The Oga Peninsula in winter is a different country. Cold comes in off the Japan Sea, the cedar forests around Shinzan Shrine stand heavy with snow, and on the second weekend of February, fires are lit in the shrine grounds. Namahage are the deities of Oga — fearsome figures in straw capes and carved wooden masks who descend on New Year's Eve to drive out laziness and misfortune from the households they visit. The Sedo Festival combines this folk tradition with the shrine's own winter ritual, the Saito-sai, and has been held annually since 1964. The climax arrives when namahage carrying torches appear out of the darkness of the hillside and make their way down through the snow into the firelit grounds below. It is the kind of sight that is difficult to describe without sounding like you've invented it. Attendance is capped at 2,000 per day. Book ahead.