This week’s HOT SPOT

Nara, Japan Mt Wakakusayama is set ablaze for ‘‘mountain roast’’.

On the fourth Saturday in January, the people of Japan’s first permanent capital, Nara, set fire to the dead grass on Mt Wakakusayama after a blazing fireworks display.

The origins of the centuries-old festival, Wakakusa Yamayaki, are unclear but one theory is that it began during territory wars between Nara’s great temples. Another claims the fires were lit to drive away wild boars.

The festival kicks off at noon when people gather around the mountain’s base to take part in activities such as the throwing of giant sembei (rice crackers). About 5pm, torch bearers set out from Unesco-listed eighthcentury Shinto shrine Kashuga Taisha, stopping at the Mizuya Shrine to light their torches. They typically arrive at the mountain about 5.30pm and the fireworks display begins shortly afterwards. The flames are visible as far away as the Heijo Palace site, also Unesco listed.

Nara is easy to reach from Kyoto and has eight world heritage sites in total, including the Todai-ji temple, which houses a 15-metre bronze Buddha and fellow Buddhist temples Kofuku-ji and Gango-ji.