Oga Peninsula No.1

After passing through snowy mountains in Tohoku regions by train, you reach to the coast of Japan Sea. Then, one-hour short-train ride takes you to Oga Peninsula.
When you enter the town of Oga Hot Spring, first you find "Namahage" statue; an ogre, which is a character in the folk story in Oga area.
Namahage still appears in an event held on the New Year eve. Namahages come down to the town from the mountains and search kids who do not listen to their parents, not respect the elders or not study well. When Namahages visit thier houses and try to take the kids back to the mountain, parents try to speak for their kids. The parents exchange words with Namahage in the traditional manner with serving foods and drinks. You can still see these ceremony there.
If you are interested in Japanese tradition, it is worth while visting there and having an Namahage experience.