Series › By prefecture

Shiga

25 places

• A・Square, Kusatsu (エイスクエア)
• Azuchi Castle Ruins (安土城跡) It burned three years after Nobunaga's death: only foundations and dry-stone walls remain.
• Biwako Valley — the terrace over the lake (びわ湖バレイ) The Sky Bridge, suspended for 220 metres with no pylons, is the longest bridge in Japan.
• Chikubushima Island (竹生島) 0.14 km² in the middle of the lake, with a temple and a shrine that share the island.
• Enryaku-ji (延暦寺) Founded in 788 by Saichō: seat of the Tendai school, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Fujii Hikoshiro Residence, Gokasho (藤井彦四郎邸) House of an Ōmi merchant in Gokashō, Higashiōmi, open to the public as a museum.
• Genkyū-en (玄宮園) Its pond has four islets: the fourth lord of Hikone had it made in 1677.
• Hachiman-bori Canal (八幡堀) In 1972 the municipality wanted to fill it in to make car parks: the merchants saved it.
• Hikone Castle (彦根城) One of only five tenshu designated National Treasures, together with Himeji and Matsumoto.
• Imazu Vories Museum (今津ヴォーリズ資料館) Former Imazu church, designed in 1923 by the office of William Merrell Vories and now a museum in Takashima.
• Ishiyama-dera (石山寺) Its tahōtō, built in 1194, is the oldest dated two-storey pagoda in Japan.
• Kōka Ninja Village (甲賀の里忍術村) The house of the Fujibayashi, authors of the Bansenshūkai, has been part of Japan Heritage since 2017.
• Kurokabe Square (黒壁スクエア) Thirty historic buildings restored with a focus on glass: 2 million visitors a year.
• Lake Biwa Museum (琵琶湖博物館) Its tunnel aquarium is the largest in Japan devoted solely to the fish of a lake.
• Makino Metasequoia Avenue (メタセコイア並木) 2.4 km of metasequoias planted in 1981 for a farm field, not to be photographed.
• Miho Museum (ミホミュージアム) 80% of I.M. Pei's building is underground: it opens for only a few weeks each season.
• Miidera (三井寺 / 園城寺) Burned 23 times in the Sengoku period, 14 of them by the monks of Enryaku-ji: it is called the ‘phoenix temple’.
• Nagahama Hachimangū Shrine (長浜八幡宮) Children perform kabuki on thirteen floats: the festival has been UNESCO heritage since 2016.
• Ogoto Onsen (雄琴温泉) From red lights to a family-friendly brand: the ten remaining ryokan serve Ōmi beef.
• Okishima Island (沖島) About 250 residents, zero cars: it is the only inhabited lake island in Japan.
• Shigain Monzeki (滋賀院門跡) Residence of the head abbots of the Tendai school in Sakamoto, Ōtsu, at the foot of Mount Hiei: known for its stone wall and garden.
• Shigaraki Kiln Village (信楽 窯元散策路) One of Japan's six ancient kilns: the 5.3-metre statue moved an emperor.
• Shirahige Jinja (白鬚神社) Its torii is reflected in Lake Biwa; the main building, from 1603, is a cultural property.
• Tagataisha (多賀大社) ‘Whoever goes to Ise should go to Taga too’: so runs the saying that has linked the two shrines for centuries.
• Tenson Jinja (天孫神社) Its thirteen floats have karakuri mechanisms: UNESCO heritage since 11/12/2025.

All series · Open the map