The Shinobusanzan-akatsuki-mairi festival is held at Haguro Shrine, which is located on Mt Shinobusan. This mountain looms over the center of Fukushima City.

The festival is held every February on the 10th and 11th. This festival, widely known for its enshrinement of a 'giant waraji sandal' has continued for more than 300 years since the Edo period. The festival first originated when a giant waraji sandal was enshrined for the Nio-sama guardian statue enshrined inside the Nio Gate which used to stand in front of Haguro Shrine.

Currently, a giant waraji sandal is enshrined by the Onyama-keishinkai of the Onyama quarter as a prayer for plentiful harvests, family safety and personal health.

This giant sandal is 12m long, 1.4m wide and weighs 2 tons. 3,000 batches of straw, nearly 10,000 square meters of cloth, and 10 kilograms of rope are also used to make it. It takes seven people ten days to complete the sandal. Since the path to the shrine is covered with wet, slippery snow, it is said that participants of this festival tend to build up strong legs.

Hita in Oita Prefecture is one of the few places where fishing using cormorants takes place. The history of cormorant fishing is very long and is even mentioned in the 'Nihon-shoki' (second-oldest record of Japanese ancient history) and the 'Kojiki' (oldest extant chronicle).

Chinese records from the Sui Dynasty also mention the visit of an ambassador to Japan at that time and the unusual fishing method he saw using cormorants. Fish caught this way are flawless, without a scratch and very fresh, and especially prized as gifts is the sweet 'ayu' fish. After the Meiji period, however, when many cormorant fishers lost the support of their daimyo lords, this method of fishing gradually died out and today surivives as a tourist industry only.

In Hita, cormorant fishing can be seen accompanying the opening of the ayu season on the Mikuma River, from 20 May to 31 October. The sight of 62 houseboats softly lighting up the river has become a graceful symbol of the town. In 1966, cormorant fishing was designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Heritage of Oita.