{"id":2381,"date":"2026-10-23T02:51:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T02:51:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thejapanpro.com\/blog\/?p=2381"},"modified":"2026-10-23T02:51:31","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T02:51:31","slug":"omizutori-nara","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thejapanpro.com\/blog\/fr\/omizutori-nara\/","title":{"rendered":"Omizutori 2027: Nara Fire Festival Guide to Torch Times, Crowds and Free Viewing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Omizutori<\/strong>, the fire-and-water rite at Todai-ji\u2019s Nigatsu-do hall in Nara, runs every night from 1 to 14 March. Each evening monks\u2019 attendants carry huge burning torches along the hall\u2019s balcony for about 25 minutes from 19:00, longer from 19:30 on 12 March and just ten minutes from 18:30 on 14 March (2026 times). It is free, there are no tickets, and the only thing that decides whether you see it is when you arrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That last point is the one most guides skip. Todai-ji closes the approach to Nigatsu-do at a set time each evening, as early as 16:15 on 12 March in 2026, and once the viewing areas are full you are turned away. Below: the night-by-night schedule, where to stand, the crowd rules, the late-night water-drawing on 12 March, and the last trains. 2027 times had not been published when we checked on 23 October 2026; the dates are fixed. For the rest of the year, see our Japanese festival calendar<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

1\u201314 March<\/p>

Every year<\/p><\/div>

Free<\/p>

No tickets, no reservations<\/p><\/div>

19:00<\/p>

Usual torch start, 2026<\/p><\/div>

23:06<\/p>

Last weekday rapid express to Namba, autumn 2026 timetable<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

\n

\"Omizutori
The otaimatsu torches at Omizutori. Photo: Kansaikiwi<\/a> \/ Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\n\n

When is Omizutori in 2027?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Monday 1 to Sunday 14 March 2027. The main rite of Shuni-e (the formal name of the ceremony) is held at Nigatsu-do for two weeks, 1\u201314 March, every year, according to Todai-ji<\/a>. It has run without a break for more than 1,250 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Todai-ji publishes the torch times and viewing rules as a notice in early February; the 2026 notice was dated 3 February. Until the 2027 notice appears, plan on the 2026 pattern below. In 2027 the big night, 12 March, is a Friday, so expect it to be busier than in 2026, when it fell on a Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Omizutori torch schedule, night by night<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Two times matter each evening: when the approach to Nigatsu-do closes (in Todai-ji\u2019s notice, the time after which you can no longer go up to the hall) and when the torches (otaimatsu) run. These are the 2026 figures from the temple\u2019s 2026 notice<\/a>, all marked \u201capproximately\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Date (2026)<\/th>Otaimatsu<\/th>What\u2019s different<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
1 March<\/td>19:00\u201319:25<\/td>First night<\/td><\/tr>
2\u20136 March<\/td>19:00\u201319:25<\/td>Standard nights<\/td><\/tr>
7 March<\/td>19:00\u201319:25<\/td>Standard night<\/td><\/tr>
8\u201311 March<\/td>19:00\u201319:25<\/td>Standard nights<\/td><\/tr>
12 March<\/td>19:30\u201320:10<\/td>Bigger basket torches; lay-association day; keep-moving viewing<\/td><\/tr>
13 March<\/td>19:00\u201319:25<\/td>Standard night<\/td><\/tr>
14 March<\/td>18:30\u201318:40<\/td>Shortest night; the torches go up together<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Todai-ji closes the area around Nigatsu-do to visitors in the late afternoon on torch nights, earlier on 12 March. Check the closing time for your date in the temple\u2019s notice and arrive well before it. Once the torches are over and the hall is ready, you can go up again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What you actually see<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Torch-bearers climb the covered stairway to Nigatsu-do, each lighting the way for one of the monks, then run the burning torch along the edge of the balcony and swing it over the crowd. Sparks and ash fall on the people below. On most nights about ten torches go up, one after another (japan-guide.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 12 March the torches are the larger kago-taimatsu (basket torches), about 8 m long, and the procession lasts around 40 minutes. On 14 March the torches go up at once, so it is spectacular but over in about ten minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where to stand for Omizutori at Nigatsu-do<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are three places, and you do not choose between them: the temple fills them in order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n