Published October 20, 2026 at 8:03 PM JST

Each January in Nagano's snowy hot-spring village, a great wooden shrine is raised, guarded and finally set alight in one of Japan's most celebrated fire festivals.

Quick answer: The Nozawa Onsen Fire Festival, formally the Nozawa Onsen Dosojin Matsuri, takes place in Nozawa Onsen village, Nagano Prefecture, typically from January 13 to 15, with the fire battle on the night of January 15. Villagers build a huge wooden shrine called a shaden, and men at unlucky ages defend it while other villagers attack it with torches. It is an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, and organizers set the details each year.

A Village Gathers Around the Flames

Nozawa Onsen is a mountain hot-spring village in the north of Nagano Prefecture, well known for its public baths and ski slopes. Every January it also becomes the stage for the Dosojin Matsuri, a fire festival that local people describe as the most important event of their year. The festival is prepared for months and carried out by villagers themselves, which gives it the feeling of a shared family tradition rather than a show.

The festival is held in the first weeks of the new year, during the period of the small New Year, and it is about prayers for good fortune. The village's tourism pages explain that it began as a prayer for a good harvest, health and good luck in the year ahead. Over time it has also come to include wishes for a good ski season, for the safe growth of children, for happy marriages and for protection from misfortune.

Guides describe it as one of Japan's three great fire festivals, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs database lists the Nozawa Onsen Dosojin Matsuri as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. Wikipedia gives the designation date as December 1993. For visitors, it is a rare chance to see a living village ritual in a winter landscape.

Who Are the Dosojin?

Dosojin are traditional guardian deities of roads and boundaries. They are often seen as stone figures standing at village edges or crossroads, and in folk belief they watch over travelers, protect against evil and are linked with the healthy growth of children. A local tourism page explains that these deities guard village borders and crossroads against misfortune.

In Nozawa Onsen, the festival is built around inviting the Dosojin into a newly constructed wooden shrine. After the structure is completed, a priest from a nearby shrine performs a ceremony that gives the shaden the spirit of the Dosojin. The fire that follows is understood as part of the offering and the cleansing, closing the old year's cycle and opening the new.

A first-born child is celebrated too. Families who have welcomed a first son can offer a decorated lantern pole called a hatsu-akari or first lantern, and a replica of one of these decorated poles is shown at a local museum. At the end of the festival, the lanterns are ceremonially burned along with the shaden.

Building the Shaden

The preparations begin long before January. According to the village tourism association, the work starts in mid-September of the previous year, and the sacred trees are felled in October from forest owned by the village. A Japanese travel guide adds that the shaden is built from five sacred trees, and a local guide identifies them as beech.

On January 13, in the afternoon, the sacred trees are hauled down from the mountain. A Japanese guide explains that men at the unlucky ages of 25 and 42 pull them in two teams from the Hikage ski slope to the festival ground, which takes around three hours. Then the shaden itself is assembled by hand from the night of January 14 until about noon on January 15, with the workers abstaining from alcohol during construction.

The structure is large. Wikipedia describes the shaden as three stories tall, about 10 meters high, and built without nails or wire, with roughly a hundred villagers involved in the construction, according to the tourism pages. Whatever the exact measurements, the craftsmanship is considerable, and the whole thing is made to be burned.

The Fire Battle on January 15

The main event begins in the evening. A Japanese guide gives the timetable as follows: the sacred fire is received at the house of the fire source around 7 p.m., lanterns arrive, and at around 8 p.m. there are fireworks and the Dosojin taiko drumming. The fire arrives at the festival ground, and the lighting begins with the head of the village group, followed by children and then adults, ending around 10 p.m.

The battle works like this. Villagers who are not at an unlucky age act as the attackers and light torches from a bonfire, advancing on the shaden to set it alight. Men at the unlucky ages act as the defenders. The 42-year-olds sit on top of the shaden, and the 25-year-olds guard its base and put out the fires with pine branches, according to a local guide, while the attackers and defenders push and shout in the glow.

The scene is dramatic, with flames, sparks and cheering in the cold night. It is also a ritual with careful order, and the village's own guidance reminds visitors that the battle is performed by villagers. Once the participants have moved to a safe distance, the shaden and the lanterns burn in a great closing fire.

Roles, Ages and Village Spirit

The festival rests on the idea of yakudoshi, the unlucky ages in Japanese folk belief. In Nozawa Onsen, the men of 25 and 42 take on the central duties, and the work is shared with a group of men in their early forties who organize the festival. The roles are taken seriously, and the whole community stands behind the men who carry them out.

Safety is part of the tradition. Wikipedia notes that guardians who do not drink sake are assigned to the 25-year-olds for safety, and the construction work is done without alcohol. Together with the cooperation of the whole village, this creates a feeling of seriousness and care behind the flames.

Visitors will notice that the festival is intensely local. Families and neighbors work side by side, and every role has been prepared for with care. The best way to appreciate it is quietly and with respect, as a guest at a community prayer.

Viewing Tips and Etiquette

Viewing details are set by the village each year. The tourism association's page for the 2026 festival noted that admission is by ticket, with tickets going to village residents and guests staying in the village, so visitors should ask their lodging. It also said that visitors may only watch the lighting, which is done by villagers, and that drones are not allowed.

The village asks visitors to bring no drinks, including alcohol, into the festival site. Roads in the village are no-parking areas on festival days, and walking restrictions apply, so emergency and snow-removal vehicles can pass. Accommodation tends to fill up many months ahead, and one guide suggests nearby areas such as Madarao or Togari if the village is full.

A guide also advises staying aware of the fire. Sparks can fly, and the guide warns against wearing a brand-new down jacket. Use respectful language, avoid pushing, do not block other people's view and do not take souvenirs from the site, because items may carry deep meaning for local families.

Getting There and Enjoying the Village

A Japanese travel guide lists the route as the direct Nozawa Onsen Liner bus from Iiyama Station, taking about 25 minutes. By car, the guide gives about 20 kilometers from the Toyoda-Iiyama interchange on the Joshin-etsu Expressway. For the latest information, the village tourism information office can be contacted.

The village itself is a delight. A national government publication notes that Nozawa Onsen has 13 public baths, called soto-yu, which are free to use and maintained by a local association, with water that can be very hot. The same publication describes nozawana, a pickled leafy vegetable, as the village's best-known food, and notes that the village sits at the foot of Mount Kenashi with a ski area reached by a free moving sidewalk.

Related activities around the festival, as listed for 2026, included a wooden roadside deity carving workshop at a local museum on January 15 and mochi grilling at the Dosojin shrine grounds on January 16. Check the village site for each year's offerings.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the Nozawa Onsen Fire Festival held?

It is typically held from January 13 to 15, with the main fire battle on the evening of January 15. The village sets the exact schedule each year, so check the Nozawa Onsen tourism association website.

Can anyone watch the festival?

Yes, but in recent years the village has said admission is by ticket, with tickets going to residents and guests staying in the village. Ask your accommodation about arrangements, and check the official page for the latest rules before booking.

Who fights in the fire battle?

Villagers attack the shaden with torches, and men at the unlucky ages of 25 and 42 defend it. Visitors watch, and only villagers carry out the lighting. The battle ends with the shaden and decorated lanterns being burned.

Further reading: the Nozawa Onsen village tourism page on the Dosojin Matsuri, the Nozawa Onsen fire festival guide and the government publication on Nozawa Onsen village.

Keep exploring: Nachi Fire Festival: Twelve Fan Shrines Come Home to the Falls; Yoshida Fire Festival: Mount Fuji's Season-Closing Night of Torches; Kurama Fire Festival: A Torch-Lit Autumn Night in Kyoto's Hills; Yokote Kamakura: Glowing Snow Huts, Warm Amazake and a Water Deity Altar.