The western and northern parts of the city are located southeast of the Nara Basin, and are relatively flat rural areas with the Terakawa and Hatsusegawa (Yamatogawa) rivers flowing through them.

The Ryumon Mountains cover the southern and eastern parts of the city, Nara Prefecture Sakurai has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall.

Fragments of pottery from the Jomon and Yayoi periods can be found in ordinary fields, indicating that the area has been settled for many thousands of years.

[5] Other emperors also built palaces in the area, including The village of Sakurai was established on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system.

Sakurai has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 16 members.

In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Nara 3rd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.