Area Otsu Cathy Cawood Ōtsu is the capital city of Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Ōtsu is known as the main port of Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan. ...
Culture Otsu Festival 2025 Cathy Cawood Otsu Matsuri takes place in early October and features thirteen ornate floats with ingenious mechanical puppets.
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 a...
11 Culture Ishiyama Temple in Otsu Cathy Cawood A large, unusual wollastonite rock formation is surrounded by beautiful temple buildings of Ishiyama-dera in Otsu.
Culture Mii-dera Cherry Blossom Awa Odori 2025 Kim Bergström Shiga's Mii-dera Temple is set to host a lively new event this spring—the Mii-dera Cherry Blossom Awa Odori— bringing the vib...
Culture Blessed Biwa Arlene Bastion Lake Biwa holds more than beauty. It also brings blessings as an object of worship according to both the Shinto and Buddhist ...
Culture Amazing Hieizan Arlene Bastion Hieizan, the home of the awesome Enryakuji, with its immense, luxurious forests, emanates its own sacred and spiritual feelin...
Culture Muddled in Miidera Arlene Bastion Getting to and around Miidera is a bit puzzling. But persevere. The temples are embedded in verdant forests, and emanate a s...
Culture Prefectural Calligraphy Exhibition Cathy Cawood Huge annual exhibition of calligraphy from all over Shiga Prefecture, held in Otsu Museum of History in February.
