February 15th-16th, the people of Yokote in Akita Prefecture in Northern Japan build two-meter tall snow huts known as Kamakura. Inside they have a small grill for keeping warm and for cooking mochi, chewy rice cake, and for heating up amezaki a type of sweet sake with almost no alcohol. Also inside is a small altar dedicated to Suijin-sama the god of water.
In ages past, Yokote had a drinking water shortage so the festival was created to get Suijin-sama’s attention.