Winter Events in Hiroshima 2027: 13 Events from Ebisu Taisai to Tondo Bonfires, with Dates and How to Take Part

Apart from the Ebisu Taisai in Hiroshima City (November 18–20), the winter traditions of Hiroshima are gathered on Miyajima, and in January the “tondo” bonfire is held in a row at three places: Itsukushima Shrine, Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine and Hiroshima Toshogu. The fire-walking ceremonies in November (Daiganji on November 3, which has already taken place this year, and Daishoin on November 15) let anyone who wants walk across barefoot for free. The Miyajima Oyster Festival in February, on the other hand, was cancelled in 2026 because the oysters did not grow well, and as of October 26, 2026 no date had been announced for 2027.

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1. How to choose a winter event in Hiroshima (watch, take part, return old charms)

What you want to do decides which event to pick.

• To walk around a night festival: Ebisu Taisai (November 18–20). Last year, on the final night, Chuo-dori was closed to traffic and there was night kagura and Japanese drumming.
• To see a fire event: the Chinka-sai on Miyajima (December 31, 18:00). Townspeople carry torches along Mikasahama beach.
• To take part: the fire-walking ceremony at Daishoin (November 15), free and open to anyone who wants. Daiganji’s is held every November 3, and the 2026 one is over.
• To return old charms and talismans: the old talisman burning at Itsukushima Shrine (January 14), the tondo festival at Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine (January 15) and the tondo festival at Hiroshima Toshogu (a holiday near January 15).
• To eat something warm: the seven-herb rice porridge festival at Hiroshima Toshogu (January 7, ¥500) and the rice cakes at the tondo festival (2 for ¥300).

2. Dates, places and how to take part in the 13 events

Events with fixed yearly dates use their 2026–27 dates. For events that change by year, the 2026 record is shown.

Sources: the Miyajima Tourist Association’s pages for each event (Daiganji, Daishoin, Chinka-sai, Momote-sai and the Oyster Festival); Hiroshima City’s “Ebisu-ko / Ebessan” page and the Hiroshima tourism site Dive! Hiroshima for Ebisu Taisai; the official annual event table (Reiwa 8) for Itsukushima Shrine; the New Year visit page and the festivals page for Hiroshima Toshogu; the festivals page for Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine. All checked on October 26, 2026 (Japanese).

3. Things to know when going around winter events in Hiroshima

You get to the Miyajima events by boat. Itsukushima Shrine has no car park, and the ferry from Miyajimaguchi Pier takes about 10 minutes. JR West Miyajima Ferry publishes a year-end and New Year timetable. On December 31 boats run from Miyajimaguchi and from Miyajima until the 23:55 departure, so there is a return boat after the Chinka-sai. On New Year’s Day boats start from the 0:10 departure.

Some events change time every year. The official annual event table says the old talisman burning at Itsukushima Shrine changes every year with the low tide. In the 2026 table it was from noon to 14:00 on January 14.

Some events are set to “a holiday of that year.” The Hiroshima Toshogu tondo festival is listed as “a holiday near January 15” in the yearly event table, and in 2026 it was Saturday, January 17.

Ebisu Taisai is held every year for three days, November 18–20, at Ebisu Shrine in Ebisu-cho and along Chuo-dori. From the south exit of JR Hiroshima Station it is about 12 minutes by streetcar, and you get off at Hatchobori stop and are there at once.

4. November: fire-walking ceremonies on Miyajima (Daiganji and Daishoin)

Miyajima has fire-walking ceremonies at two places in November, and both are free to join. Daiganji’s “Itsukushima Daibutsu Fudo Myoo Taisai” is held every November 3, with a fire ritual (saito goma) at 13:00 and the fire-walking ceremony from about 14:00. You are asked to come in clothes you can go barefoot in, and a tea and sweets service is set up in the grounds. In 2026 it has already taken place.

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Daishoin’s autumn festival is held every November 15. It starts with a sutra-reading service at 11:00, a fire ritual at 13:00 and the fire-walking at 14:00, and is due to end around 15:00. The fire comes from the “Eternal Flame” that has burned on Mt. Misen for over 1,200 years and is used to burn green cypress leaves, and monks, mountain ascetics and then worshippers walk barefoot over the remaining embers. Daishoin holds the same ceremony on April 15 as well.

Dates and times are on the Miyajima Tourist Association pages for Daiganji fire-walking and Daishoin fire-walking (Japanese).

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5. November: Ebisu Taisai in Hiroshima City (Ebisu-ko, “Ebessan”)

Ebisu Taisai is the festival that announces the start of winter in Hiroshima. According to Hiroshima City (its “Ebisu-ko / Ebessan” page, Japanese), it is the autumn festival of Ebisu Shrine in Ebisu-cho, Naka Ward, and Ebisu is the guardian of business, called “Ebessan” locally. The shopping streets near the shrine hold a big “Seimon-barai” sale, and people wishing for business success buy bamboo rakes (komazarai) decorated with large and small gold coins and treasure ships.

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Among the “Ebessan” events during the festival, last year Chuo-dori was closed to traffic from 19:15 to 22:00 on the final night, November 20 (cancelled if raining). Between the Ebisu-cho intersection and the Horikawa-cho intersection, there was a joint performance of night kagura and Japanese drumming from 19:35 (Dive! Hiroshima page on Ebisu Taisai, Japanese). As of October 26, the 2026 hours for the traffic-free street could not be found.

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6. December 31: Chinka-sai on Miyajima

The Chinka-sai is a festival to ward off fire, held every December 31 from 18:00 for about 30 minutes at Mikasahama. Mikasahama is the beach from the stone torii to the entrance of Itsukushima Shrine (Miyajima Tourist Association page on the Chinka-sai, Japanese). Until the Edo period it was a town event run by mountain ascetics, and after the Meiji Restoration it became an event of Itsukushima Shrine. A sacred fire lit at the shrine’s purification hall is passed to torches of all sizes, from large torches carried by 20–30 townspeople to small ones about 50 cm long. The large torches are carried along the beach to the shout of “Taimatsu, yoi yoi.”

The shrine’s official annual event table lists a year-end service at 16:00 and the Chinka-sai at 18:00 on the same day.

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7. January: Saitan-sai and Chikyu-sai at Itsukushima Shrine

At Itsukushima Shrine, New Year’s Day starts with a robe offering ceremony at 0:00 and the Saitan-sai at 5:00, where the bugaku dance “Furihoko” is performed. According to the official annual event table (Reiwa 8), the Futsuka-sai on the 2nd is at 8:30 and the Genshi-sai on the 3rd is at 9:00, and both have bugaku from 13:00.

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The Chikyu-sai on the 5th is at 5:30, and bugaku follows the ceremony. One of the dances, “Batto,” is also called the “dance of the sunrise.”

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8. January 7: seven-herb porridge festival at Hiroshima Toshogu

The seven-herb porridge festival at Hiroshima Toshogu was held in 2026 at 11:00 on January 7 for ¥500, limited to 500 servings. It is a porridge with the seven herbs of spring, said to drive away evil and ward off illness. It is made with the sacred water of the shrine, and groups of 15 or more were asked to reserve at the shrine office by December 25 (New Year visit page on the official website of Hiroshima Toshogu, Japanese).

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9. January: tondo festivals and old talisman burning (3 places)

The “tondo” bonfire, which burns old talismans, charms and New Year decorations, is held in a row at 3 places in Hiroshima.

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At Itsukushima Shrine it is called the “old talisman burning” and is held from noon to 14:00 on January 14. Old talismans, charms and New Year decorations are burned with purifying fire. The time changes every year with the low tide.

The Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine tondo festival is on January 15. The time is not listed on the festivals page of the official website.

The Hiroshima Toshogu tondo festival is held on a holiday near January 15. In 2026 it was lit at 11:00 on January 17 and lasted until about noon. Rice cakes grilled over the tondo fire were available for 2 for ¥300, and you may bring your own rice cakes. It gets crowded on the day, and the shrine asked visitors to use public transport or nearby car parks.

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10. January 20: Momote-sai at Omoto Shrine

The Momote-sai is an archery rite held every year at 11:00 on January 20 at Omoto Shrine on Miyajima. It comes from a ceremony of shooting 200 arrows, and today a target with a character that looks like a demon, made by combining the three characters “ko,” “otsu” and “mu,” is shot. The character carries the meaning “no quarrels from the start of the year.” After the rite, “keihan,” said to be a field ration of the Warring States period, is served. The Miyajima Tourist Association page on the Momote-sai (Japanese) has no viewing information.

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11. February: Setsubun festival at Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine

Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine holds a Setsubun festival on February 3. The festivals page on the official website of Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine (Japanese) lists only the date, with no time or description.

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12. February: Miyajima Oyster Festival cancelled in 2026, not announced for 2027

The 42nd Miyajima Oyster Festival, planned for February 14–15, 2026, was cancelled because the oysters did not grow well. It is held every year on the 2nd Saturday and Sunday of February in the square in front of Miyajima Pier, where dishes such as oyster dote-nabe hotpot and fried oysters were about ¥100–¥200 (2021 information). The 2nd Saturday and Sunday of 2027 are February 13 and 14, but as of October 26, 2026 the Miyajima Tourist Association page on the Oyster Festival (Japanese) had no announcement of a 2027 event.

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Address: Ebisu-cho, Naka Ward, Hiroshima City, and Miyajima-cho, Hatsukaichi City, Hiroshima (varies by event; see the table) · Google Maps

For New Year shrine visits, see our page (in Japanese), Hatsumode in Hiroshima 2027.

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Sources

12 pages we checkedShow

• Miyajima Tourist Association: Daiganji fire-walking ceremony
• Miyajima Tourist Association: Daishoin fire-walking ceremony
• Miyajima Tourist Association: Chinka-sai
• Miyajima Tourist Association: Momote-sai
• Miyajima Tourist Association: Miyajima Oyster Festival
• Hiroshima City: about Ebisu-ko and Ebessan
• Dive! Hiroshima: Ebisu Taisai
• Hiroshima Toshogu: New Year visit
• Hiroshima Toshogu: festivals and events
• Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine: festivals and events
• JR West Miyajima Ferry: year-end and New Year timetable
• Japanese version of this page (日本語版)

Checked with official pages on October 26, 2026 (Japan time).