Join the Sorasaya tondo festival

A great opportunity to be part of rounding off the New Year commemorations at a local festival, and stay warm too.

Sorasaya Shrines’s annual tondo bonfire festival is one of our favorite tondo festivals in the area. Held in Sorasaya Park, it is a more local affair than the big one held at Gokoku Shrine, but quite open to people from outside the local community joining in.

This year, supporters of the Shrine have reached out to GetHiroshima to invite members of our community to take part in the festival. There are three main tasks available
① Harvesting bamboo and building the bonfire
② Sorting out and preparing the New Year decorations handed in by shrine goers which will go in the bonfire.
③ Some lucky elementary school kids will be able to light the bonfire (under supervision of local firefighters).

See below for details about the tasks and schedule.

① Bamboo harvesting and tondo building
Apply here https://forms.gle/qvtnFmumNHaGbm5v7 by 12pm on January 4.
08:00 Meet at Sorasaya Shrine
08:15 Leave for the bamboo site
11:00 Return to the shrine from the bamboo site
Unload the bamboo from the truck
Build the tondo bonfire

② Sorting New Year decorations
Apply here https://forms.gle/qvtnFmumNHaGbm5v7 by 5pm on January 5.
08:00 Meet at Sorasaya Shrine
09:00-11:00 Remove plastic etc from decorations and prepare for the bonfire

The tondo ceremonies start at 1pm and volunteers will clean up 3pm-4pm.

Participants will be provided with a bento lunch at 12pm and invited to the after event uchiage party in Sorasaya Shrine from 6pm (no charge).

③ Call for elementary school kids to light the bonfire!
Apply here https://forms.gle/6USWmywiivYMh2DAA by 5pm on January 5.
13:30 Lighting the bonfire

Sorasaya Shrine