Kyoto Daimonji 2026: 4 Official Spots for the Aug 16 Okuribi Fires (8 p.m.)

On the night of Sunday, August 16, fires are lit one after another on five hills around Kyoto — each one a character or shape big enough to pick out from the streets below. People call it "Daimonji-yaki," but the official name is Gozan no Okuribi (五山送り火).

Families welcome their ancestors home for Obon, and these fires send them back. There's no music and no finale, nothing staged for a crowd. Where you stand is the whole experience.

If this is your first time, go to Demachiyanagi (出町柳). The official map lists four spots for the big 大 on Higashiyama, the one most people mean by Daimonji. Demachiyanagi is the easiest of the four, a short walk from Demachiyanagi Station (出町柳駅) on the Keihan and Eizan lines.

Keihan doesn't reach Kyoto Station, so if that's where you're starting, take the JR Nara Line to Tofukuji (東福寺) and change to Keihan there — one transfer.

If your hotel sits on the Karasuma subway line, Kitayama-dori (北山通) just outside Matsugasaki Station (松ヶ崎駅) suits you better: one ride from Kyoto Station, no transfer. What you see from there is Myo-Ho (妙法), not Daimonji.

The hills are far apart — pick one, two at the most. And the official pages don't mention food stalls anywhere, so eat before you go.

Daimonji is lit at 8 p.m. The other fires follow at five-minute intervals, and each one burns for about 30 minutes.

For the dates and how bad the crowds get, see When Is Obon 2026?.

Lighting Times and the Official Viewing Map

The viewing points below come from the "Gozan Okuribi Viewing Map," published on Kyoto's official tourism site. The fires burn in six places, but Myo and Ho sit next to each other and count as one — that's why it's five hills and not six.

Daimonji in the east and Hidari Daimonji in the west are both the character 大. Funagata is a boat and Toriigata a shrine gate.

The last fire, Toriigata, is out by around 8:50 p.m., so the whole thing runs just under an hour. Sunset in Kyoto on August 16 is 6:45 p.m. Aim to be in place by 7 and pick your spot while there's still light.

Bad weather can change when the fires are lit and when they're put out. There's no published policy on cancellation or postponement, so if a storm is in the forecast, check the official page that afternoon before you head out.

Official site (English):

Official viewing map (English PDF): https://global.kyoto.travel/resource/global/download/79-pdf.pdf

Off-Limits Hills, and Where to Stand Instead

The Kyoto City Tourism Association's English page is blunt about climbing up for a closer look: "Entering the hills where the Okuribi are held on August 16 is prohibited for your safety and for the prevention of potential interruption of the bonfire procedures." That covers all five hills, Daimonji-yama (大文字山) included.

Standing inside a mapped area doesn't guarantee a view — buildings and hillsides get in the way in plenty of spots. The association also asks people not to stop and watch on bridges, anywhere the walkway is narrow, or in the street, so pick a stretch of sidewalk with room.

The association warns about the riverbanks after dark too — the footing is bad, and people do end up in the water. If you're watching from the riverside, stay up on the path instead of going down to the water's edge.

Kyoto Gyoen (京都御苑), the park around the former Imperial Palace, doesn't allow saving spots in advance. The paths are gravel, so leave the sandals at the hotel.

Between 7:50 and 8:50 p.m., the tourism association asks for lights across Kyoto to go off. Bring a light of your own — your phone will do.

Kinkaku-ji shuts its gates at 5 p.m., well before the 8:15 lighting. Hidari Daimonji is a view from Nishioji-dori, not from inside the temple.

Kyoto City Tourism Association (Japanese only):

Paid Viewing: One Plan Still Open (as of July 30, 2026)

One plan is still taking reservations: the "Gozan Okuribi Viewing Evening 2026" at the Westin Miyako Kyoto, 24,200 yen per adult. Bookings close at 5 p.m. on August 16. The plan uses two dining rooms, and one is already full.

Viewing tickets for the Nidec Kyoto Tower observation deck were sold by lottery, and that sale has closed. There are no day-of tickets and no waitlist.

On August 16 the deck keeps normal hours until 6:30 p.m., with last admission at 6, and from 6:30 only okuribi ticket holders go up. An ordinary ticket won't get you up there at 8.

The Kyoto Tower Hotel plan and the Hotel Monterey Kyoto dinner plan are sold out as well.

Westin Miyako Kyoto (Japanese only):

Nidec Kyoto Tower (Japanese only):

Gomagi (護摩木): Where to Write Your Name, and the Cutoffs

Gomagi are sticks of wood you write a name or a wish on. They go into that night's fires.

On August 16 the desks close early: Funagata at about 10 a.m., and Toriigata, the last of them, by about 3 p.m. The association notes that the dates and times are provisional, and that a desk may close sooner once the sticks run out.

Drop-off points differ by hill: Daimonji at the Hachi Shrine (八神社) grounds behind Ginkaku-ji, Myo-Ho beside Exit 1 of Matsugasaki subway station, Funagata in the Saihoji (西方寺) parking lot. For the western hills it's the Kinkaku-ji gate for Hidari Daimonji (plus Hoonji (法音寺) on the 16th), and the Hattai Jizo (八体地蔵) on Kyoto Prefectural Route 50 for Toriigata.

Kyoto City official tourism site (Japanese only):

Traffic Restrictions and Getting Home

As of July 30, 2026, Kyoto Prefectural Police haven't posted traffic restrictions for this year's okuribi. In 2025 they closed roads around Shogunzuka (将軍塚) from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., and around the Kamo and Takano rivers, Kinkaku-ji, and Togetsukyo Bridge and Hirosawa Pond from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Nearly every viewing point in this article sat inside one of those zones. Assume the same this year, and get there on foot or by train rather than by car or taxi.

In 2025, city buses were rerouted around Kamigamo (上賀茂), Demachiyanagi and Arashiyama from roughly 6:50 to 9 p.m. For the trip home, though, extra buses ran toward Kyoto Station between about 8 and 9, including a run down Kawaramachi-dori (河原町通), from Kawaramachi-Imadegawa past Shijo-Kawaramachi.

In 2025 the subway also had staff posted at six stations, Matsugasaki among them, but there was no notice of extended late service on the Karasuma line. If you're heading back that way, look up the last train before you go.

From Demachiyanagi, Keihan runs south to Sanjo (三条) and Gion-Shijo (祇園四条). For Kyoto Station, change at Tofukuji to the JR Nara Line.

Keihan announced its special service for this year on July 25, 2026: two extra express trains leave Demachiyanagi at 8:35 p.m. and 9:01 p.m. Both terminate at Yodo (淀) in southern Kyoto, and neither reaches Osaka.

For Osaka you want a limited express to Yodoyabashi (淀屋橋). The same notice also names the 10:39 p.m. and 10:57 p.m. limited expresses, but those are regular services running with a Premium Car (reserved, paid seating) attached — not extra trains. For anything earlier, check the regular timetable.

Official site (Japanese only): Kyoto Prefectural Police

Keihan (Japanese only):

Quieter Than Gion Matsuri

There's none of the noise of Gion Matsuri, where floats roll through the streets. Nothing marks the end either — no announcement, no closing bell, just the characters fading out on the hillside.

If you're in Kyoto earlier in the summer, July's Gion Matsuri is the other Kyoto event worth planning around: Gion Matsuri 2026. For what else is happening this season, see Japan Summer Festival Guide 2026.