Yasaka Shrine Okera Mairi (New Year's Eve Fire) 2027 Confirmed
八坂神社 をけら詣り — Kyoto (Kansai)
Last updated: Sat, September 26, 2026
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- Dates
- Thu, Dec 31 – Fri, Jan 1, 2027
- Time
- 7:30 PM – 5:00 AM
- Venue
- Yasaka Shrine, Gion (八坂神社)
- Tickets
- Free to visit. Fire rope (kakebinawa) ¥1,000.
- Official site
- www.yasaka-jinja.or.jp
On New Year's Eve, Yasaka Shrine in Gion lights lanterns with a sacred fire and burns okera, a medicinal root, through the night to drive away bad luck. Visitors carry the fire home on a twisted rope, swinging it in circles so it stays alight — Kyoto's signature way of seeing in the New Year. It runs from about 7:30 PM on December 31 until about 5:00 AM on January 1.
Background
The sacred fire is struck in the traditional way with a fire-drill on December 28. After the year-end Joya-sai ceremony at 7:00 PM on December 31, priests light the lanterns and burn okera together with wooden prayer sticks written by worshippers during the year. People once used the fire to cook the New Year's zoni soup; today the extinguished rope is hung in the kitchen as a charm against fire.
Getting there
Yasaka Shrine is about 5 min walk from Gion-Shijo Station on the Keihan Line and at the east end of Shijo-dori, next to the Gion bus stop.
Tips
- The fire rope (kakebinawa) is offered for ¥1,000 during Okera Mairi.
- Gion and the shrine are packed around midnight; arriving in the evening, well before the countdown, is calmer.
- On January 3 from 9:00 AM the shrine holds its first Noh performance of the year (Hatsu-no-Hono) on the Noh stage, plus the Karuta Hajime ceremony.
Maintained by Tetsu Yamamoto · Last verified against the official source: Sat, September 26, 2026