Q.Where does it rain the most in Nara?
Published 2026-06-19
Answer
It's Mt. Odaigahara in the Kii Mountains. According to local references, it receives over 3,500 mm of rain a year, ranking it among the wettest places in Honshu alongside Yakushima. By contrast, Nara City (Nara Local Meteorological Office), where most visitors go, gets 1,365.1 mm a year (JMA normals, 1991–2020) — among the lowest in the prefecture. Between the mountainous south and the inland basin, annual rainfall differs by more than 2.5 times. Note that because there is no JMA station on Odaigahara itself, the 3,500 mm figure is a cited value, not an official JMA normal.
Odaigahara: one of the wettest places in Honshu
In the southeast of Nara, on the Kii Mountains, Mt. Odaigahara is among the rainiest areas in all of Japan, on par with Yakushima, with annual rainfall said to exceed 3,500 mm. Whereas Yakushima's rain spreads across the rainy season, typhoons and winter snow, Odaigahara's is overwhelmingly concentrated in the typhoon season. One caveat: there is no official JMA weather station (AMeDAS) on Odaigahara, so this 3,500 mm-plus figure is a cited value, not an official JMA climate normal.
over 3,500Odaigahara annual rainfall, mm (cited by the Ministry of the Environment)
Honshu's wettestrainfall rank, on par with Yakushima
The nearest JMA-verified station: Kamikitayama AMeDAS
Since Odaigahara itself has no station, the nearest JMA-verified evidence of heavy rain is Kamikitayama AMeDAS (Kamikitayama Village, Yoshino District). Its annual rainfall normal is 2,713.5 mm (JMA, 1981–2010) — the highest of any JMA station in Nara Prefecture. Lined up, the prefecture's stations read: Kamikitayama 2,713.5 mm, Kazeya 2,314.0 mm, Hari 1,508.3 mm, Ouda 1,469.3 mm. The more mountainous the south, the wetter it gets — and basin-floor Nara City, at 1,365.1 mm, is among the driest.
2,713.5Kamikitayama AMeDAS annual rainfall, mm — highest among JMA stations in Nara (1981–2010 normals)
1,365.1Nara City annual rainfall, mm — among the lowest in the prefecture (1991–2020 normals)
- Kamikitayama2713.5mm
- Kazeya2314mm
- Hari1508.3mm
- Ouda1469.3mm
- Nara City1365.1mm
Why is basin-floor Nara City so dry?
The Nara Basin, including Nara City, is an inland basin ringed by mountains, and its annual rainfall of 1,365.1 mm (JMA normals, 1991–2020) is among the lowest in the prefecture. Odaigahara, by contrast, sits where moist southeasterly winds off the Pacific slam into the Kii Mountains and are forced upward, unleashing torrential rain during typhoon season. Within the same prefecture, annual rainfall differs by more than about 2.5 times. So even though tourist-central Nara City is relatively dry, don't assume the mountainous south behaves the same way.
over 2.5×rainfall gap within the prefecture (Kamikitayama vs. Nara City)
How it compares nationally
Nationally, Japan's rainiest observation station is Yakushima in Kagoshima Prefecture, with an annual rainfall normal of 4,477.2 mm (JMA). Owase in Mie Prefecture is also famously wet at 3,848.8 mm. Odaigahara's figure of over roughly 3,500 mm — a cited value, since there's no station — rivals these and ranks among Honshu's wettest. Set beside the nearest Nara station, Kamikitayama at 2,713.5 mm, it's clear just how exceptional the Odaigahara area is for rainfall.
4,477.2Yakushima annual rainfall, mm — JMA national No. 1 (reference)
3,848.8Owase, Mie Pref. annual rainfall, mm (JMA, reference)
| Location | Annual rainfall | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Yakushima (Kagoshima) | 4,477.2 mm | JMA national No. 1 |
| Owase (Mie) | 3,848.8 mm | JMA station |
| Odaigahara (Nara) | over 3,500 mm | cited by Ministry of the Environment, etc. |
| Kamikitayama (Nara) | 2,713.5 mm | JMA station — highest in prefecture |
| Nara City (Nara) | 1,365.1 mm | JMA station — among lowest in prefecture |