Wakakusa Yamayaki | I Was Heading Down the Mountain — Then I Watched the Whole Thing Burn

By Nihongo to Japan · Updated June 9, 2026

I was heading back down when I noticed the roadside lined with people waiting. I stopped. Then I followed a procession of white-robed priests up the mountain and watched the entire hillside catch fire — the first time something I'd only seen in movies felt completely real.

I had already finished walking around Wakakusa-yama and was heading back down when I noticed people lining both sides of the road.

Not a few — a whole crowd, standing quietly, all facing the same direction. I stopped without thinking too much about it. Just curious what they were waiting for.

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【About the Festival】

Wakakusa-yama is an ancient mountain — ancient burial mounds sit along its slopes, and the belief has long been that wandering spirits inhabit the hill. The Yamayaki festival, held every January, is in part a ritual to subdue those spirits with sacred fire. At the same time, it burns away the accumulated misfortunes and ill omens of the past year, so that the new year can begin from a clean, scorched hillside.

The ceremony has continued for hundreds of years and is now conducted jointly by three of Nara's major religious institutions: Kasuga Taisha, Kofukuji, and Todaiji. It's the biggest event in Nara in January.

The fireworks that open the event are worth noting on their own — 600 shells in 15 minutes. The pace is fast enough that each burst hasn't fully faded before the next one goes off.

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【Following the Procession】

I waited in the crowd for a while. Then a line of white-robed figures appeared carrying torches, moving slowly up from below. That's when I understood — this was the sacred fire procession.

I followed behind. Halfway up the mountain, the first flames were lit. The fire line began to spread across the slope — wider, faster than I expected. Standing there watching it move, I understood why so many people had come just to wait for this.

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【What It Feels Like When the Mountain Burns】

I'd only ever seen an entire hillside on fire in movies — the kind of scale that seemed like it belonged to special effects or historical battle scenes. When Wakakusa-yama caught fire, I was standing at the base watching the flames spread across the ridge, smoke rising into the sky, thousands of people going quiet around me.

It wasn't the silence of fear. More like everyone around me registering at the same moment that what they were watching was slightly beyond the scale of everyday life — and not quite knowing what to say about it.

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【Fireworks — Including a Heart】

Fireworks run before and after the burning, and there are plenty of them. I was lucky enough to catch a heart-shaped firework — that kind of shape is rare, and I almost missed it before it faded. Glad the photo came out clear.

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【Getting Out Afterward】

After the event ended, I discovered another kind of spectacle — Kintetsu Nara Station.

The exits were completely blocked, arrivals and departures all compressed into the same space, staff on megaphones trying to manage the flow. I stood there for about twenty minutes before making it onto the platform. If you go, don't rush straight to the station after it ends. Wait nearby for half an hour — the crowd clears significantly.

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【Event Information】

・Held every third Saturday of January (confirm exact date on official Nara tourism sites)

・Fireworks start around 17:15; grass burning around 18:15

・Viewing spots: the base of Wakakusa-yama and throughout Nara Park — closer is better

・Free admission; some upper mountain areas are restricted during the event

・Kintetsu Nara and JR Nara stations are extremely crowded after the event — wait 30 minutes before heading in

・You can find Nara day-trip packages and guided tours on [Klook](https://klook.tpx.lv/IuSKdjjt) or [KKday](https://kkday.tpx.lv/juFfN7dI)

I strongly recommend making a special trip to Nara for this festival. You don't need to know anything in advance, there are no tickets to buy — just find a good spot and wait for the mountain to catch fire.

It won't disappoint you.