Festivals Mii-dera Cherry Blossom Awa Odori 2026 Early Apr Shiga's Mii-dera Temple is set to host a lively new event this spring—the Mii-dera Cherry Blossom Awa Odori— bringing the ..
Festivals Otsu Festival 2026 Mid Oct Otsu Matsuri takes place in early October and features thirteen ornate floats with ingenious mechanical puppets.
Historical Hiking to Enryaku-ji Temple Ryoji Aramaki Hike to Enryakuji is a great way to see a world heritage site for free.
14 Temples & Shrines Plum Blossom at Ishiyamadera Cathy Cawood Plum blossom at a Shiga temple with a connection to the life of Murasaki Shikibu, the world's first novel writer.
9 Gardens & Parks Ishiyamadera's Muyu-en Pond Garden Cathy Cawood Muyu-en, a beautiful Japanese pond garden at Ishiyamadera in Otsu, has koi ponds, red bridges and a small waterfall.
11 Temples & Shrines Ishiyama Temple in Otsu Cathy Cawood A large, unusual wollastonite rock formation is surrounded by beautiful temple buildings of Ishiyama-dera in Otsu.
Culture Corn Festival 2026 Early - Mid Aug Corn is a vital crop with immense importance as a food, feed, and fuel source. The Yatsugatake corn variant grows well in Japan..
Culture Otsu: Oddly Overshadowed Arlene Bastion Otsu has its own merits including Lake Biwa and shrines significant to Buddhist-Shinto origins. It need not be overshadowed as a..