Photos: Myself · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ganden · CC BY 3.0 · そらみみ · CC BY-SA 3.0
The 大 of the Gozan Okuribi, lit at 20:00 on 16 August, sits on Daimonji-yama. On any other day you can hike about an hour to the open fire beds where it is lit, stand in the stroke of the character, and look straight down it over the city.
Why it's unique
The bonfire ritual exists only here, and standing in its fire beds is part of that. Every August the character is lit as part of the city's send-off for the dead; the rest of the year the beds are an open hillside you can walk up to.
Because the fire beds are treeless, they are also the best free panorama on the east side of the city, which makes the climb worth doing whatever the season.
Before you go
From the Ginkaku-ji approach, go left round the gate, past the Hachi Shrine torii, and take the right fork over the bridge; straight on dead-ends. The fire beds are treeless, so this is the best free panorama on the east side; the summit (465 m), 20 minutes on, is quieter and has less view. There is a 火気厳禁 sign at the beds: no fire, no cigarettes. The only toilet is at the foot of the approach.
On 16 August the order is 大 at 20:00, 妙法 at 20:05, the boat at 20:10, the left-hand 大 at 20:15 and the torii at 20:20; each burns about 30 minutes, and 2026 was the first lighting under the organisers' new foundation. Free and always open; carry a light if you go for sunset.
