Venue
Nara Park, Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan
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Wakakusa Yamayaki guide
Fireworks and a burning hillside above Nara.
In short
Wakakusa Yamayaki suits travellers interested in a temple-linked winter rite. It is usually held on the fourth Saturday of January, with the official programme published that month. Nara is small and fills for the burn, so book a room near Nara Park and keep the evening flexible.
Wakakusa Yamayaki is the winter night when Nara deliberately sets fire to Mount Wakakusa, the grassy hill above Nara Park. The whole slope burns after a torch procession and a burst of fireworks, in a rite tied to the city's great temples and shrine and watched from right across the city.
It is a ceremony as much as a show. Representatives of Nara's temples still take part in the lighting, and the flame reaches the hill carried by people dressed as old government officials and mountain monks.
Key Facts & Stats:
Where: Nara, Japan
Venue: Mount Wakakusa
Held: Every year
Type of event: Cultural Events, Religious Festivals, Winter Festivals
Currency: Japanese yen (JPY, ¥)
Time zone: Japan Standard Time, UTC+9
Language: Japanese
Map
Getting around
Hotels near the venue fill up around the event dates.
Keeping warm on a hillside after dark
You will be outdoors for a long time after sunset in late January, and the cold catches people out.
- Gloves, a hat and a warm coat are essential, even if the day was mild.
- Bring something insulated to sit or stand on, such as a folding mat.
- For a place at the base before the procession arrives, be there by mid-afternoon; that ground fills first.
- A small tripod helps for long exposures of the burning slope, but set it up where it will not block anyone behind you.
Crowds are thick at the base, so keep bags closed and wallets out of back pockets.
Deer, rubbish and behaviour on the hill
The deer of Nara Park wander through the crowds all day. Feeding them is popular, but be careful: a deer that expects food can be pushy, and a crowd leaves little room to step back.
Take every bit of rubbish away with you. The deer get sick from eating litter dropped on the ground, and festival nights leave plenty of it.
Mount Wakakusa is sacred to Buddhists and Shinto followers, and the lighting is a religious rite. Keep noise down during the procession and the ceremony at the bonfire, and follow any instructions from the officials marshalling the crowd.
What happens on the day
- 12:00
Events at the foot of the hill
Minor events begin at the base of Mount Wakakusa.
- 12:30 to 15:00
Senbei throwing contest
A rice cracker throwing contest takes place on the lower slope.
- About 17:00
Sacred flame procession
The flame sets off from the Tobino area near Kasuga Taisha, carried in procession.
- About 17:30
Bonfire lit
The procession reaches the base of the hill and lights a large bonfire. Be in place by now.
- 18:15
Fireworks
About 15 minutes of fireworks over the hill.
- After the fireworks
The hill is set alight
The grass is lit and the flames take 30 minutes to an hour to spread across the slope.
- After the burn
Crowds leave at once
The stations jam. A slow dinner near the park beats a fight for the first train.
Booking a hotel near Nara Park for the burn
Book your hotel first. Nara is a small city and it fills up for the burn, so a room within walking distance of Nara Park is worth reserving as soon as you know your dates. Anywhere between the old town and the park works well, because the walk back after dark is then short and you skip the crush on the trains.
Treat the published schedule as a plan that can change. The official programme appears in January, and times can move from one year to the next. Look at it again on the morning of the burn, and keep the following day free if you can, so a postponement does not wreck the trip.
The burn happens after dark, which leaves a full day to fill. Spend the morning at Todai-ji or Kofuku-ji, take lunch near the park and decide by early afternoon if you want to queue at the base or watch from further away; that choice sets the rest of your timetable. If Nara is one stop on a longer route, our Japan travel guide can help with the rest of the itinerary.
Legends about why the hill is set alight
Nobody agrees how it started. The best-known story ties it to a boundary quarrel between Todai-ji and Kofuku-ji, Nara's two great temples, a dispute that, so the story goes, was settled in 1760 by burning the entire hill. A second version is practical: burning the grass drove off wild boars and other pests that troubled the temples and shrines nearby. A third is darker. People living around the hill believed that if it went unburned, the spirits in the old tombs on its slopes would return and bring misfortune.
Fire on a hill above a city of wooden temples was always a risk. In the Edo period (1603 to 1868) the authorities set a rule that the burning should take place only in the first month of the year, and January it has stayed. The custom has outlived interruptions, wartime among them.
The hill is only 342 metres high, which is why the burn reads so clearly from the city below. Its open, grassy slope is what lets the fire spread evenly. For the city below, the burn has become the marker of midwinter, the night when the temples, the shrine and the townspeople all look at the same hill.
Getting there
From Kansai Airport
Fly into Kansai International Airport; the limousine bus takes about 90 minutes to Kintetsu Nara and JR Nara stations.
From Kyoto
Kintetsu limited express trains reach Kintetsu Nara in about 35 minutes.
To the hill
Walk about 35 minutes from Kintetsu Nara or 50 from JR Nara through Nara Park. Buses run from both stations to Kasuga Taisha (about 250 yen in 2026), then it is 10 to 15 minutes on foot.
Choosing a viewpoint
The base of the hill is closest to the bonfire and fireworks but fills early. The Ukigumo area of Nara Park has more room, and the Heijo Palace grounds across the city show the whole hillside glowing at once.
Where to stay during the festival
Osaka is under an hour from Nara by Kintetsu train and has far more hotels if Nara sells out. Allow for crowded trains back after the burn.
Osaka
Cross Hotel Osaka4-star hotel
No reviews yet
from$169.00/ night
- Internet – Wifi
- Air conditioning
- Restaurant
3 Rooms available
Book Now
Weather and what to pack
Nara's 1991 to 2020 normals give January an average high of 9.0 °C and a low of 0.1 °C, with 52 mm of precipitation and occasional light snow.
By the time the hill is lit the temperature is close to freezing, and you will be standing still for an hour or more.
Worth packing
- A warm coat, hat and gloves
- Thermal layers for standing after dark
- A folding mat or cushion for cold ground
- A small torch for the walk back through the park
- A camera with a tripod for the long exposure
- Cash in yen for the bus and food stalls
Car hire in Nara
Airport transfer to Wakakusa Yamayaki
Met at arrivals at Kansai International Airport (KIX) and driven door to door to Mount Wakakusa.
- Kansai International Airport (KIX) → Mount Wakakusa
- 82 km · 1 hr 35 min
Restaurants and food in Japan
Places to eat in Japan before or after the celebrations.
Nagataya
1F, 1-7-19 Otemachi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima, Japan
Cuisine:Hiroshima okonomiyaki
- Dine-in
- Counter seating
Okonomiyaki Mizuno
1-4-15 Dotonbori, Chuo-ku, Osaka 542-0071, Japan
Cuisine:OkonomiyakiOsaka
- Dine-in
- Counter seating
Kikunoi Honten
459 Shimokawara-cho, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto 605-0825, Japan
Cuisine:Kyoto kaisekiJapanese
- Dine-in
Narisawa
Minamiaoyama Garden Court, 2-6-15 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0062, Japan
Cuisine:InnovativeJapanese
- Dine-in
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Need help?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Timing & weather
Rain or strong wind can push the burn back or call it off altogether. Check the official announcement on the morning of the burn, since the January schedule can change.
In 1900. Before then the hill was set alight at midday, and the evening burn has been the custom ever since.
Prices & payment
Entry to the area at the base of the hill has cost 150 yen. Watching from Nara Park, the city streets or the Heijo Palace site is free.
General
Yes, Mikasa-yama is its other name. Wakakusa itself translates as young grass, a name that suits its open grassy slope.
Both. The hill is sacred to Buddhists and Shinto followers, the procession leaves from near the Kasuga Taisha shrine, and the temples of Todai-ji and Kofuku-ji are part of its story.
It was established in 1880, which makes it one of the oldest public parks in Japan. Nara Prefecture runs it, and Mount Wakakusa rises on its eastern edge.
The listing covers Nara's historic temples and shrine, not the fire ceremony itself. Several of the listed sites sit within a short walk of the hill, so the burn fits naturally into a day of temple visits.
Isuien Garden, a small garden with an art museum, makes a calm morning. The Manyo Botanical Garden grows more than 150 kinds of flowers. Both are close to the park and to the hill.
Yes, if you have a spare day. It is among the oldest temples in Japan and admired for its architecture. Give it a separate day before or after the burn.
Yes. Kyoto is close enough by train to make a day trip of it. Expect packed carriages straight after the fire, and if you are heading back that night, wait for the first rush to clear.