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Most viewed - Takao-san Dai-hiwatari Festival 高尾山 大火渡り祭
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Costume gals. Even these girls walked on the fire.925 views

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Dai-hiwatari Festival, Mt. Takao, Tokyo344 views
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Hiwatari fire-crossing festival, Mt. Takao, Tokyo330 views
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This is what it looked like by the time we got there. Hardly any fire. It was somewhat wet, and it did not feel hot or warm at all. Pretty disappointing...322 viewsThis is what it looked like by the time we got there. Hardly any fire. It was somewhat wet, and it did not feel hot or warm at all. Pretty disappointing...
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End of the walk. Again we dip our feet in salt. We all ended up with muddy feet. There was no place to wash our feet either. Bringing wet tissues is highly recommended if you plan to walk on the fire.315 views
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Before and after walking over the fire, they stick their feet into a pile of salt.311 views
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The festival site is a short walk from Takao-san-guchi Station. It's held in this large lot cordoned off by a sacred rope. This festival is held as a prayer for traffic safety, household safety, and personal safety. It is held by the Yakuoin Yukiji Te294 views
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Yamabushi--mountain ascetic priests. They carried a conch-shell-like instrument.285 views
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Head priest267 views
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The name of the festival is "Hiwatari," literally meaning fire crossing. They make a big fire, then allow people to walk over the embers. This is the centerpiece of the festival, a pile of cypress tree branches to be burned.246 views
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Everyone crosses barefoot, so we took off our shoes as we approached the fire crossing.186 views
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Back at the Yakuoin temple which belongs to the Shingon Sect of Buddhism. 薬王院186 views
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After the priests, the general public is invited to stand in line and cross the fire for free.169 views
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Various ceremonies, rituals, and chanting takes place during one hour from 1 pm. Divine ax used to cut away earthly desires.151 views
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First the priests walked on the fire.148 views
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I always wondered how hot it was to walk on the fire, so this time I decided to walk over the fire just to see how much heat my feet could bear. Also see the video at YouTube.144 views
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First we pass through a gauntlet of chanters.142 views
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Priests parade back to temple.141 views
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This festival is held on the second Sunday every March at the foot of Mt. Takao. It takes less than an hour from Shinjuku via the Keio Line. Train fare is only 370 yen. The pile of tree branches is supported by a wooden framework. A priest pours kerosene.138 views
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He shoots an arrow into the pile from the four corners.138 views
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This long torch will be used to ignite the pile.136 views
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She was tossing out these paper things to the crowd.136 views
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Walking on fire135 views
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Then we stick our feet in salt.135 views
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Blessing the path133 views
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This priest splashed the boiling contents of this pot over himself.129 views
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Divine arrow to ward off any life-threatening devils. The festival is executed by the mountain ascetic priests called yamabushi.128 views
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Raking the fire. They are making the footpath for fire walkers.126 views
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End of the line. It reads, "Saikobi."123 views
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Raking the fire122 views
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Long line: It took us over 30 minutes to reach the fire.122 views
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After crossing the fire, each person is blessed by the head priest with a tap on the shoulder by a baton.121 views
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The pile is first ignited from two sides.117 views
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The pile catches fire very easily due to the kerosene. Even at this distance, it gets very hot. Also see the video at YouTube.110 views
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