During craft balloon festival people return from urban to reunite with family. Their wishes drawn on the balloons by themselves will come true with craft balloon lift-up. People including tourists participated releasing balloons. It was a fantastic moment !
craft balloon releasing
Many balloons stay in the night sky and eventually disappear into the mountains.
What will happen to the balloon blown away at last ? “Maybe falling in the deep mountains”, local people said.
*) Caution
It was too cold not to stay venue long time.
‘Snow house’ named as ‘KAMAKURA’ in Japanese is a famous play spot among children. They enjoy eating something and playing games in the house. The water God is enshrined inside for wishing coming Spring to bring a lot of water to fields.
Even if not during festival period, we enjoyed a permanent ‘snow house’ in a huge refrigerator. Children inside surround fireplace and look warm, but never warm rather cold !
Just then, people were constructing snow houses here and there in YOKOTE city. First making a snow circle mountain by hand, next making a side hole.
To tell the truth, we could not participate in the tug of war because of Craft Balloon festival held on the same night, so enjoyed tranquility in advance of fight in front of ropes enshrined in the center of town.
KARIWANO is a small town. The residence are divided into 2 groups at this event and fight. Tourist participant is free but no guarantee of accident.
At the next time challenging the exciting match, I would like to make a question, “How do you ensure equality on volume of participants between 2 groups?”
‘Amekko’, meaning candy in local pronunciation language, helps us healthy to protect catching a cold especially in winter season because licking candy makes your throat moist.
Furthermore in this market, all elements of products and culture in OHDATE city are found.
akita-inu(1)
Akita dog(inu) is a friend of hunting and famous for ’Faithful dog HACHIKO’ statue on Sibuya scramble crossing waiting several years for his owner return. OHDATE is focusing on breeding Akita dogs. This was the first time to look at such a lot of Akita dogs on the parade in the festival !
craft work ‘Magari-Wappa’
Long winter season made people trapped in deep snow produces ‘craft work using Akita beautiful cedar’ , the effect of which is bactericidal and moisture proof for food.
The best detour
Huge dram, the radius of which is about 2 meter, could call thunder to make it rain wishing for a good harvest. That’s why a dram became huge. You can enjoy the demonstration and self-playing all season except for summer festival.
NAMAHAGE Festival held during 3 days is composed of Shintoism, ‘Drama where NAMAHAGEs visit your home’, ’’Ancient dram music’ and NAMAHAGE parade. A lot of kinds of NAMAHAGE are found and they were told to come here from north foreign countries.
Coordination in advance of early check-in and early dinner in your hotel and transportation to reach the venue are strongly recommended for the best place to enjoy NAMAHAGE Festival.
namahage festival venue
’Drama where NAMAHAGE visiting your home’
This video is one scene of NAMAHAGE festival. NAMAHAGE could visit your home to scold lazy children in winter season because they stay away from the fireplace. After scolding, Japanese SAKE is served as a sigh of gratitude.
’Ancient dram music performed by NAMAHAGEs’
Ancient dram music was played and performed in the heavy snow ! Except for in the winter season, you could enjoy these performance in the theater near hot-spring town. Take care of your place or positioning if you would like to record real performance in the festival.
You can find Godzilla natural sculpture. and his tail, etc. at Geosite of Cape Shiosezaki. Wind was very very strong !
Stopping by at this cape could be a good approach to OGA Peninsula and ‘NAMAHAGE’ Festival !
You can reach sacred site through 15min. walk from the entrance of public water plant. Fresh water is mild, soft and warm in winter, maybe surely cold in summer.
It’s amazing that drinking water is supplied to all residence in Oga city from this spring in the manner of spirit of equality through circle distributer.
There are various categories of railfans. ‘Tori-tetsu’ is a railroad photography enthusiast, ‘Nori-Tetsu’ is a ride lover, ‘Nomi-tetsu’ is a person who rides and drinks, ‘Mama-Tetsu’ is a mother who enjoy railway with her children, etc. By the way, there was a railway study group in every high school. Japanese people really like railways.
Steam Locomotive connected to Niigata revived only on Saturdays and Sundays one round trip a day. If you are ‘Tori-Tetsu’, find a suitable crossing point !
Torioi-Kannon Temple is one component of Western Pure Land.
Since no one wants to suffer when they die, the ’Korori’ Kannon faith was born. People are fine(‘pin-pin’) just before they die, and when they die, they want to die lightly(‘korori’). In Japanese, this is called pin-pin korori.
You can listen to the fun story of the monk. However, although it is in Japanese.
There are famous sculptures you should not miss in this temple. One of them is a monkey hiding from a eagle. It is said to have been made by Hidari Jingoro, a famous sculptor of the Edo period. However, it seems that there are about 100 works in the whole country, and the authenticity is unknown.
craft1 in mishima towncraft mqaterial in mishima town
A basket woven from mountain grape skin is a luxury item. It is difficult to find out good quality of skin in the mountains and it takes huge time to knit a delicate basket. Each work is tagged with the villager’s production name.
There are various other materials for the basket, and there is also a light material called Hiroro. Her Majesty the Empress Emerita visited and bought one.
It is also famous for the production of paulownia chest of drawers. It is said that paulownia was light and had a moisture-proof effect, and the chest of drawers was closed tightly, so even if it was flooded, the clothes inside did not get wet. Also, in this region, as soon as a girl is born, plant a paulownia tree and make a paulownia chest of drawers with a tree that has grown when going to the bride
