Get up close and personal with the annual major snow festival. How to enjoy the Oga Peninsula "Namahage Sedo Festival"

This festival, counted among the five major snow festivals in Michinoku, takes place at Shinzan Shrine in Kitaura, Oga City, Akita Prefecture. It is a winter tourist event that combines the Shinto ritual "Saitousai," which has been held at Shinzan Shrine every year on January 3rd for over 900 years, with the folk event "Namahage," and has been held every year since 1964 (Showa 39). In 2019, this representative winter festival in Oga attracted 7,600 people over three days. Let's introduce its highlights and attractions.

Dance, folklore events, and more. A festival packed with everything Namahage

The festival begins at 6pm when the sun has completely set. It features the Yunomai purification dance, a type of Kagura dance unique to the Oga region, and the Chinkamasai, in which a priest stirs hot water in a large cauldron with a straw broom to calm the sea.

Soon after, the "Namahage Iriyo" ceremony takes place. Young men dressed as Namahage receive masks containing spirits on the stone steps at the entrance to the shrine and put them on. Through this ceremony, the young men become Namahage and enter the mountain.

On New Year's Eve, Namahage visits houses all over the city, leaving speeches for children and families. This folk event will be reenacted. There will also be a powerful performance of the "Namahage Dance" and "Namahage Drums." Those who see it for the first time will be amazed, as you can see the raging Namahage up close in a solemn atmosphere.

In the "Namahage Descent," Namahage emerge from the darkness holding torches, captivating the spectators with their heroic and fantastical appearance as they descend from the snowy mountain. The festival reaches its climax when the Namahage descends to the audience and parades through the grounds. The priest offers the Namahage goma mochi (roasted rice cakes) baked in a pot called "Sedobi" in the center of the venue, and the Namahage returns to the gods. After that, at 8pm, the "Village Namahage Intrusion" begins, where you can see distinctive Namahage from all over the city.

Sake from various parts of Akita Prefecture will also be served.

There are also plenty of booths surrounding the festival. In addition to the booth selling the festival's limited edition goods "Namahage gloves (1,500 yen, tax included)," Oga's specialty Shottsuru Yakisoba is also on sale, which is popular with many visitors every year. There is also a tent that serves sacred sake sponsored by sake breweries in Akita Prefecture. This is all-you-can-drink for 1,000 yen (tax included). If you like sake, be sure to try it. You can enjoy sake from the many sake breweries in Akita Prefecture, which is famous for its sake.

The festival continues late into the night, allowing you to enjoy Namahage and gourmet food with all your senses. This is a nighttime event in the middle of winter, so be sure to take precautions against the cold. There is also a large torch in the center of the venue, and sparks will fly, so you should wear comfortable clothing for safety. As for transportation, there is a temporary free parking lot, but the number of spaces is limited. We recommend using public transportation. There is a temporary paid bus service running from Oga Station and Oga Onsenkyo to the venue (1,000 yen per person, unlimited use of all lines on the day only).

Oga in winter is a great place to visit, with gourmet food and hot springs

Well, if you've come all the way to the Oga Peninsula, why not enjoy some sightseeing as well? There are many Namahage-related spots on the peninsula, such as the Namahage Museum, where you can learn more about the history and culture of Namahage, and the Oga Shinzan Folklore Museum, where you can experience the Namahage events on New Year's Eve.

Another gourmet dish you should definitely try in the winter is "stone-grilled cuisine." This seafood dish was invented by Oga's fishermen, and is a spectacular delicacy in which seafood caught in the waters off Oga is placed in a bucket made from Akita cedar, and then a red-hot stone heated to 800-1000°C is thrown into the bucket. This cooking method, which causes the soup to boil instantly while steaming, tightens the seafood and cooks it down without compromising the fish's natural flavor and taste. It is a specialty dish of Oga that can be enjoyed with your eyes, ears, and tongue.

Hot springs are also an essential part of any discussion of the Oga Peninsula. Oga Onsenkyo, overlooking the Sea of Japan, is a hot spring town with a 1000-year history, with seven inns lined up along the street, more than half of which boast abundant hot water from their own hot springs. The springs contain sodium, which enhances the body's heat retention effect, and are therefore known as "hot water." Don't you think this is the perfect place to enjoy a trip to Oga during the cold winter?

Come experience the beloved Namahage culture of the locals.

"For the people of Oga, Namahage are deities who visit at the turning point of the year to warn against laziness, bring good health, bountiful harvests from the fields, and bounty from the mountains and the sea. In 2018, Oga's Namahage was registered as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO, and since then some areas have revived Namahage. This is a major event that is so important to the local people, and we would like many people to come and see this festival."

This is what Eiri Nakamura of the Oga City Tourism Division told us. Winter on the Oga Peninsula is the perfect season for traditional culture and tourism to come together. Come and see the majestic Namahage while enjoying the hot springs and gourmet food. It will surely become an unforgettable winter memory.