At Yasaka-jinja Shrine around midnight on December 31, the roots of the okera plant are set ablaze in the Okera Mairi Festival. Visitors to the shrine then take home the embers of the fire, taking care to keep them alight. These are used to cook zoni, a broth containing chicken, vegetables, and rice cakes. This practice dates back to ancient times and has been designated as an important cultura treasure event of Kyoto.

Around midnight on New Year’s Eve, all temples ring their large bronze bells 108 times, a tradition called “joya-no-kane". Why 108 times? In Buddhism, it is said that humans have 108 earthly desires that are the source of all sufferings, and each toll of the bell helps people rid themselves of one of these desires for a fresh New Year. The final toll will ring out just after midnight.

Each year in the first week of January, Japanese people visit temples and shrines to pray for happiness and prosperity. This is called hatsumode. At Yasaka Shrine, women dressed in kimono participate in a traditional karuta-tori tournament. Heian Shrine and Kitano-tenmangu Shrine are also popular destinations. Merchants often visit Fushimi Inari Taisha, which enshrines the god of commerce, and receives more New Year's Eve visitors than almost any other shrine in Japan.

Kodai-ji Temple is holding a winter's tea ceremony “Yobanashi”, by candlelight. Guests will be able to sample hot tea and Kyoto cuisine, enjoy a specially illuminated garden, and tour Kodai-ji Temple, Entoku-in Temple, and the Sho Art Museum. There will also be a coffee party and other activities to help you pass an enjoyable winter's night. Reservations required.

SETSUBUN, OBAKE (2-4 February):
Shrines and temples hold rites to exorcise demons, an event marking the start of spring according to the lunar calendar. The Setsubun Festival at Yoshida-jinja Shrine is especially lively, lined with stalls and crowded with people. On the night of February 3rd is the annual event “obake"" (in Japanese folklore this means spirits or ghosts) to scare off goblins or spirits, and ward off evil.

Geisha and maiko host an outdoor tea ceremony beneath the plum blossoms during Baika-sai, which takes place at Kitano-tenmangu Shrine each year on February 25. Visitors at the shrine can watch as they commemorate Sugawara Michizane on the anniversary of his death. Sugawara Michizane was a well-known scholar, politician, and plum-blossom aficionado of the Heian Period who is celebrated as the god of study in the shrine.

HINA-MATSURI (DOLL FESTIVAL)-March 3rd.
During the Hina-matsuri (Doll Festival), families with young girls display a group of dolls representing the Heian court in their homes. They also serve special dishes including hina arei, grilled rice cake; hishimochi, stacked diamond-shaped rice cakes of white, green, and pink; and sushi. The public Hina-matsuri celebrations held at Ichihime-jinja Shrine and Hokyo-ji Temple are especially famous.