Prince Hotel BlogsTokyo is a bustling metropolitan city in Japan which is both culturally enriching as well as highly entertaining for all those that visit. From shopping in the hip and trendy Shibuya, to cocktails in the Tokyo Skytree, there are experiences for everyone to enjoy. If you are staying in one of the hotels in Tokyo Japan, and looking to get your spiritual fix, you are going to want to know everything there is to know about the Walking on Fire Festival in Mt. Takao, west of Tokyo, as it is a calendar highlight which will greatly enhance your trip.
For those on a first-time trip to Japan, or just those who have yet to visit at this time of year before, the questions will already be forming, but the one at the forefront and the simplest of the lot: what is Walking On Fire Festival? You can hardly know whether it is something you want to get involved with if you are not 100% sure what it even is, after all.
Walking On Fire Festival, also known as The Fire Walking Festival, or hiwatari matsuri, is a national attraction where crowds gather to see yamabushi monks walk barefoot across burning wood. This process takes place in order for the monks to cleanse themselves from the temptations and influence of evil spirits, to pray for world peace and longevity, as well as to ensure themselves a spiritually safe passage in life, and of course good health and protection.
This is the name for Japanese mountain ascetic hermits, who are believed to have supernatural powers according to myth. Their doctrine is Shugendō, which is a combination of esoteric Buddhism of the Shingon sect, with Tendai Buddhist, Taoism, and elements of Shinto.
It is held in a car park off the main road, near Takaosanguchi Station, located on the top of Mt. Takaosan. This is accessed on the Keio Line from Shinjuku Station in Tokyo. The trip will take you an hour and a half and set you back ¥390. So, your best bet is to get the train from Takaosanguchi Station nearby many of the hotels in Tokyo Japan, and head to this spiritual epicentre for an experience of a lifetime.
Remember: It is not at Takaosan Yakuouin Shrine, a common misconception. However, Takaosan Yakuouin Shrine is a wonderful attraction at any other time of year: one of the Kanto region’s three primary temples of the Chisan sect of Shingon Buddhism. The other two are also worth your time if you are travelling the whole region, which includes Mt. Naritasan’s Shinshoji Temple and Kawasaki Daishi Heikenji Temple in Kawasaki.
Though “everyone” seems like an overly simplistic answer to this question, this would not be considered all that hyperbolic when you see the 4000-strong crowd filing out of Takaosanguchi Station. However, “everyone” also has a duel-meaning in that all are welcome – though a monk-centred event, you can just be an ordinary traveller to go see the fire-walking. You do, of course, have to be respectful to the fact that this is a religious ceremony and act accordingly, regardless of your beliefs.
8 March, 2020. This, however, is not the date it occurs every year. Instead, it takes place on the second Sunday of March each year, meaning the date varies but is always a Sunday so that nobody has work and everybody can enjoy it. It starts at 1pm, when the monks emerge, chanting prior to the series of eye-boggling events that are about to take place. However, you will not see a thing if you arrive on the dot – try getting there at least an hour early to make sure you get the best possible view. It is a 90-minute event, concluding around 3.30pm.
Amidst the weapon-dances (with swords and arrows, as well as sticks called nadegi which are then thrown into the fire) and the pre-fire-walking excitement, there is the building of a big, symbolic bonfire, made up of wood and fern leaves, which will eventually be the smoldering floor on which the monks walk. The whole lot is burnt for a couple of minutes, after which buckets of water to calm it to a fiery-red floor which will soon be a runway for the monks.
This may not actually be a question on your mind from the outset, but the answer is yes, you are able to get involved with the fire-walking. But do not make the mistake of letting the fear of burning your feet navigate your decision. However, by the end of the ceremony, the fire has been patterned down and doused to a just-above-body-temperature, ashy state and you can pay a small fee of ¥500 to walk across behind the monks.
Top tip: take something to wipe your feet clean and dry after the experience, as you can imagine it gets a bit sooty and you don’t want to be putting your shoes back on and travelling back to your hotel like that.
There are food stalls to make sure the only thing burning is the ground on which you cleanse the toxic influences in your life, and not your growling belly. They will be selling typical Japanese street food, a variety only second to the food available on the bustling streets of Tokyo, serving up all the favourites like takoyaki, which are a sort of dough-y ball filled with chopped octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger, and green onion, or chocolate covered bananas which are just as decadent as they sound.
So, there you have it: for the most part, this is everything you need to know logistically about Japan’s Walking on Fire Festival in order to experience it first -and. From the delicious food on site, like soba buckwheat noodles, to the joyous, remarkable festivities of enlightenment at hand to be enjoyed by all and experienced by some: this annual celebration in Mt Takao that will make you grateful you chose to explore the wonders of Tokyo this March. Remember the three major things to expect for this day of celebration: purified souls, burning coals and absolute foodie goals.
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