Possibly the most amusing and terrifying small local festival I’ve been to yet, the Miyajidake Scarecrow Festival (かけし祭り) is one of my favorite yearly events.  For weeks before dropping by, single scarecrows popped up around town, scaring the living daylights out of innocent passers-by with their lifelike poses. I saw one sitting at a bus stop, another waiting innocently alongside the road, and each time I was started into alertness. This festival should receive a prize for its simultaneous sincerity and creepiness, making it an event that I look very much forward to.