Lake Biwa Customized Private Tour by Car, Licensed Guide

Oumi Jingu is enshrined in the site of Capital Otsu ”Otsukyo”. Emperor Tenji was the great accomplisher of Taika Reformation and the great establisher in the ancient Japan. After His demise, also, people worshipped particularly as the Shinto God. In the Meiji Era, the believers began the movement to build the Emperor's Shrine all over Japan. At last, in Nov.7, 1940 (15th year of the Showa Era), the Shrine was completed here, site of Capital Otsu, near the site of old His Palace "Oumi-Otsu-no-Miya". Soon afterwords, the shrine was raised to "Chokusai-sha". Annual Great Festival is celebrated in April 20, on the occasion of a visit by a specially dispatched imperial messenger.

This head shrine presiding over a nationwide network of over 3,800 sub-shrines by the name of Hiyoshi, Hie, and Sanno has a long and distinguished history that reaches back more than 2,100 years. Masaru the monkey, who wards off evil, is a symbol of the shrine you’ll find gracing the shrine’s ornamentation, the good luck charms on sale and elsewhere. The shrine is also one of the Kansai region’s most celebrated places for autumn leaves, thanks to the 3,000 trees planted across the expansive grounds to produce brilliant colors in the fall.

Biwako Terrace is a nature resort overlooking Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan, with an elevation of 1,100 meters above sea level. There are two terraces, atop Mt. Uchimi and Mt. Horai, where you can relax and enjoy the splendid scenery of the mountains with and our food. The Terrace Café allows you to spend a comfortable moment of luxury at elegant tables and sofas while looking out over the greatest lake in Japan. Meanwhile, Café 360 provides a 360 degree view of the surrounding scenery from a height of 1,174m. In the cafés you can enjoy sandwiches and gelato made with local Shiga produce, as well as a special drink menu. *The Biwako Terrace is not open during the winter. Please check the homepage for details of when the Biwako Terrace is open.

Sagawa Art Museum was opened on March 22, 1998, as part of celebrations to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Sagawa Express Co., Ltd. The museum is located in Moriyama, in the ancient district of Omi, amongst lush natural surroundings and in view of Lake Biwa. Its mission is to contribute to the promotion and development of art and culture, through a variety of cultural initiatives, focused on the exhibition of works by outstanding artists that embody the spirit of Japanese art, such as the painter Hirayama Ikuo, the sculptor Sato Churyo, and the ceramic artist Raku Kichizaemon XV - Jikinyū. Adluts: 1000 JPY Students(+16): 400 JPY

The Miho Museum was designed by the world-famous architect I. M. Pei. Taking themes of nature and buildings, harmony with art, the traditional and the modern, and the fusion of the east and west, more than 80% of the building's volume is submerged underground, taking great care not to destroy the natural environment around it. The museum opens seasonally three times per year, and allows special exhibitions and permanent installations to be viewed. The café and restaurant on-site provide meals made with ingredients grown without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers, and with no artificial additives of any kind.

Shigaraki is one of the leading pottery producing areas in Japan, and the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park showcases ancient ceramics that have been handed down in the region, as well as pottery associated with Shiga Prefecture.

The Ukimido, the "floating temple hall" at Mangetsuji Temple, is famous for being featured in one of the Eight Views of Omi, "wild geese returning home at Katata." The current structure is a recreation that was erected in 1937, and then underwent repairs in 1982, yet it fully retains the atmosphere of the original construction. The Kannondo in the temple grounds also contains an Important Cultural Property in the form of a statue of Sho Kannon. During the Heian period (794 - 1185) the monk Genshin (also Enshin Sozu), looking down from Mt. Hieizan, saw a suspicious light in Lake Biwa every night. Finally checking that place using a net, he scooped up a glowing golden Amida Butsu. In memorial of this he carved 1000 Buddha statues and created the Ukimido to house them in the middle of the lake. It became a place of prayer for safety on the lake and the swift rescue of those in danger, and such faith concerning water still protects the region to this day.

Azuchi Castle was a castle built by Oda Nobunaga on Mt. Azuchi on the eastern shore of Lake Biwa. It was a magnificent structure, with the first large keep designed as a symbol of the owner’s prestige, atop walls all made of stone. The castles built subsequently all followed the pattern of Azuchi. Today only the walls of the castle remain, as well as the pagoda and gate of Sōken-ji Temple and a mausoleum to Nobunaga. But these remains and their mountaintop location are very impressive and suggestive of the grandeur that once existed here. The nearby Azuchi Castle Archaeological Museum and Nobunaga’s Castle Museum provide highly detailed visual context about the castle and its history, so it’s advisable to spend some time visiting these museums too.

Hikone Castle is a magnificent 400 year old structure. It stands three stories tall, with an outer wall of stone at its base, and ivory white stucco above, a beautiful harmony that is characteristic of this castle. The castle grounds are encircled by what was once a triple moat, and remains today as a double moat. Hikone Castle is a structure befitting its value of 300,000 koku (an old system of measurement, in which one koku is equivalent to the amount of rice is takes to feed one person for one year). For a period of nearly 260 years from the reign of the castle’s first lord, Naomasa Ii, in 1601, to the 14th lord, Naonori Ii, in 1860, the castle was ruled by one family, during whose reign there were no assaults on the castle, nor any great changes made to the castle structure. In 1951, the castle was designated a historic site, and in 1956 a special historic site and cultural property.

This small island, with a circumference of just 2km, is located in the offing of Lake Biwa, approximately 6km from shore. Here you can find both Hogonji Temple and Tsukubusuma-jinja Shrine. The Benzaiten (Sarasvati) at Hogonji Temple is known as one of the three best in Japan, and the temple also receives many visitors as the 30th location on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage. The gabled karamon gate at Hogonji Temple is said to be only remaining piece of Hideyoshi's Osaka-jo Castle, and it is a registered national treasure alongside the main shrine at Tsukubusuma-jinja Shrine. Revered since ancient times as an island where the god of water dwells, this god has also been worshipped for providing safe passage for travel across water. The island is now widely known as one of the most powerful spots for spiritual energy on Lake Biwa, and is a place to truly experience water and prayer.