How to enjoy the Nachi no Ogi Matsuri as a tourist

Would you like to join the famous Japanese festival, the Nachi no Ogi Matsuri, as a tourist?

This is a service post with details for visiting Nachi no Ogi Matsuri as a tourist at Nachi Grand shrine in Wakayama Prefecture. Also known as Nachi no Hi Matsuri, this is one of the famous Japanese “fire” festivals and fairly famous in all of Japan, so it gets a fair bit of attention, and if you are in the area, you may wish to visit it. In this post, I share my personal experience visiting the Nachi no Ogi Matsuri as a tourist.

I had already planned to visit the region, and then found out by accident that this festival was on. I had seen its famous fire ceremony on TV years earlier, so I reshuffled my plans in order to attend Nachi no Ogi Matsuri as a tourist and well, it was quite the spectacle! What I couldn’t find was a schedule of events or much practical information in English, until a helpful forum user sent me a link to the events schedule in Japanese.

I have made a Kumano Kodo post with a lot more information on access, so this is about visiting Nachi no Ogi Matsuri as a tourist only.

What is the Nachi no Ogi Matsuri?

Nachi no Ogi is a Shinto festival where the kami, or spirits of the shrine, are taken to a sacred place by Nachi waterfall in order to be purified. Cleaning and purification is a big thing in Japanese culture and Shinto religion, so you will come across many festivals that are taking place to cleanse or start afresh.

The festivities start around 10.00 and continue until around 17.00, but the Fire Ceremony at 14.00 is the cardinal event that many people travel to Kumano Nachi Taisha for. Before the Fire Ceremony, there are traditional dances on a small stage. There is a schedule of events published (in Japanese only) every year, but the timings are usually very similar every year.

Arrive at Nachi Shrine early to enjoy Nachi no Ogi Matsuri as a tourist

So, this is specific for Nachi no Ogi Matsuri. Depending on where you are setting off from, I recommend you leave early. First, you need to get to Kii-Katsura. I was travelling from Shingu, a town about 25km away, which has frequent buses and some trains to Kii-Katsuura and back. Google Maps also worked quite well for that portion of the trip.

Then, take a bus from Kii-Katsuura Station, where the bus originates, to Kumano Nachi Taisha. When I arrived at Kii-Katsuura in the morning of 14 July, a queue had already formed at the bus station, and there were notices everywhere how the bus would not be stopping at certain stops and that the buses would be very full.

Anyway, that’s why you want to get on at Kii-Katsuura train station as the bus may not pick up other passengers en route because it’s full. The bus schedule is published here on the Tanabe City Kumano Tourism Bureau website.

The bus will drop off at Daimonzaka and then again at the final stop Kumano Nachi Taisha. UNless you fancy a strenuous uphill walk, don’t get off at Daimonzaka – there’ll be plenty of stairs from the bus stop to Kumano Nachi Taisha and Seiganto-ji, a shrine and a temple, respectively, located at the plateau of the hill. From there, it’s a 400m fairly steep downhill walk first on tarmac, then on some wobbly stone stairs to the Nachi no Taki PArking Lot and Bus Stop.

From there, it’s another 300m or so to Hiro Place of Worship, close to Nachi waterfall, down some more stone stairs.

The area by the waterfall will be cordoned off for (paying?) VIP guests, so any casual visitors will have to make do sitting on the floor to the sides od the stairs, which will be cordoned off. I arrived about an hour before the procession and was already a bit late for the “good” seats, so I suggest arriving two hours early. The atmosphere was very friendly, with some people helping up the slope, and generally it’s a friendly atmosphere, but I did get the odd people with cameras barging in front of me – in general it was very much give and take, people didn’t hog the front spots and took turns to see the procession where Iw was seated. Ideally, you would want to get within 100-150 metres to the bottom of the stairs, as this is where you will see most of the famous flaming torches.

Visit Kumano Nachi Taisha and Seiganto-ji

Kumano Nachi Taisha is the main shrine, a pretty red-laquered affair on top of the hill. It is one of the Kumano Sanzan, the three holiest Kumano Kodo shrines. I have more information on my Kumano Kodo post on all three.

Before settling down on the forest slope to watch the highlight of the matsuri, the fire ceremony, I suggest you visit Kumano Nachi Taisha.

The twelve mikoshi, representing the shrine’s deities, that will later be carried down to Hiro Shrine are lined up in front of the shrine, carefully wrapped in cellophane, with the men carrying them proudly posing in front of them. It is busy, with a stage to the side, with various programme going on from about 10am, but not terribly crowded.

Immediately behind Kumano Nachi Taisha, a modest wooden building is Seiganto-ji, the Buddhist Temple founded during the reign of legendary Emperor Nintoku. It was burned down during the Shogunate period but shortly after rebuilt under Toyotomi Hideoshi, and abandoned during the Meiji restorations, when forceful efforts tried to separate Shintoism (the religion of Imperial Japan) and Buddhism.

The picture-perfect Three-Storied Pagoda a couple hundred metres down is very different in style but belongs to Seiganto-ji, and is a real youngster, having been rebuilt in 1972.

It is THE photo motiv of the Kumano Kodo, and it is quite easy to take the iconic shot by walking down the tarmac path behind Seiganto-ji main hall. There are several vantage points and generally very nicely behaved Japanese tourists who take great consideration not to stand in other people’s pictures, so it is quite easy to get a good shot – mornings are better light-wise, late afternoons should be okay, too.

I was able to visit the shrine, buy a couple charms, visit Seiganto-ji, and have an kakigori at the only cafe about 200m down towards the Three-Storied Pagoda.

If, for any reason, you are unable to get to Kumano Nachi Taisha before midday, I suggest you head straight for Hiro Shrine, settle down for the fire ceremony, and do your your visits to Kumano Nachi Taisha and Seiganto-ji after the fire ceremony, as the festivities continue, but most visitors leave after the fire ceremony. Just keep an eye on the bus schedules.

Go to Hiro Shrine for the Fire Ceremony

To go to Hiro Place of Worship, you go down either a longish tarmac path to the main road or take a shortcut down some uneven steep stone steps. Once you reach the main road, cross and continue on some more uneven stone steps.

During the Nachi no Ogi Matsuri, you were allowed to leave the path and sit on the mossy ground to the sides of the steps, with minders ensuring order. Basically, you want to sit as close as possible near the bottom of the steps, and this is where it is also the most packed and where a significant area is exclusive access for VIP guest only.

So I suggest you visit with another person if you can, secure your spots quite early from 2 hours before the fire ceremony, and get one of the party to keep the spot if you want to visit the bathroom etc. There is shadow and it is a very pleasant spot to sit. Bring drinks and snacks, have a jolly picnic, take your trash with you.

The official scheduling for the Fire Ceremony is at 14.00, and this is when the steps are closed off to punters so you can no longer arrive or leave. Soon after, the men carrying the huge bamboo torches will appear at the top of the stairs and carry the torches all the way down.

Priests and volunteers will follow, and soon after the mikoshi will appear at the top of the steps. Then, there is some ceremonial carrying of lit small torches, and throwing of omamori, which are apparently very good charms. One fell at my feet, and I count it as one of my best souvenirs and it now graces my living room.

Then, the giant torches are lit and the men carrying them do walk up and down the steps with the lit torches shouting “Haria!” – something captured very beautifully by many videos. If you ant to see this, you would need to be seated at the bottom 100m of the steps – otherwise you catch the mikoski but not so much of the fire action.

The torches weigh about 50kg, are extremely hot and burn down quickly, so the actual fire action is over in 5 minutes. I found it really difficult to get any decent photos. Firstly, quite understandably, everyone rushes to the barriere to see and photograph the torchbearers, who move quite fast. Secondly, I was seated a little bit too high up the path, so the big torches just didn’t pass this part of the steps once lit. Last not least, the contrast between the flames and the dark forest is tricky to balance – my camera was definitely confused, and it’s not the fastest camera.

Then, the mikoshi are carried down in a somewhat more slow manner and get blessed at the waterfall. It’s only possible to view this from afar unless you are press or VIP or have through some way managed to snag a ticket for the viewing area right by Hiro Shrine.

And then, a massive trek sets off towards the bus stop at the top. Be prepared to queue for up to an hour for the bus, definitely bring an umbrella. Forget about taxi or hired car – not only are parking places scarce on the hill, there was also a huge jam of cars in what was made a one-way system for the day.

Return to base or visit an onsen

As the crowds disperse, the real bottleneck was getting down the hill, and here’s a tip not many know about: Unless you have booked your fancy onsen hotel in Kii-Katsura, pay a visit to Nachi Station. The small station has a tourist information and chill area in former main ticket hall and a lovely little onsen with a view of the sea upstairs.

Just buy a 600-yen-ticket at the information and make your way upstairs. It’s a single bath onsen, nothing fancy, but a great way to relax after a day out in the heat. Then you can take one of the frequent buses back to central Kii-Katsura or Shingu.

You could also take a boat from Kii-Katsura Tourist Pier to one of the very large onsen hotels on the peninsula, of which the Hotel Urashima is the most well known. These are very large hotels with several onsen baths dedicated to domestic mass tourism. They do allow day time visitors, but I am unsure whether English is spoken and they certainly do not allow tattoos.

Where to stay for Nachi no Ogi Matsuri

Most importantly, you want good access to Nachi Grand Shrine early in the day, and not commute for hours, so I suggest you base yourself either in Kii-Katsura or Shingu. I did visit some Kumano Kodo sites on my trip, so for me, the best base was Shingu – a friendly small town, with a major Kumano Kodo Shrine, the best bus and train connections including express trains to Osaka and Nagoya, and a tons of nice restaurants.

My first accommodation was the Temple Hotel, a Buddhist Temple lodging, though a modern and functional one. My room was huge, had a kitchenette and huge amounts of free alcohol included. The room can accommodate up to four people. It’s a short pleasant walk to Kumano Hayatama Taisha and the bus stop for the Kumano Kodo sites is less than 100m from the hotel. I paid 51 Euro for one night.

Then I spent two nights in the low key but superb Shingu Guest House Sou, a traditional Japanese House with just three rooms. I would say that proved the best value for money on the entire trip. I paid 62 Euro for two nights for a huge private room with access to full size kitchen, a huge lounge, free bicycle hire and a laundry room. The room was really nice, traditional, simple small town style, but I loved it. The only drawback was climbing down the stairs and crossing the entire house every time I wanted to visit the bathroom.

If you don’t want to stay in Shingu, some other lovely looking places are WhyKumano and Guesthouse Oto (ゲストハウスおと) in Kii-Katsura, both in walking distance to the train station and small town centre. Both have a small dormitory as well as private rooms.

What to bring

I didn’t see any convenience stores or ATM on the hill, so you may want to bring some cash and a couple of snacks. There are many drinks vending machines and a few simple restaurants, one cafeteria style one at Seiganto-ji, some more at the Nachi-no-Taki-mae bus stop, and one more at Daimonzaka Information Centre. I stopped off at the Soba Noodle Shop by Seiganto-ji for a pretty decent and reasonably priced kakigori dessert. It was clean and friendly, I would not mind having a meal there, either. It was busy on the day, but not overly crowded.

You’d really want some water, sun screen, comfy shows and sun protection. IT was super hot, over 30C, and although the Approach to Hiro Shrine is shaded by trees, there are areas in the shrine precinct that are not.

Walking Sticks might be a good idea if you are not into walking steep steps. If you are particular about walking sticks, bring your own, but it’s usually possible to pick up some recycled ones for free – I picked up mine at Nachi-no-Taki-mae.

Yukata are very popular dress for summer festivals, but Nachi no Ogi is not the place to wear yukata. I saw a couple older people in more traditional clothes, but come dressed for comfort with sturdy closed shoes for the uneven stones, long loose clothing, and sun protection.

Is it worth travelling to Kumano Nachi Taisha for the Nachi no Ogi Matsuri?

In all honesty, enjoying the Nachi no Ogi Matsuri as a tourist isn’t straightforward or super easy, but certainly doable. The actual fire ceremony, for which most visitors come, is over in about five minutes, and I found it quite anticlimactic after an early start, sweating it out in 31C heat and spending all morning at Kumano Nachi Taisha.

You definitely want to take the earliest bus you can, to avoid massive queues, and sit and wait near Hiro Shrine for a couple of hours in order to be in a good position to watch the fire action. Both Kumano Nachi Taisha and Seiganto-ji are relatively crowded on the matsuri day, so expect to wait and queue a bit for everything.

If you want to experience a Japanese summer festival and haven’t got your heart set on Nachi no Ogi Matsuri, I would recommend Gion Matsuri in Kyoto. Yes, it gets crowded, but it takes place in a much larger area and there are several very different events, so if you miss your chance on one or don’t get marvellous photographs, you can always enjoy another event. Or you plan your trip so that you can attend both, like I did!

The Small Print

I visited Kansai solo in July 2024, paying for all expenses myself. So what you get here is my totally unbiased opinion, no freebies, no discounts for good reviews. I enjoyed Nachi no Ogi Matsuri as a tourist and witnessed this magnificent festival first hand. The only monetisation of my blog at the time of publication is by affiliate links to Booking.com, which is my preferred hotel booking site when I am not booking directly. If you use one of the links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This blog is 99% a hobby, meaning I work a regular job and all my travel money comes from working full time. You can trust me for unbiased honest opinion.

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