Nozawa Onsen Fire Festival 2027
One of Japan's three great fire festivals: villagers defend a giant wooden shrine with blazing torches as attackers try to set it alight in a wild snowbound battle.
When · Where
- When
- 2027/01/15 10:00 – 2027/01/15
- Where
- Baba no Hara field, Nozawa Onsen Village（Toyosato, Nozawaonsen Village, Shimotakai District, Nagano）
- City
- Across Japan
- Getting there
- About 25 minutes by bus from JR Iiyama Station (Hokuriku Shinkansen) to Nozawa Onsen.
- Price
- Free
- Organizer
- Nozawa Onsen Village
Good to know for visitors
- Getting there
- About 25 minutes by bus from JR Iiyama Station (Hokuriku Shinkansen) to Nozawa Onsen. Open directions in Google Maps ↗
- Booking & entry
- Free to attend — details on the official page (button above).
- Language
- Mostly in Japanese — a translation app on your phone helps.
- Good for
- culture seekers
Highlights
- A 'fire-setting battle' — torch-wielding attackers versus the men defending the shrine
- A huge wooden shaden (shrine structure) built only for this one night
- The deep-winter, snow-banked drama unique to a Nagano onsen village
Background & story
Officially the Dosojin Matsuri, it is staged each January 15 by village men of the 'unlucky ages' (25 and 42) to pray for a first child, a happy marriage and protection from evil — a roughly 300-year-old rite.
Good to know
Stay overnight in Nozawa Onsen — it secures viewing access and lets you soak in the free public baths after a freezing night by the fire.