DATE:		December 31, 2007 from 23:50
PLACE:		Shomen-dori Yamato-oji Higashi-iru, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto
DIRECTION:		City Bus #206 or #208 to Hakubutsu-kan Sanjusangen-do Mae
TEL:		81-75-561-1720
ADMISSION:		Free to the temple, 200 yen to enter main building of the temple
TEXT:		The custom to ring out the old year originated in the Song Era in China, and is said to have been introduced to Japan in the Kamakura period. You can have the valuable experience of ringing the large bell named "Kokka Anko (the bell for peaceful nation)," which is 4.2 meters high and weighs 82.7 tons. It is said that this bell was used as subterfuge in the overthrow of Hideyoshi Toyotomi by Ieyasu Tokugawa. Visitors are allowed to ring the bell after the resident priest rings the bell at 23: 50. When there are too many visitors wishing to ring the bell, two or three people can do it together. When the bell ringing has totalled 108 times, the ceremony is finished.