On New Year’s Eve in northern Tokyo, the historic district of Oji transforms with a procession of kimono-clad revelers moving quietly through the streets toward Oji Inari-jinja Shrine. The Oji Fox Parade — also known as kitsune no gyoretsu — is one of the capital’s most atmospheric year-end traditions: part folklore reenactment, part community celebration and a bucket list New Year’s event in Japan for fans of mythology.
“New Year’s Eve Foxfires at the Changing Tree, Oji” by Utagawa Hiroshige (c. 1857)
The Legend of Kitsune no Gyoretsu
Long before the trains rattled through the Namboku Line, the area around Oji was a patchwork of fields and thickets — ideal territory for fox spirits. According to an old regional tale, foxes from across the Kanto plain would gather beneath a towering Japanese hackberry tree on New Year’s Eve. There in the winter darkness, they would don elaborate costumes, disguise themselves as humans and make their first shrine visit of the year at Oji Inari-jinja Shrine.
The story is famous thanks to Utagawa Hiroshige, who immortalized the scene in his 1857 ukiyo-e print Foxfires at the Changing Tree, Oji. The image shows flickering fire illuminating the animals as they prepare for their pilgrimage — an eerie, enchanted vision that still defines how people imagine the parade today.
The modern event, launched in 1993, deliberately reenacts Hiroshige’s image. Around 300 participants dress in kimono, don fox masks or Oji-style fox makeup and carry yellow lanterns symbolizing foxfire. The procession sets out from Shozoku Inari-jinja, the small shrine believed to mark the very spot where foxes once changed into their human garb and proceeds toward Oji Inari-jinja. Along the route, local shops sell fox masks, shrines distribute special New Year goshuin and the streets hum with anticipation of the mythical evening ahead.
How To Participate in the Oji Fox Parade
You can experience the Oji Fox Parade in two ways: join it or watch it.
To join the procession, participants must apply in advance (a fee of ¥2,000 is required). If selected, you’ll be expected to wear a seasonally appropriate kimono and a fox mask or fox makeup, and carry one of the lanterns provided by organizers. This isn’t a casual cosplay event — the atmosphere is more ceremonial than theatrical — so dressing respectfully and warmly is key. Because it’s winter, many participants layer tabi socks and discreet thermal wear beneath their kimono to survive the midnight chill.
If dressing up isn’t your plan, watching the parade is completely free and equally atmospheric. Streets around Shozoku Inari-jinja begin filling well before 11 p.m., and by midnight good vantage points are scarce. The procession itself is surprisingly quiet and almost solemn, which only heightens its dreamlike quality as it winds toward Oji Inari-jinja, where most people make their hatsumode, or first shrine visit of the year.
Do note that Oji Station gets extremely crowded after the parade. The Namboku Line shuts down for the night, taxi availability can be limited and lines for the JR Keihin-Tohoku Line often snake out of the station. Many Tokyoites simply wait for the first trains of the new year or duck into a late-night cafe until things calm down.
Oji Fox Parade 2025 Time and Location
The 2025 Oji Fox Parade will take place from the night of December 31, 2025 into the early hours of January 1, 2026. The events will unfold in stages:
- 13:00 – 15:00 — Children’s kitsune stamp rally in costume (registration required).
- 23:00 — Rice ceremony at Shozoku Inari-jinja, marking the start of New Year’s Eve rituals.
- 23:30 — Participants begin lining up for the procession (some areas become restricted).
- 00:00 — At the stroke of midnight, the fox parade departs from in front of Shozoku Inari-jinja.
- 01:30 — Procession arrives at Oji Inari-jinja, where festivities conclude.
Access:
- 7-minute walk from Oji Station (Tokyo Metro Namboku Line), or 6-minute walk from Oji Station (JR Keihin-Tohoku Line)
Whether you’re joining the midnight march or watching the lantern parade through the dark, joining the Oji Fox Parade is one of Tokyo’s most magical ways to welcome the new year, reminding us that even in a sprawling metropolis, old legends still dwell like foxfire flickering in the night.
