Fiery Japanese Festival | 大磯の左義長 | Oiso, Kanagawa

I went to the Oiso no Sagicho Matsuri, a fire festival in Oiso!

Mike from Chill Japan: https://youtu.be/_feZ4K2ydBA

My Socials and Gear [Affiliate]: https://linktr.ee/andyjapandy

Oiso is a small surfing and fishing town with a population of roughly 32,000 people, located on the southern coast of Sagami Bay in Kanagawa Prefecture. This coast is known as Shonan, the go-to day trip destination for surfing and swimming during the summer, although the surfers are there year-round.

The local guardian deity in Oiso is Seino Kamisan, a protector of travelers. Sagicho is a fire festival celebrating Seino Kamisan and is the last New Year’s event in the area, being traditionally held two weeks into the year. Due to the You-Know-What, this event hasn’t been held for the past two years. Sagicho is a tradition that has lasted over 400 years and has been officially recognised as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan.

The highlight of Sagicho is Yanna-Goko, when 9 bonfires (or Saito) representing each of the nine communities in Oiso are lit and everyone roasts dango, a dumpling made from glutenous rice, over the open flames. It is believed that if you eat that dango, you will be protected from catching a cold.

In hindsight, I should have worn a cotton jacket as my polyester North Face jacket was at risk of melting near the flames. To avoid this, I took it off and was still plenty warm when all the fires were lit. I wouldn’t recommend others do this, but rather just wear a coat or jacket that is made of cotton just to be safe.

All in all, I really had a wonderful time at the festival getting to enjoy such a community-driven event and can wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone who is looking to experience traditional Japanese culture without having to travel all the way out to Kyoto. I want to give a shout-out to my good friend Mike from the Chill Japan channel for inviting me and showing me around as the community was getting things ready for the big event. Be sure to check his channel out as well since he released a video showing more behind the scenes of setting up the event.

**PATREON SUPPORTERS**

Connor Maze

Eric Timmer

Dion’s Travels

Ericsurf6

ALBO

**TIMESTAMPS**

00:00 – Intro