This site is a web media that delivers all kinds of trivia, from sightseeing and gourmet spots in the six Tohoku prefectures to local, customs, and history.
Leaving aside the debate over whether Namahage are demons or gods, the Oga Peninsula is home to a plethora of demon legends. The origin of the legend is that five bats who accompanied Emperor Wu of Han transformed into demons. For more details on this story, please see [Oga Peninsula and Demon Legends (1)]
" Demon's Hidden Road ) is a famous spot related to demons in the Oga Onsen hot spring resort. The cut-through that runs through the vertical cliffs in the forest near the hot spring town gives the impression of being part of a path that demons used to hide themselves as they descended into the mountain village, hence the name "Oni no Kakuremichi" (Demon's Hidden Road).
In fact, this area was the site of open-cut limestone mining from the Meiji to Taisho eras, and the cliffs on both sides are made of limestone. Currently, the only remaining trace of the quarry is this "Oni no Kakuremichi" section. This narrow road was a trolley road used to transport mined stone to a collection point, and the cliff section is the remains of the open-cut mine
The limestone that makes up the cliffs is made up of many thin layers of rock stacked together like a giant mille-feuille, and its components are contained in the hot springs of Oga Onsen as travertine (sintered travertine)
Oni no Kakuremichi (The Demon's Hiding Path) <Information>
Facility name: Oni no Kakuremichi
Location: Kusakihara, Kitaura Yumoto, Oga City, Akita Prefecture
There is a road made of reddish-brown stones that runs between the rugged black rocks of the coastline. It is said that this road was built by demons so that they could carry heavy loads such as rice sacks from their ships that arrived on the shore to their homes, and so it came to be called Oni no Tawara Korogashi" (Demon's Baguette
"Oni no Tawara Korogashi" is a formation formed when brown lava (basalt/dolerite) that flowed about 21 million years ago entered a crack in the granite that was erupted in a volcanic eruption about 90 million years ago and solidified there. Nearby, black volcanic rock called volcanic conglomerate, which is about 7,000 years old, can be seen, making it a valuable landscape from an academic perspective
Oni no Tawara Rolling ＜Information＞
Facility name: Oni no Tawara Rolling
Location: Kitaura Nyudozaki, Oga City, Akita Prefecture
Phone number: 0185-24-2100 (Oga City Tourism Association)
" Devil's Washing RockUnosaki Coast popularly known as " Akita's Uyuni Salt Flats ." When you imagine a tough-looking demon busily doing his laundry here, a heartwarming scene comes to mind.
By the way, do you know what a washboard
It consists of a thin wooden board with 15 to 20 small circular grooves, and soapy laundry is rubbed against the grooves to remove dirt. Since the 1950s, with the spread of electric washing machines and the emergence of laundromats, washboards have all but disappeared. However, they are said to have started selling again around 2000. Originally measuring around 50cm long and 20cm wide, one manufacturer released a smaller washboard for use on business trips, which became an unexpected hit, and to date, total sales have reached an astonishing 1 billion yen
I've digressed, but "Oni no Sentaku Iwa" is a landscape that was created when the soft rocks were worn away by the erosive action of waves, leaving behind the hard layers of rock
Kanpuzan which stands at the base of the Oga Peninsula , is a low mountain with an elevation of about 355m. Near the summit, where a rotating observation deck spreads across the grassland, there is a popular tourist spot on the Oga Peninsula, offering a 360-degree panoramic view from the Oga Peninsula to the Sea of Japan and Lake Hachiro (formerly Lake Hachirogata).
Mt. Kanpu was originally a volcano that was active from about 30,000 years ago to about 10,000 years ago, but is currently inactive and not registered as an active volcano. There is a record of the last eruption in 1810 during the Edo period, but the actual nature of the eruption and the extent of the damage are unknown, and the accepted theory today is that this eruption report was fabricated within the Akita domain in an attempt to report to the shogunate that there had been damage, even though there had not been an eruption
There are three crater remains on Mt. Kanpu, but at the southwest end of the first crater, there is a place in the Kusagen area where large rocks have suddenly piled up like a pyramid. Because there is a space of about 3 tatami mats inside, it is said to have been the "Hidden Village of Demons" (or "Stone Storehouse"), where demons hid and lived
Geologically speaking, "Oni no Kakurezato" was formed when lava was pushed out from the ground during an ancient eruption, forming a mountain that could not withstand the weight and collapsed
Demon's Hidden Village/Kanpuzan <Information>
Facility name: Demon's Hidden Village/Kanpuzan
Address: 62-1 Kanpuzan, Wakimoto Tominaga, Oga City, Akita Prefecture
the Oga SanzanMount Shinzan (567m above sea level) is the northernmost Mount Honzan (715m), and Kenashizan (677m) were worshipped as the mountains of Shugendo, a mountain religion that began in the Asuka period and flourished most during the Heian period, in which practitioners retreated to the mountains to practice strict ascetic practices.
Shinzan Shrine was founded in the early Nara period, and is said to have been built by Jikaku Daishi EnninTemple , and after the Meiji Restoration, it became Shinzan Shrine.
From the Heian period through the Edo period, it is said to have flourished immensely as a sacred place of Shugendo, receiving patronage from the powerful clans that ruled Oga and the Satake clan of the Kubota domain
Mayama Shrine is known as one of the shrines where demon legends remain. The Namahage Museum and Oga Mayama Folklore Museum have been opened within the shrine grounds, where visitors can see various Namahage events that are passed down on the Oga Peninsula, as well as exhibits of 150 Namahage masks, and even experience wearing Namahage. The Namahage Sedo Festival is held within the shrine grounds every year on the second Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of February, attracting many tourists
Shinzan Shrine <Information>
Facility name: Shinzan Shrine
Location: Kitaura Mayama Mizukuisawa, Oga City, Akita Prefecture
Public transportation: Approximately 40 minutes by Oga Peninsula Ainori taxi “Namahage Shuttle” from Oga Station on the JR Oga Line
Car: Approximately 40 minutes from Akita Expressway Showa Oga Peninsula IC
Facility name: Namahage Museum
Admission fee: General 660 yen, Elementary, junior high and high school students 330 yen, Combined ticket for 2 museums / General 1100 yen, Elementary, junior high and high school students 660 yen
Opening hours: 8:30-17:00
Closed: Open all year round
Facility name: Oga Shinzan Folklore Museum
Admission fee: General 770 yen, Elementary, junior high and high school students 550 yen, 2 museum ticket / General 1100 yen, Elementary and junior high school students 660 yen
My love of travel grew, and I used to write a travel magazine, and now I'm a travel writer for the web. During my research, I visited all 47 prefectures in Japan, mainly in the Tohoku region, but my fun part is soaking in hot springs and experiencing traditional Japanese culture such as old townscapes, lifestyles, and performing arts and crafts.
![4550228_m](https://jp.neft.asia/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/4550228_m-150x150.jpg.webp "Hot springs gush out in a place where there are no volcanoes! "Yuzawa Geopark" where you can see the mystery of the earth up close [Akita Prefecture]")
![matagi](https://jp.neft.asia/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/matagi-150x150.jpg.webp "The popular game "Matagi" started in Kitaakita City! [Akita Prefecture]")
![30422261_m](https://jp.neft.asia/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/30422261_m-150x150.jpg "A trip to Doroyu Onsen in Akita Prefecture, depicted in the 31st trip of the manga "That's Journey" [Akita Prefecture]")
