The resort hotel ‘KYUKAMURA OHMI-HACHIMAN’, located on the eastern shore of Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture, in Omi Hachiman City, known for its Omi merchants and Azuchi Castle, is inviting participants to join the ‘Biwaichi’ bus tour, which immerses them in the historical romance of Shiga Prefecture, which has flourished as a key transport hub since ancient times, close to Kyoto and Nara.
To ensure that visitors can enjoy Omi in an easy-to-understand way, Mr Yoshiyuki Onuma, Senior Researcher at the National Institute for Historical Resource Development, will accompany them throughout the tour and provide explanations.
Lakeside settlement of Sugaura.
Sugaura, at the northern end of Lake Biwa, known as Oku-Biwako, was introduced in essayist Masako Shirasu’s ‘Hidden Village’. The geographical environment, separated from its surroundings by the lake and steep mountains, has fostered a unique history and culture in this area. In October 2014, it was designated a National Important Cultural Landscape.
Full Moon Temple, ‘Floating Temple’.
Haimonzan Mangetsuji Temple was built in the Heian period (794-1185) to pray for safety on the lake. It is called Ukimido because the hall seems to float on Lake Biwa.
Kitafunaki Wakamiya shrine
The main hall was built in 1497 in the sangensha-ryuzukuri style, with excellent carvings and other details, and has been well preserved, showing the appearance of the building when it was built.
Introduction of Mr Yoshiyuki Onuma
He has been an extension specialist at the Shiga Prefectural Cultural Property Protection Association since 2015, after being employed as a cultural property specialist at the Shiga Prefectural Education Bureau in 1983 and as deputy director of the Azuchi Castle Archaeological Museum in Shiga Prefecture in 2011. She researches the cultural history of Lake Biwa from a wide range of perspectives, including archaeology, history, art, ethnography and the fishing environment, and works to disseminate the results of her research.
KYUKAMURA bus trip ‘Biwaichi’ by bus - a round trip around Lake Biwa
KYUKAMURA OHMI-HACHIMAN
You can soak in a hot spring bath overlooking Lake Biwa. Activities such as camping, canoeing and swimming pools (summer only) are also available for a special healing journey.
