By Harry Nara · Last updated
- New Year’s Eve: the okera fire and the temple bellsThursday 31 December 2026
- Where
- Yasaka Shrine, Fushimi Inari and temples across Kyoto
- Tickets
- Free
- Time of year
- December or January
- Dates
- Around the same dates every year
New Year’s Eve is Thursday 31 December 2026: Yasaka Shrine’s year-end service at 7pm lights the okera fire, and temple bells ring towards midnight. Hatsumode, the first shrine visit, runs from Friday 1 to Sunday 3 January 2027. The dates never move.
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Kyoto’s New Year starts on the last night of the year. At Yasaka Shrine a sacred fire, the okera-bi, burns in lanterns after the evening service, and people carry its embers home on a twist of smouldering rope. Across the city temple bells toll 108 times towards midnight, the joya no kane. Then come the first shrine visits of the year, Hatsumode, which fill Fushimi Inari, Yasaka and Heian shrines for three days. Everything is free apart from the bell at Chion-in, which has needed a ticket in recent years. Expect huge, good-natured crowds and plan your transport.
What New Year in Kyoto actually is
For most Japanese families New Year is the biggest holiday of the year, and in Kyoto the rituals are older and more visible than anywhere. Offices close from about the last days of December, families clean their homes, and many small restaurants shut until the holiday is over.
On the last evening, Yasaka Shrine holds its year-end service and then lights the okera fire in three lanterns in its grounds, from a flame struck by hand days earlier. People take embers home on lengths of bamboo rope, swinging them in circles to keep them alight, to light the household altar and cook the first ozoni soup of the year.
Towards midnight, Buddhist temples ring their bells 108 times, one stroke for each of the worldly desires the year has left behind. Chion-in’s, among the largest bells in Japan, is swung by a team of monks; at many smaller temples visitors may take a turn. After midnight the crowds move on to the shrines, and Hatsumode continues through the first three days of the year.
Where to go
- Yasaka Shrine on New Year’s Eve. The okera fire burns from after the evening service into the night, and the approach from Shijo-dori fills with stalls and people carrying glowing ropes. Hold yours well away from other people’s coats and hair.
- Chion-in, or a neighbourhood temple, for the bells. In recent years watching Chion-in’s great bell has meant buying a limited ticket in person at the temple in December. Smaller temples let visitors queue to strike the bell themselves, often with numbered tickets handed out on the night.
- Fushimi Inari for Hatsumode. The grounds are open around the clock, and the shrine draws Kyoto’s biggest New Year crowds, with the approach lined with food stalls. Heian Shrine and Yasaka are the other great draws.
Tickets and what it costs
Shrines charge nothing for Hatsumode or the okera fire; the rope for carrying the fire is sold at the shrine for a small offering. New Year charms and fortunes are the usual small spend.
The Chion-in bell is the exception: in a recent year it was 400 tickets at ¥3,000, sold in cash at the temple in the fortnight before Christmas, with no online booking. Check its page for the year’s arrangements before the sale.
Official information and booking: www.yasaka-jinja.or.jp/event
Getting there
For Fushimi Inari, take JR to Inari or Keihan to Fushimi-Inari rather than a bus: the roads around the shrine are closed or jammed for most of the first days of January. For Yasaka, Gion-Shijo on the Keihan line is a short walk.
Buses are packed around the shrines, and taxis are scarce on New Year’s Eve. Railways have run late or overnight trains on the night in recent years, so check the timetable before you count on getting back after midnight.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Expecting restaurants to be open
Many small places close from the end of December until the holiday is over. Book ahead, or rely on hotel restaurants and chains.
Turning up at Chion-in on the night without a ticket
Viewing the great bell has been ticketed in recent years. Check its December announcement, or choose a temple that welcomes walk-ins.
Taking a bus to Fushimi Inari
The roads around the shrine jam for days. The trains stop a short walk from the gate.
Carrying the okera fire onto a train
Smouldering rope is not welcome in a crowded carriage. Walk it home, or put it out before you travel.
Other Kyoto events
Frequently asked questions
What is Okera Mairi?
The New Year’s Eve visit to Yasaka Shrine to take home embers of its sacred okera fire on a rope, to light the household altar and cook the first meal of the year.
Can visitors ring the New Year’s Eve bells in Kyoto?
At many smaller temples, yes, usually with numbered tickets handed out on the night. At Chion-in the bell is rung by its monks and visitors watch, with tickets in recent years.
How crowded is Fushimi Inari at New Year?
It draws Kyoto’s biggest Hatsumode crowds over the first three days of January. Go early in the morning, or once the three days are over, for a calmer visit.
Are shops and restaurants open in Kyoto over New Year?
Department stores and chains mostly reopen within a day or two; many small family restaurants stay shut for the first few days of January.
When is Hatsumode?
The first three days of January, starting just after midnight on New Year’s Eve; the dates card above shows this year’s.
Sources
- Yasaka Shrine, the year-end services and the okera fire (Japanese)
- Chion-in, the New Year’s Eve bell (Japanese)
- Fushimi Inari Taisha
Dates on this page are checked against the organiser’s own listing and confirmed through 2028. Written and maintained by Harry Nara.