There is a strange festival which conveys faith in the dragon god called ""Mamada-no Jaga Maita (popularly known as the ""Snake Demon Festival"" that is designated as a national important intangible folk culture asset in Mamada. This event is held before the rice planting to pray to the gods and Buddha for moderate winds, as well as a bumper harvest and the elimination of plagues.   ""Jaga Maita, Jaga Maita, Jaga Maita of April 8!"" These yells echo around the town on the day of the event. This event features 15-meter dragon-head and snake-body animals decorated with fern leaves on the snake body made from bamboo and straw also paraded around the town.   The seven snakes of each district first gather at Mamada Hachimangu Shrine. The snake gathering and purification rites ceremony then takes place. After that, the water of Benten Pond is drunk to the heart's content of the participants before they go around the town again.   This festival was once held on April 8 in Japan's old calendar. However, because the bearers of the event are children of junior high school age and younger, it is now held on May 5 (Children's Day) when the schools are closed.

Mamada Hachimangu Shrine is said to have been founded as far back as nearly 1200 years ago during the years of the Tenpyo Era.On Children's Day on May 5 every year， the "Jya Matsuri" (Snake Festival)， which is a Tochigi Prefecture Intangible Folk Cultural Asset， is held and enjoyed by a great many people. In the spring cherry trees blossom and ceremonial sumo matches are held in September， as well as a variety of other events making the shrine very popular. The shrine's dohyo was also the filming location for “Thermae Romae II”."

The town of Nogi is a popular tourist spot thanks to its beautiful flowers and the Nogi-machi Brick Kiln. The town hosts a summer “Sunflower Festival” in late July. Visitors can enjoy walking through 4.3 hectares of fields where two hundred thousand sunflowers are in full bloom.

Birth of Suga Shrine Suga Shrine was built by a legendary samurai Fujiwara no Hidesato, who prayed to Susanoo-no-Mikoto for victory over his enemies. To thank God for their bless, he brought the God from Gion Shrine (Yasaka Shrine) to Oyama and built the shrine.   The site of the legendary “Oyama Council”, witnessed the birth of the Tokugawa hegemony. It is said that before the Battle of Sekigahara in A.D 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu held the famous “Oyama Council” at Suga Shrine and prayed for the victory of the battle.   After Ieyasu’s victory and the establishment of the Edo Shogunate, Suga Shrine was greatly honored by the Shogunate. In 1658, staff members who had participated in the construction of Nikko Toshogu Shrine, created a miniature version of the Akamikoshi in Toshogu Shrine, which became the pressure of Suga Shrine.   Today Suga Shrine’s Akamikoshi has been designated as a “Cultural Property by Tochigi Prefecture”.   Enjoy the Gion Festival in Tochigi! As a famous Gion Shrine, Suga Shrine is also called “Gozu Tenno Shrine”. Suga Shrine holds “Gion Festival” on July 14 to 21 every year, 25 mikoshi including one massive one that weighs in at 2 tons are carried through the city in “Mikoshi Wataru” on July 20.   According to “Shimotsuke Province Choreography（下野国誌）” written in Edo period, Suga Shrine’s “Gion Festival” is the “best Gion Festival in Shimotsuke Province.”

At Ichigo-no-Sato Farm, you can enjoy picking ripe strawberries such as Tochi-Aika and Skyberry from December to May. Besides strawberries， the farm offers a variety of other fruits such as cherries， grapes and blueberries depending on the season. There are cafes， an Italian buffet restaurant and shops providing a wide range of products made with freshly picked fruits. Seasonal events are held at the studio such as cake baking classes and jam making workshops. Ichigo-no-Sato Farm also grows a rare variety of strawberries called "Tochihime," which has soft flesh and is difficult to transport, so can only be eaten at tourist strawberry farms. There are strawberry-picking plans available that allow you to eat Tochihime, so be sure to try the difference in taste.