Nara, home to ROTOTO's headquarters, carries both long-inherited traditional craftsmanship and a new sensibility that only takes root in that particular soil. Bringing Nara's craftsmanship and culture to Tokyo, the Nara Festival returns for its second year, running from Thursday, August 27 through Tuesday, September 8, 2026, at ROTOTO STORE. Continuing from last year, sandal brand HEP, long-established weaving maker Sanko Orifu, and Michelin-chef-supervised TENKARA GELATO are back again. New brands joining this time include fragrance items from Matsuda Store, which makes use of regional resources to connect people and nature; craft gin from KIKKA GIN, reflecting the climate of Yamato; chocolate made by chocobanashi from cacao beans sourced directly from farmers in India and Vietnam; additive-free dried fruit from M.F. Lab., made using Nara fruit that doesn't meet size standards or reach regular distribution; and craft beer brewed with Nara-grown rice from CHORYO CRAFTBEER. With exhibitors ranging from craftspeople to food producers, the event introduces the many facets of Nara's appeal. Over these 13 days of craftsmanship, food, and culture, visitors can experience "Nara now" while staying in Tokyo.
Meet the Eight Nara Brands
HEP — Sandals / Yamatotakada City
A sandal brand from Kawahigashi Hakimono Shoten, founded in Nara in 1952. It gives a modern reinterpretation to the "Hep sandal," long loved in Japan, pairing a neutral look that suits any style with comfortable wear. The versatile lineup, well suited to everyday use, also pairs well with ROTOTO's socks. Standard models are featured this time.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hepsandal/ · Website: https://www.hep-sandal.jp/
Sanko Orifu (三広織布) — Everyday Goods / Koryo Town
A long-established weaving maker that has continued producing Nara's traditional mosquito-net fabric since its founding in 1958. Committed to natural materials, it manufactures products suited to a sustainable society. The breathable fabric, which softens with each use, is transformed into products that gently wrap and keep people and objects clean. The lineup includes everyday, highly absorbent dish towels and hand towels.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanko.ori/ · Website: https://www.sanko-orifu.jp/
Matsuda Store (松田商店) — Fragrance / Nara City
Founded in 1940 as a souvenir shop in Nara City's Sarusawa shopping street. Through making that connects people and nature while being mindful of materials, region, and environment, it delivers products carrying Nara's history and scenery into modern life. Fragrance items that gently fill a space or a mood are the focus this time.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matsuda.nara/ · Website: https://matsudastore.com/
KIKKA GIN (橘花) — Craft Gin / Gose City
A craft gin made by Yamato Distillery, expressing Nara's climate and history through gin. Nara, once the eastern terminus of the Silk Road where diverse cultures and techniques converged, provides long-cherished botanicals such as Yamato tachibana and Yamato toki, giving the gin a flavor that reflects the character and history of the land. A selection from the standard series is featured this time.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yamatodistillery/ · Website: https://www.yamato-distillery.jp/
chocobanashi — Chocolate / Gojo City
A chocolate specialty shop in Gojo, Nara, that handcrafts everything starting from the cacao bean. Cacao beans are sourced directly from farmers in India and Vietnam, with ingredients chosen so the producer behind them is visible, and every step from selection to roasting is handled in-house. No food additives are used, drawing out the natural flavor of the cacao beans and sugar alone. Chocolate, along with syrup and granola, will be available this time.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chocobanashi/ · Website: https://chocobanashi.base.shop/
M.F. Lab. — Dried Fruit / Gojo City
A dried-fruit brand created by a sommelier who grew up in a persimmon-farming family in Nishiyoshino, Gojo City, Nara. Under the theme of turning fruit that doesn't meet size standards into something beautiful, it upcycles fully ripened fruit that doesn't reach regular distribution into additive-free dried fruit that draws out the ingredients' natural flavor, also helping reduce food loss. Alongside its standard lineup, seasonal items are also available.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/m_f_lab_/ · Website: https://shop.mflab.jp/
TENKARA GELATO — Gelato / Tenkawa Village
A natural-style gelato shop in Tenkawa Village, Nara, surrounded by clear blue rivers and beautiful sacred mountains. Its recipes are supervised by Chef Toshiharu Sunayama of SÉN, a Michelin one-star restaurant also based in Tenkawa Village. Made with the same care as crafting a single dish, honoring the region of the Kii Mountains and the blessings it nurtures, the result is a special kind of gelato.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tenkara_gelato/ · Website: https://tenkara-no-okurimono.com/
CHORYO CRAFTBEER — Craft Beer / Koryo Town
A Koryo Town brewery built on the concept of "beer you'll want to drink again," which began brewing craft beer in 2021, drawing on techniques developed through sake brewing. This time features the brewery's standard Rice Lager, made with Nara-grown rice, with hop and malt character deliberately kept restrained to bring out the rice's gentle sweetness — a flavor carrying the character of Nara's climate.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/choryo_brewpark/ · Website: https://www.choryo.jp/beer/
Special Support: MOHEIM
This time, MOHEIM, a Fukui-based lifestyle brand offering quality everyday goods, joins as a special participant. Its attentive approach to crafting items that stay close to daily life for years overlaps with the spirit of ROTOTO and the Nara Festival, and MOHEIM is supporting the event's spatial design. During the event, MOHEIM will display and sell its products, and at the opening reception it will also provide glasses for enjoying the beer.
MOHEIM
A lifestyle brand born in 2014, rooted in Fukui's craftsmanship. Together with designers from Japan and abroad, it develops a wide range of products from tableware to furniture. Reinterpreting craftsmanship and sustainability through a contemporary lens, it creates minimal, universal designs meant to be used with lasting attachment in everyday life.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moheim_jp/ · Website: https://moheim.com/jp/
Terada Hideji x ROTOTO: Tenugui Joins the Lineup This Year
Following last year's well-received response, the special T-shirt featuring title art by artist Hideji Terada returns, sold exclusively at ROTOTO STORE. The event title is printed boldly across the back, while the front carries a graphic motif inspired by the Raden Shitan no Gogenbiwa, a renowned five-stringed biwa lute inlaid with mother-of-pearl held at Nara's Shosoin Repository. The piece that has come to symbolize the Nara Festival returns to the shop shelves again this year. New this year, a tenugui featuring the same artwork also joins the lineup, made to accompany the long-running Japanese summer.
"Nara Festival Original T-Shirt" — ¥4,950 (tax included)
Colors: White, Navy
Sizes: M / L / XL
"Nara Festival Original Tenugui" — ¥1,650 (tax included)
Color: White x Navy
Customers who spend ¥10,000 (tax included) or more at ROTOTO STORE will receive a gift.
Hideji Terada
A painter who creates works that reconstruct the folk sensibilities held within Japan's traditional calendar and customs, through drawing and text, from a contemporary perspective, pursuing expression that touches the memory of culture.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hideji_t/ · Website: https://teradahideji.com/project/tamiga/
Summer Campaign: A Free Original Tenugui, Limited to the Nara Festival
During the Nara Festival, customers who spend ¥10,000 (tax included) or more will receive an original tenugui as a gift. It's a limited item available only during this window, so visitors are encouraged to come early while supplies last. The offer ends once the tenugui run out.
A Toast to Mark the Start of the Nara Festival
On the opening day, Thursday, August 27, an opening reception will be held to celebrate the launch of the second Nara Festival. CHORYO CRAFTBEER's Rice Lager will be served in glasses provided by MOHEIM. Surrounded by ROTOTO's Nara-made socks and the carefully crafted products brought by each participating brand, guests are invited to raise a glass to mark the start of the Nara Festival — enjoying a beer, finding a favorite item in the store, and getting a feel for Nara's craftsmanship along the way. Casual drop-ins are welcome.
Date: Thursday, August 27, 2026, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
- 11:00 AM to 6:30 PM: ROTOTO STORE regular business hours
- 6:30 PM to 7:00 PM: Temporarily closed for event setup
- 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM: Reception check-in
Visitors are asked to bring a business card.
Event Overview
Event name: Nara Festival
Dates: Thursday, August 27 to Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Venue: ROTOTO STORE
Exhibitors: HEP (sandals / Yamatotakada City), Sanko Orifu (everyday goods / Koryo Town), Matsuda Store (fragrance / Nara City), KIKKA GIN (craft gin / Gose City), chocobanashi (chocolate / Gojo City), M.F. Lab. (dried fruit / Gojo City), TENKARA GELATO (gelato / Tenkawa Village), CHORYO CRAFTBEER (craft beer / Koryo Town)
Special participant: MOHEIM (lifestyle products)
Title art: Hideji Terada
Supported by: Nara Visitors Bureau, Yamatotakada City, Koryo Town
Venue Information
Name: ROTOTO STORE
Address: Clover Building 1F, 2-28-3 Nishihara, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Phone: 03-6407-1530
Hours: 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Closed: Wednesdays
Website: https://www.rototo.jp/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rototo_store/
