Set Your January Trip Ablaze
Get all fired up for 2024 at Nara's ember-taining festival (sorry)
Happy New Year Insiders!
In this month’s edition:
This month’s spectacular fire festival
What to do if your plane arrives in the evening
My best pro-tips for travelling in winter
Where to go this month
No, that’s not an accident you’re looking at. It’s an organised event! The Wakakusa Yamayaki (literally “mountain burning”) takes place in Nara this month on Saturday 27th January. This festival dates back several centuries, supposedly to a time when locals would set fire to vegetation to scare away a ghost that came out of an ancient tomb on the summit. However, there are several other origin stories, so perhaps I should have added “supposedly” to my explanation. For what it’s worth, the ghost theory is taken from the Nara Prefecture official website.
Through the centuries, this ritual has repeatedly caused trouble in the city, with fire sometimes spreading to temples and shrines in the area. Not a great idea when your primary building material is wood! So you’ll be pleased to know that nowadays a wide firebreak is cut in preparation for the event so that the fire doesn’t get out of control!
The festival begins earlier in the day around lunch time but the main event gets going around 4.45 pm with a fire ceremony in the Tobihino area. This is followed by a torch procession to the base of Mount Wakakusa. I’d recommend getting to the foot of the mountain from around 4 pm or earlier if you want to secure the best viewing location. This is also a good spot to get close to the bonfire that organisers light here, which helps to keep you warm in what is the depths of winter!
My favourite part of this event is the enormous firework display (6.15 pm) that starts right before the mountain is set on fire (6.30 pm). Said to be the largest of its kind in Nara Prefecture, it’s a great chance to experience fireworks in Japan outside of the traditional summer season. As I come from England, this winter bonfire and fireworks event is about as close as I can get to the traditional November 5th festivities - and it’s hard to beat in January too!
Nara has good rail links with Kyoto and Osaka, served by both JR and Kintetsu lines. It takes between 45 minutes and 1 hour by local train, but as little as 34 minutes by Kintetsu Limited Express from Kyoto. You may want to stay in Nara the night of the festival to make the most of the event, but heading back to Kyoto or Osaka late and staying there is very easy too.
Arriving in the evening? A quick guide
Recently I got asked on Twitter (yes, I’m still calling it that too) about someone’s arrival day plan. They were landing at 6pm at Narita Airport, and wanted to catch the last Shinkansen out of Tokyo at 9.24pm. My response was - don’t count on it! See, even without the plane arriving late, there were lots of hoops to jump through to reach Tokyo Station in time.
Clear immigration and customs. Allow at least 1 hour.
Pick up a rail pass either from the counter or ticket machine with passport reader. The ticket office at Narita Terminal 2 can do this up to 9.45pm.
(The Tourist Information Centre at Haneda Terminal 2 is open until 10pm and can handle this.)
It’s impossible to know how busy these places are going to be ahead of time, so I’d allow at least another hour for safety. Navigating this and ticket reservations can be hard with jet-lag, especially for first-timers.
Take the next Narita Express to Tokyo. If you manage to do 1 and 2 quickly, you can hop on the 7.48pm train - which will get you to Tokyo Station in time for the 9.24pm shinkansen. But anything after 8pm, and you’re out of luck.
So, what to do?
Well, although I’ve often dashed for the final train and made it, I eventually came to the conclusion that it wasn’t the most enjoyable way. Staying at the airport allows you to take early flights the following day (you can save big using low-cost carriers this way). Taking the train to the nearest city, Tokyo in this example, is about as much as I’d try. Here are my recommendations to get you started:
Stay at the airport
Narita - 9 hours capsule (acceptable), or Comfort Hotel in nearby Narita city.
Haneda - First Cabin (surprisingly comfortable)
Kansai - First Cabin (watch the video here), or Washington Hotel Kansai Airport, just one stop away on the train.
Stay in the city
Tokyo - around Tokyo Station if heading in from Haneda.
Tokyo - around Ueno Station if heading in from Narita. I like APA Hotel Ueno Ekikita.
(The Keisei Skyliner is faster than the Narita Express. Ueno is well-connected with Tokyo Station and has plenty of hotel options.)
Osaka - Tennoji or Namba on the south side of the city are closest to Kansai Airport. Take the Nankai Rapit to Namba or JR’s Haruka to Tennoji.
WATCH: Planning a Trip to Japan? Start here:
Winter Protips
Even if you’re not heading to anywhere covered in snow on your trip, winter can be pretty tough on your body here, so here are my protips for travelling this time of year.
Bring hand cream (or visit the drugstore) because dry winter air can punish your hands
Hotel rooms often have humidifiers, so take advantage. Sometimes you’ll have to go to the front desk for one. Don’t be afraid to ask.
Nori Norisa - 「みがき麦」に付いてたオマケのカイロ - flic.kr/p/dUiDKU - CC-BY-2.0 If you’re wearing gloves and still having trouble warming up, do as the locals do and pick up some kairo (self-warming packs, pictured above) at the convenience or drugstore. Put them inside your gloves and thank me later.
The Insider Advantage
If you have specific questions, ideas, or requests for future emails or videos, you can let me know by replying to this email. I might answer you directly, in the next month’s email, or in a special video. Let me know what’s on your mind!
That’s all for this month! See ya!
Andrew
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