established at Kyoto, in order to protect the city.

The area around the shrine became a retreat zone where the imperial family and aristocrats built villas; even today, Jonan-gu holds events that recreate court customs.

These include the offering of spring herbs to the gods, after which the worshippers partake of porridge with these seven herbs, taking in the vitality of the young greens and praying for good health and longevity.

If Setsubun is 'demons out', nanakusa-gayu is 'vitamins in'.

Plum Blossom and Camellia Festival at Jonan-gu

Venue: Jonan-gu
Dates: February 18 - March 22, 2026
Time: 9:00 - 16:30 (last entry: 16:00)

Following the seven-herb porridge event, the Weeping Plum and Camellia Festival is held at Jonan-gu to celebrate the combination of deep red camellias - jonan tsubaki - and weeping ume trees coming into bloom.

With drooping branches that create a cascading curtain effect, weeping plums (shidare-ume) are more willow-like - and arguably more atmospheric - than the upright plum trees you’ll see elsewhere.

In the area known as Spring Mountain, which spreads west of the shrine buildings, 150 weeping plum trees fill with a cloud of pale pink, red and white blossoms as they reach full bloom.

And then come the camellias.

Camellias drop their blossoms whole - those at the shrine often land on the moss as if someone placed them there for a tea ceremony photo shoot.

The striking contrast of pale plum blossoms above and deep red camellias on green moss below creates a combination often described as one of Kyoto’s defining early-spring scenes.

Kitano Tenmangu's Baikasai: Plum Blossoms, Tea and Michizane’s Long Shadow

Venue: Kitano Tenmangu
Date: February 25
Time: 10:00 - 15:00 (reception closes at 14:30)
Tenjin-san flea market: 6:00 - 16:00

Held on the death anniversary of an ume-loving noble, the Baikasai plum blossom festival at Kitano Tenmangu has a history of around 900 years.

Naturally, behind the ritual lies a story.

The 9th-century nobleman, scholar and poet Sugawara no Michizane rose high in court office, earned the trust of the emperor of the day and eventually became Minister of the Right.

Then politics happened.

He was demoted and exiled to Dazaifu in Kyushu, where he died in 903. After his death, a series of calamities - including the deaths of his enemies and a lightning strike incident at the palace - rocked the court and were attributed to his return as a vengeful spirit.

The solution: turn the terrifying spirit into a deity, give him a shrine and worship him.

In 947, Michizane was enshrined at Kitano Tenmangu and eventually came to be worshipped as a god of learning, making the shrine a power spot for students - or their parents - praying for exam success.

Baikasai: Tea in an Outdoor Geisha Setting

At Baikasai, rice offerings and ume sprigs are offered up to the deity.

But the part that attracts crowds is the large outdoor tea ceremony, or nodate, where geiko and maiko from Kamishichiken serve green tea. Gion may be better known but Kamishichiken, the geisha district beside the shrine, is older.

This event, which has been held since 1952, has its roots in a great tea gathering that regent Toyotomi Hideyoshi hosted at Kitano Tenmangu in 1587. More than 1,500 tea houses and huts were built for the gathering, where the tea houses of Kamishichiken presented Hideyoshi with dumplings. The records suggest that he liked them.

Combine Tea with Antique Shopping

On the 25th of every month, Kitano Tenmangu holds a huge shrine fair known as Tenjin-san in conjunction with the memorial service for Michizane.

The February market falls on the same day as Baikasai and the crowds multiply accordingly.

If you like spectacle - festival, plum blossoms, tea ceremony, geiko and maiko in gorgeous kimono, plus the bustle of a flea market - this is the day and place for it.

Ready for a Spring Tour

In February, Kyoto prepares for spring even as it shivers in the last days of winter.

If you came for cherry blossoms, you’re early. But if you came for that eagerly awaited transition from winter to spring, you will discover Kyoto ready to celebrate - with beans, plum blossoms and a dedication to rituals large and small that has long defined the city. 

By Janice Tay