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Eat Japanese candy on this day and keep the evil spirits away
Akitainu Tourism
The custom of eating candy is common throughout Japan. According to the Kojiki, an ancient Japanese text, making an offering to the gods by tying candy to a branch of dogwood as a substitute for an ear of rice is what started the custom of eating candies to purify evil spirits. This is of course also practiced by Odate at the Odate Candy Festival. This festival supposedly dates back to 1588, when it was a folk festival. It has been passed down since then and held at Omachi Hachiko-dori (previously Omachi Chuo-dori) since 1972. Over the course of two days, several events are held, including the Shirahige Okami procession, which is inspired by the legend of a god descending the tallest mountain in Odate, Mount Tashiro, to buy candies. Free candy is distributed as well.. In addition, there is a large number of stalls at the festival selling a wide variety of candy, such as candy in the shape of a branch, attracting many tourists from both within and outside the prefecture.
How to get there
From Haneda Airport, take a flight to Odate-Noshiro Airport (about 1 hour 10 minutes), then take the limousine bus to Odate Station (about 45 minutes). Omachi Hachiko-dori is about 10 minutes from the station by car.
64 O-machi, Odate-shi, Akita-ken
