The crystal quality of a-plane GaN films was improved by using epitaxial lateral overgrowth on a nanorod GaN template. The investigation of x-ray diffraction showed that the strain in a-plane GaN grown on r-plane sapphire could be mitigated. The average threading dislocation density estimated by transmission electron microscopy was reduced from 3×1010 to 3.5×108 cm−2. From the temperature-dependent photoluminescence, the quantum efficiency of the a-plane GaN was enhanced by the nanorod epitaxial lateral overgrowth (NRELOG). These results demonstrated the opportunity of achieving a-plane GaN films with low dislocation density and high crystal quality via NRELOG.