Days 4 and 5 start!
Hachiman-bori Canal / Shinmachi-dori Street Townscape (strolling, sightseeing)
Shinmachi surroundings are a well-preserved old townscape, selected as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings.
The merchant townscape built from the end of Edo Period to Meiji Period is famous as the birthplace and home of the Omi merchants. Additionally, the historical Hachiman-bori Canal flowing through Omi-Hachiman City is a popular townscape and is often chosen as location for filming movies and period drama.
2 minutes by Car
Himure Hachiman Shrine
On the southern foot of Mount Hachiman is the Himure Hachimangu Shrine, an expansive shrine boasting a vast area of about 44,000 sqm. Widely popular as the Hachiman-sama, it is located in the center of Omi as a protector of this lake area.
This shrine has been drawing the Omi merchant worship since long ago, and is also known to hold two major Shiga fire festivals: the Sagicho Festival and the Hachiman Festival.
5 minutes by Car
La Collina Omihachiman (shopping and dining)
La Collina Omi-Hachiman, the flagship of Taneya Club Harie
The thatched roof of the main shop is complemented with the rice paddies and farmland that recreate the landscapes of Omi-Hachiman. Among the green-rich nature, there are several stores to enjoy sweets only available here, such as the freshly baked castella sponge cake and German spit cake Baumkuchen.
39 minutes by car
La Cuisine: Enju
A French-style restaurant serving dishes on a steel griddle.
A French-style restaurant serving items cooked in harmony with various premium ingredients and local produce. The restaurant sports a casual and calm decor inside. One of its highlights is the open griddle where the chef prepares the food right in front of guests' eyes.
10 minutes by Car
Hikone Castle (tour)
Hikone Castle is a modern fortress with the start of construction dating back to 1604. It was completed 20 years later.
The castle was first designated as a historic landmark in 1951, and in 1956 as a special historic site. Hikone Castle has been carefully protected as a national treasure ever since.
Inside Hikone Castle
Genkyu-en Garden (Genkyu-Rakuraku-en Garden) (strolling, sightseeing)
The scenic Genkyu-Rakuraku-en Garden is comprised of a large scale garden with a central pond enclosed by a path called the Genkyu-en, and the dry landscape garden named the Rakuraku-en that faces the castle.
7 minutes by Car
Yumekyobashi Castle Road (strolling and shopping)
Yume-Kyobashi Castle Road, a shopping district in Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture.
The street itself stretches across in front of your eyes, when starting at the end of Hikone Castle moat going straight, passing through the stone walls in the direction of Kyobashi.
A perfect place to enjoy eating and drinking, and souvenir shopping while walking through the town reminiscent of the castle towns in the Edo Period with the unified white-walls and black lattices.
10 minutes by Car
BIWAFRONT HIKONE
The BIWAFRONT HIKONE, hotel-style ryokan inn nestled on the edge of Lake Biwa
A resort complete with various facilities and services, including the open-air bath with water drawn from an in-house spring, to the beautiful panoramic lakeview stretching across the window of the main building, to villas with their own open-air hot springs scattered on the broad premises, and the vast array of dining options, all prepared with Shiga produce.
