Experience a Japanese New Year's Eve Countdown in Osaka 2021-2022: The Purifying Bell Tolls on New Year's Eve

📍 Osaka · 👁 4179 reads · ❤️ 37 likes

2021 is coming to an end, and a new year is about to begin.

Each country has its own way of welcoming the new year. In Japan, there is a custom of celebrating the new year by listening to the temple bells. The resonant sound of "dong, dong" as the bell tolls is truly mysterious! On the last day of this year, December 31, why not take the Osaka Metro and go to ring in the New Year's Eve bell?

*To prevent the spread of COVID-19, events may be canceled. Please check the official website for details.

*From December 30 to January 3, Osaka Metro will operate on a "Saturday, Sunday, and holiday schedule." On December 31, after normal operations end, Osaka Metro will run all night until the first train on January 1, with intervals of approximately 30 minutes. (The New Tram will run at intervals of about 20 minutes.) For details, please check the Osaka Metro official website.

When does the New Year's Eve bell ring?

The bell rings around midnight when the date changes to New Year's Day. It is also stipulated that the bell tolls 108 times. Some say this originates from Japanese Buddhist thought, but it is not a strongly religious activity, and many people visit without religious faith.

The number of bell tolls, "108," is said to correspond to the number of human烦恼 (worries, troubling mental activities). Each toll or each time you hear a bell toll drives away one烦恼. Another theory holds that it derives from the idiom "四苦八苦" (the four and eight kinds of suffering), meaning "the unavoidable sufferings of life": four sufferings (4×9) + eight sufferings (8×9) = 36+72 = 108.

Depending on the COVID-19 situation, in recent years more temples have allowed people not only to hear the bell but also to strike it themselves. However, this year many places have also canceled the New Year's Eve bell-striking event. If the temple's head priest strikes the bell, it can still be enjoyable to listen to the clear sound.

Next, let me introduce some temples where you can actually strike the bell on New Year's Eve.

First up is Shitennoji, about a 4-minute walk from Shitennoji-mae Yuhigaoka Station. It is said to have been built over 1,400 years ago. Within Shitennoji, there are three bell towers, and the number of bell tolls is the same. The first 108 people to arrive can strike the bell. Numbered tickets are distributed from 11:00 PM, so go early. The actual bell-striking time starts at 11:30 PM. Also from 11:30 PM, the first 1,000 people to arrive receive sweet sake (amazake).

Even if you miss the New Year's Eve bell-striking quota, you can strike the bell in sequence around 3:00 AM the next morning. This is called the good-luck bell or the fortune-opening bell.

Kita Mido (Honganji Tsumura Betsuin) [Cancelled this year]

Kita Mido is conveniently located about a 2-minute walk from Honmachi Station. The name of this temple is the origin of the name Midosuji. Every year end, a grand New Year's Eve gathering is held, starting at 11:00 PM. After the New Year's Eve gathering and bell-striking assembly, there is no limit of only 108 people to strike the bell; everyone can strike it. Moreover, from 6:00 AM on January 1, a New Year's Day gathering is held to celebrate the start of the new year.

If you look a bit farther into the suburbs, there is Daibutsu-ji Temple in Hirano Ward. It is about a 7-minute walk from Tanimachi Line's Hirano Station. It is said to be the first nembutsu dojo in Japan, and its main hall is the largest wooden structure in Osaka Prefecture. On December 31, a New Year's Eve service and bell-striking event are held. The bell can be struck at both the main hall and the bell tower, but the bell tower service is limited to the first 108 groups (numbered tickets are distributed, with a maximum of 5 people per group). Visitors can not only strike the bell but also receive ozoni (rice cake soup) and sake in a bucket. *Amazake and ozoni will not be offered in 2021-2022.

Let us ring in the new year with the sound of temple bells, reflecting on the past year and welcoming it with a joyful heart!

If you need to find a hotel to stay at after hearing the New Year's Eve bell, please use the spot search function.

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Travelogue Table of Contents

1. Shitennoji [Cancelled this year]

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