Zeze Joint Festival
This is a joint festival of five shrines located in Zeze area that used to be a castle town belongin...
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Asauri Festival
This is a festival held on the nights of July 22 and 23 at Hinogozen Shrine. It features giving voti...
Samukawa Tatsukiyo (1697–1739)
Samukawa Tatsukiyo was a Confucian and Japanese classic scholar. He was born in 1697 in Aburanokoji-...
Monument of Otsu Incident Site
It is a monument standing on the site of the Otsu incident where Russian Tsesarevich Nicholas, Nikol...
Zeze-yaki Museum
This is the Zeze-yaki Museum. Zeze ware is the pottery of one of Kobori Enshu’s seven kilns, and was...
Lake Biwa
This is Lake Biwa. It is the largest and oldest lake in Japan located in the center of Shiga Prefect...
Akechi Mitsuhide (Unknown–1582)
Akechi Mitsuhide was a general in the Azuchi-Momoyama Period. His children include Gracia, the wife ...
Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598)
Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a general in the Azuchi-Momoyama Period. He is known for becoming a warlord a...
Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542–1616)
Tokugawa Ieyasu was the first sei-i taishogun, the commander-in-chief, of the Edo Shogunate, and is ...
Matsuo Basho (1644–1694)
Matsuo Basho was a haiku poet in the early Edo Period and is widely known as the greatest master of ...
Saint Rennyo (1415–1499)
Saint Rennyo was a monk and the restorer of the Jodo Shinshu Buddhism (Jodo Shin Sect) in the Muroma...
Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582)
Oda Nobunaga was a general in the Azuchi-Momoyama Period. He is known as the hero who ended the chao...
Kobo Daishi Kukai (774–835)
Kobo Daishi Kukai was a high-ranking priest and the founder of the Shingon Sect in the early Heian P...
Minamoto no Yoshinaka (Kiso Yoshinaka) (1154–1184)
Minamoto no Yoshinaka was a general at the end of the Heian Period. His father Minamoto no Yoshitaka...
Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147–1199)
Minamoto no Yoritomo was the first sei-i taishogun, the commander-in-chief, of the Kamakura Shogunat...
Emperor Tenji (626–671)
Emperor Tenji was the 38th emperor in Japan. He is known as the most eminent emperor of all. He was ...
Keiso Ajari’s Nyujo-kutsu (cave)
Keiso Ajari was a monk in the mid-Heian Period [of the latter 10th century]. He led prosperity to On...
The origin of Modoroki Shrine
Fujiwara no Tabiko was born as a daughter of Fujiwara no Momokawa, a government official in the Nara...
Tsuji no Jizo
At the crossroad 100-meters eastwards from the Nakamura Kaikan Hall in Nakamura, Mano, a Jizo stone ...
The origin of Ukimido Hall
Nakamura Shigekichi was a resident of Katata and wrote Katata Monogatari (the story of Katata) in 16...
Otose no Hama (Otose’s Beach)
During the war between the Minamoto Clan and the Taira Clan, there was a woman called Otose. She was...
Former Nango Weir
The River Seta is the only river which flows from Lake Biwa. Adjusting the amount of water of the Ri...
Donoue Site
The site is located to the southwest of the Omi Provincial Capital Ruins on a small hill ridge looki...
Omi Provincial Capital Ruins
The provincial capital ruins are located to the east of the River Seta between Sandaiji and Oe 6-cho...
Kasuga Shrine
According to the shrine’s history, it originates from when the sacred spirit of Kasuga Taisha Shrine...
Otsu Betsuin Temple
This is a branch temple of the Jodo Shin Sect Otani School Higashi Honganji Temple in Kyoto. It was ...
Miyamoto Family Residence Main Building
This is a Western-style house and was built in 1930 as the residence of Miyamoto Bunjiro, an interpr...
Ryukoku University Seta Campus Jushinkan
The building was originally built as Osaka Minami Police Station in 1885. Later, it was relocated tw...
Lighthouse of Dekejima
This is an eight-meter high wooden lighthouse. Around this area boatwrights used to live from olden ...
The Ruins of Abandoned Kinugawa Temple
In 1975, an excavation survey was conducted, and two building ruins that were deemed to be the tower...
Nishira Burial Mound Cluster
Burial mound number one is 46 meters in total length and 7 meters in height. It is a scallop-shaped ...
Kanda Shrine
The deity enshrined in this shrine is Hikokunifuki no Mikoto. If you go through the entrance gate an...
Kasugayama Burial Mound Cluster
It is located on the edge of the eastern Katata Hill. This consists of more than 200 burial mounds a...
Mangetsuji Temple
It is officially called Kaimonsan Mangetsuji Temple and is a temple of the Rinzai Sect Daitokuji Sch...
Ukimido Hall
A high-ranking priest of the Yokawa area of Hieizan Enyakuji Temple, Eshin Sozu Genshin reportedly e...
Wild geese returning home at Katata
The Eight Views of Omi Province are the eight representative scenic spots of Omi, the land of the la...
The United Church of Crist in Japan, Katata Church
This is a church hall designed by William Merrell Vories’s architectural office, the Vories & C...
Ono no Takamura Shrine
This is a subordinate shrine in the precinct of Ono Shrine. Ono no Takamura, a poet as well as an ex...
Ono no Tofu Shrine
This shrine is located approximately 400 meters southwards outside of the precinct of Ono shrine. On...
Izu Shrine
The deity enshrined in this shrine is Oyamazumi no Mikoto who is known as the deity born to Izanagi ...
Karausuyama Burial Mound
This burial mound was built on the hill ridge line in Suimei 1-Chome [Itchōme]. The mound was washed...
Modoroki Shrine
Fujiwara no Tabiko is enshrined as the deity of the shrine. Tabiko was born in this place and became...
Onon no Imoko Shrine
Ono no Imoko is enshrined in this shrine located on the Karausuyama Burial Mound. Imoko was reported...
Ono Shrine
Amatarashihiko Kunioshihito no Mikoto and Taganetsuki no O-omi no Mikoto who were ancestors of the O...
Tenno Shrine
The deity enshrined in this shrine is Susano-o no Mikoto. According to the shrine’s history, it orig...
Myooin Temple
This temple was reportedly established in 859 by Monk Soo of Enryakuji Temple, the founder of the Te...
Upside-Down Kannon
It is a group of Kannon Bosatsu (Bodhisattvas) carved upside down on a rock face in Kamitanakami-kir...
Dutch Dam
The Mt. Tanakami area has been known for good quality Japanese cypress wood since ancient times, and...
Jishu Shrine
The origin of this shrine is reportedly from when Monk Soo from Enryakuji Temple built Myooin Shrine...
Sengokuiwa, the Gigantic Rock, in River Daido
At a steep curve of the current of the River Daido, there is a gigantic rock called Sengokuiwa. The ...
Shiga Museum of Art
It was opened as the Museum of Modern Art, Shiga in 1984. The number of art collections is 1,808 whi...
Ostu City Buried Cultural Property Research Center
It is a facility for research of the remains and ruins in the city, as well as for collections, rese...
Shiga Prefecture Buried Cultural Property Center
The center has been researching and studying remains, ruins and artefacts in various places within t...
Horakuji Temple
This Tendai Sect temple is located at the foot of Mt. Myoken. It was reportedly founded by Jikaku Da...
Tomikawa Carved Buddha on a Rock Face (Mimidare Fudo)
It is located three kilometers from Shishitobibashi Bridge towards Shigaraki. Cross the little bridg...
Sengoku-iwa, Gigantic Rock, on Mt. Nagara
The origin of the name, Sengoku-iwa, varies: a gigantic rock looks like a piled-up 1,000-goku [sengo...
Ushiogoe Road
It is a road from Kokubu, Otsu City passing through Mt. Ushio and reaching Koyama, Yamashina-ku, Kyo...
Hachiman Shrine
The deity enshrined in this shrine is Emperor Ojin. It originates from when the sacred sprit of Muku...
Jodoji Temple
It is located to the east of the Shishitobibashi Bridge in a quiet place surrounded by mountains on ...
Sakunado Shrine
According to the shrine’s records, it originates from Nakatomi no Murajikane, the Minister of the Ri...
Suwa Shrine
It is enshrined at the top of Sekinotsu no Oka Hill. The deity enshrined in this shrine is Takeminak...
Nurinuki Water
In the precinct of Dairenji Temple, famous water, Nurinuki Water used to gush out. Its name reported...
Japanese Zelkova at the Dog’s Mound
Saint Rennyo who established the foundation for the development of the Jodo Shin Sect, had a narrow ...
Grave of a Couple, Tagabana and Zembee
Once upon a time, there was a prostitute named Tagabana in the Shibayamachi brothel district in Otsu...
Mt. Dainichi and Chichi no Ike Pond
According to the legend, once upon a time, Chikubu Islands in the north of the lake were formed by t...
Akechi Samanosuke’s Crossing of Lake
In June 2, 1582, Akechi Mitsuhide killed his lord, Oda Nobunaga, at Honnoji Temple in Kyoto. Soon af...
Kobo Daishi and Tachiki Kannon
In 815, while Kobo Daishi Kukai was going on a pilgrimage all over the country, from around Oishi he...
Tawara no Tota and the extermination of a giant centipede
One day, while Fujiwara no Hidesato was crossing the Seta no Karahashi Bridge, a gigantic snake abou...
Heso Ishi (belly button stone)
It was reportedly the foundation stone of Horanomiya Palace built in the Nara Period [in the 8th cen...
Unjuji Temple
It is a temple related to Fujiwara no Hidesato famous for the extermination of the gigantic centiped...
Foundation of Tanakami Fudoji Temple
In 859, Chisho Daishi Enchin went to Mt. Tanakami to seek good material to build Miidera Temple. He ...
Anyoji Temple
It was reportedly founded by Chisho Daishi, the founder of the Tendaijimon Sect in 862, and was conv...
Kekaiji Temple
It is a Jodo Sect temple built in 1532 by Sainen, a monk, in the place where Fujiwara no Hidesato’s ...
Tachiki Kannon (Tachikizan Anyoji Temple)
It is a temple located ahead of 800 stone steps on the mountainside of Mt. Tachiki looking over Shis...
Dairenji Temple
It was reportedly founded by Priest Enkai in 876, in the Heian Period [between the late 8th and 12th...
Tanakami Fudoji Temple
It is the temple belonging to the Tendaijimon Sect located near the summit of Mt. Tanakami, and its ...
The Battle of Awazugahara Historic Site Monument of Honor
The Battle of Awazugahara took place between Kiso Yoshinaka and Minamoto no Yoshitsune in Awazu, Omi...
Honda Shrine
Four deities are enshrined in this shrine: Honda Tadatoshi, Honda Tadatsugu, Honda Yasutoshi, and Ho...
Akiba Shrine
Two deities, Kagutsuchi no Mikoto and Okuninushi no Mikoto are enshrined in this shrine. The hill on...
Shishitobi Valley
The River Seta flows from Lake Biwa to the south. As mountains are very close to both sides of the r...
Otsu Abacus
Otsu abacuses were sold on the Tokaido Road between Otani-cho and Oiwake-cho as one of Otsu’s repres...
Stone Wall at Former Lakeside of Lake Biwa
An approximately 50-centimeter-high stone wall can be seen between the rail track and the lakeshore ...
Former Otsu Army Cemetery
In 1873, the government promulgated the Conscription Ordinance, and every adult male became liable f...
Night Light Post at Kofunairi
There used to be many landing places called seki at the Otsu Port in the Edo Period [between the 17t...
Former Site of Otsu-shuku Honjin Inns
Honjin is an accommodation facility for feudal lords and court nobles placed in post towns during th...
Former Osakayama Tunnel
It is a 664-meter long tunnel which was completed in 1880 when the railway between Kyoto and Otsu wa...
Kurumaishi Stone
Kurumaishi Stones are cut granite on which ruts were engraved. They were laid for the approximately ...
Yamanakagoe Road
It is the road from Shigasato, passing through Shigatoge Pass and Yamanaka-cho, and reaching Kitashi...
Nyoigoe Road
It is the road from Miidera Temple passing through Mt. Nyoigatake and reaching Shishigatani in Kyoto...
Kozekigoe Road
It is a bypass going through the mountains to the north side of the Osakagoe Road from Miidera-cho t...
Fuda no Tsuji Junction
It is the junction of the Hokkokukaido Road and Tokaido Road. Its name derives from the fact that th...
Umagami Shrine
It is also called Kosho Sosei Daijingu Shrine. It was originally located in the premises of the offi...
Hikota Inari Shrine
From here towards the lakeside, there was the site where Sawagura, Hikone Domain feudal lord’s resid...
Ebisu Shrine
The deity enshrined in this shrine is Ebisu no Mikoto. It is located in an alley between private hou...
Shidori Shrine
It is also known as Akatsuka Daimyojin, as it is located on top of the Akatsuka Burial Mound. As the...
Yamagami Fudo-do Temple
It is a hall which Chisho Daishi Enchin, the restorer of Miidera Temple, founded during the Gangyo E...
Usahachiman Shrine
Enshrining Emperor Ojin as its deity, this shrine is located halfway up Mt. Usa to the west of Omi J...
Awazu Shrine
The three deities enshrined in this shrine are Okuninushi no Mikoto, Tanaka Tsuneyo and Daidoji Taba...
Togakushi Shrine
This shrine has been worshipped as the tutelary of Hiratsumura village since ancient times. The sacr...
Monument of Basho’s Sutra Mound
It was built in front of the Genju-an hut ruins in the precinct of Chikatsuo Shrine in 1780. Discipl...
Monument of Kiso Yoshinaka
In December 1832, Minamoto no Yoshinaga, a descendant of Kiso Yoshinaka and a Shogunate physician bu...
Hayao Shrine
It is located halfway up Mt. Nagara, and Takehaya Susano no Mikoto is enshrined in the main hall wit...
Monument of Martyrs of Former Zeze Domain
This stone monument was built in the precinct of Honda Shrine in October 21, 1932 to praise the mart...
Tokutoku no Shimizu Spring Water
A famous haiku poet, Matsuo Basho, started living in Genju-an hut in April 1690. He lived leisurely,...
Imai Kanehira’s Grave
Imai Kanehira was a general in the late Heian Period [in the 12th century]. It is known that he loya...
Dainichiji Temple
It is located on the top of Mt. Dainich, and there is currently neither chief priest nor temple guar...
Seta Castle Ruins
The River Seta is the only river flowing from Lake Biwa, and the Seta no Karahashi Bridge over the r...
Shingu Shrine
It is located in the forest called Terabe no Mori at the south foot of Mt. Garan where temple buildi...
Sairenji Temple
Although it is currently a temple belonging to the Jodo Sect, according to the temple’s records, it ...
Nango Goryo Shrine
The deity enshrined in this shrine is Kibi no Makibi, the Minister of the Right, a government offici...
Kitaoji Goryo Shrine
The deity enshrined in this shrine is Emperor Kobun [also known as Prince Otomo], which is the same ...
Kokubu-Otsuka Burial Mound
It is a keyhole-shaped burial mound located in Kokubu 1-chome [icchome] near the west bank of the Ri...
Toriigawa Goryo Shrine
The deity enshrined in this shrine is Emperor Kobun [also known as Prince Otomo]. According to the s...
Yokooyama Burial Mound No.1
Yokooyama Burial Mounds were believed to have been built in the early 7th century at the end of the ...
Chikatsuo Shrine
The deity enshrined in this shrine is Hondawake no Mikoto [also known as Emperor Ojin]. It is said t...
Kemari Festival
This is a festival of Hirano Shine, the enshrined deity of which is Seidai Myojin, also known as the...
Hosen-e Ceremony
The wooden statue of Matsuo Basho enshrined in the Okinado of Gichuji Temple has a nyoi staff, one o...
The formal start of the tourism season at Lake Biwa
This is an event held since 1956 to announce the coming of spring at Lake Biwa. In the event, prayer...
Water Clock Festival
This is a festival held at Omi Jingu Shrine and Iwai Shrine that have a deep connection with Emperor...
Mitarashi Festival
This summer festival takes place at Karasaki Shrine. It is also called Nagoshi no Harae where people...
Senko Festival
This is a festival of Takebe Taisha Shrine, the Shinto shrine with the highest rank in Omi. This gre...
Otsu Festival
This is a festival of Tenson Shrine and is famous for being one of the three major lake province fes...
Shinozu Shrine
This is Shinozu Shrine. It has been worshipped as the local deity of Nakanosho Village. The year of ...
Former Biwako Hotel
This is former Biwako Hotel. It was built in 1934 as the first international tourist hotel in the pr...
Karasaki Shrine
This is Karasaki Shrine. It is one of the auxiliary shrines of Hiyoshi Taisha Shrine. It was reporte...
A Pine Tree in Karasaki
This is a pine tree in Karasaki. It is the sacred pine tree of Karasaki Shrine and a solitary pine t...
Sekisemimaru Shrine
This is Sekisemimaru Shrine. It is believed to have been founded as a tutelary deity of Osaka checki...
Shohoji Temple
This is Shohoji Temple. It was built on the mountainside of Mt. Iwama with an elevation of 443 meter...
The Ruins of Abandoned Ano Temple
These are the ruins of the abandoned Ano Temple. The temple ruins are one of the ruins related to Ot...
Wada Shrine
This is Wada Shrine. According to the shrine’s history, it was founded in 675 and enshrines Takaokam...
Former Zeze Castle Town
This is former Zeze Castle Town. In the Edo Period [in the early 17th century] Tokugawa Ieyasu aband...
Shiga Prefectural Government Main Building
This is the Shiga Prefectural Government Main Building. The current building was designed jointly by...
Otsumatsuri Hikiyama Exhibition Pavilion
This is the Otsumatsuri Hikiyama Exhibition Pavilion. Otsu-matsuri is one of the three major lake pr...
Otsu Hyakuchokan
This is Otsu Hyakuchokan. In the Edo Period [between the 17th and mid-19th centuries], Otsu was bust...
Otsu-e paintings
Otsu-e are folk art paintings that were sold in Otani-cho and Oiwake-cho within Otsu-juku, one of th...
Great Buddha of Shiga
This is the Great Buddha of Shiga. A large stone statue of the Buddha stands at the side of Shigagoe...
The Ruins of Abandoned Minamishiga Temple
These are the ruins of abandoned Minamishiga Temple. The site of the temple ruins is one of those re...
Hyakketsu Burial Mounds
These are the Hyakketsu Burial Mounds remaining along the Shigagoe-no-michi road in the mountains of...
The Ruins of Sufukuji Temple
These are the ruins of Sufukuji Temple. Sufukuji Temple was built at the request of Emperor Tenji to...
Setanokara Bridge
The Setanokara Bridge can be written in two ways in Japanese. It appears on the setting of a fierce ...
Remains of the Genjū Hermitage
In the 2nd year of the Jokyo Era (1685), Matsuo Bashō, who visited Otsu for the first time, fell in ...
Clear breeze at Awazu
One of The Eight Views of Ōmi . “The Distant View of Awazu”, with its row of pine trees ...
Rokasensuisō Villa
The Rokasensuisō Villa is a local residence of the Nihonga Master Yamamoto Shunkyo (the building is ...
Zeze Shrine
Zeze Shrine is said to be the creation of the Nara period. In the Middle Ages, reverence from variou...
Zeze Castle Remains
Zeze Castle was built in the 6th year of Kecho era (1601), and is also nicknamed Sekiroku Castle. Ho...
Iwai Shrine
Iwai shrine is said to have been founded around the time of Emperor Tenji. The enshrined deities are...
Ishiba’s Perpetual Lamp
Ishiba’s Perpetual Lamp was built at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate in the 2nd year of the ...
Tenson Shrine
Emperor Kanmu is the venerable maritime transport god for the Tenson shrine, and it is famous for th...
Mausoleum of Emperor Kōbun
There is a record that Prince Ōtomo (Tenji’s Imperial Prince) who was defeated by Emperor Tenj...
Ōtsu City Museum of History
Ōtsu is home to the third largest collection nationwide of Important Cultural Properties designated ...
Ōjiyama’s Tumuli (Kofun Group)
Ōjiyama’s Tumuli (Kofun Group) consists of a few rectangular‐shaped mounds in the Shiga prefec...
Remains of Ōtsukyō
Ōtsu Kyō (Ōtsu Palace) is a short-lived capital that Emperor Tenji relocated in 667 and was destroye...
Ōmi-jingū Shrine
The Ōmi-jingū Shrine has Emperor Tenji as the Main Enshrined God. In order to celebrate Emperor Tenj...
Chōanji Temple’s Two-storied Buddhist tower
This is a stone tower built at the west side from the former Tokaido in the Chōanji temple’s p...
Nagara Shrine’s Two-Storied Gate
Constructed in 1906, Nagara Shrine’s two-storied tower gate is a magnificent work from the Meiji era...
Mio Shrine Inner Sanctuary
Mio Jinja shrine is said to date back to ancient times when Izanagi no Mikoto, Lord Izanagi, a deity...
Takebe-taisha Shrine
Located at about 500 meters east of Seta’s stone Bridge. It is called to be Omi Ichinomiya, on...
Remains of Ōsakayamaseki
About 100 meters East from the Keihan Railway’s Otani Station, along the national highway No. ...
Tumuli (Kofun) of Chausuyama
On the mountainside Chausuyama (155m), there is the second largest kofun (tumulus) of the prefecture...
Gichū-ji Temple
Until the middle of the Edo period there was a small mound where Kiso Yoshinaka was buried, but Mats...
Ōtsu city’s former public hall
Since it was built as “Otsu public hall” in 1934, its name and purpose has been changed ...
Lake Biwa Canal
This canal runs at the north side of the Keihan Electric Railway’s Miidera Station. Constructi...
Ōtsu Castle Remains
During the Azuchi-Momoyama period, Toyotomi Hideyoshi replaced the Sakamoto Castle and built the Ots...