Kurama Fire Festival was held on the night of October 22nd around Yuki-jinja Shrine at Mt. Kurama, Kyoto. Bearing huge flaming torches that showered red sparks and crackled, the male villagers loudly chanted "Sai-rei, sai-ryo," meaning "May the feast be good," as they paraded before some 13,000 spectators.

At 6:00 p.m., as dusk fell over the village, the bonfires placed outside each house along the main street were lit and small boys from the village appeared carrying mini-torches. After them, men in traditional loincloths began marching up and down the main street of the village, carrying larger torches as long as up to five meters in length.

At 9:00 p.m., when hundreds of torches of a variety of sizes converged in front of the stone steps leading to Kuramadera Temple, as the lively blaze became an enormous bonfire, the fiery festival reached its climax.