Four days in Shiga: what will you explore with another day?
Stay three nights in Kusatsu and give Ishiyamadera, Lake Biwa Museum and Hikone Castle a day each. For more time at the castle museum, stay three nights in Hikone, visiting the castle and garden on one day and the museum on another and taking a Hachiman-bori day trip.
Choose an itinerary for 4 days / 3 nights
Kusatsu base for Ishiyamadera, the museum and Hikone Castle
Stay three nights in Kusatsu and give Ishiyamadera, Lake Biwa Museum and Hikone Castle a day each, returning to the same accommodation after every visit. On departure day, take a short walk near the station if time allows.
Kusatsu base for Ishiyamadera, the museum and Hikone Castle →4 days / 3 nights BHikone base for the castle, canal and museum
Stay three nights in Hikone, visiting the keep and garden on one day and the castle museum on another. Spend another day walking Hachiman-bori's canal and old streets. This itinerary does not visit Lake Biwa Museum.
Hikone base for the castle, canal and museum →Kusatsu base for Ishiyamadera, the museum and Hikone Castle
Stay three nights in Kusatsu and give Ishiyamadera, Lake Biwa Museum and Hikone Castle a day each, returning to the same accommodation after every visit. On departure day, take a short walk near the station if time allows.
Day 1: temple return trip
Start the first day at Kusatsu Station.
- Kusatsu Station → JR Ishiyama Station
Take a Kyoto-bound JR Biwako Line train stopping at Ishiyama. Look up the train and fare for your date, and allow time to reach the bus stand from Ishiyama Station.
JR West Sagano/Biwako Line station map (revised 16 March 2024)JR journey search
- JR Ishiyama Station stand 1 → Ishiyamadera Sanmon-mae bus stop
Take a route 1, 4, 14, 52, 54 or 55 bus stopping at Sanmon-mae; the ride takes about 10 minutes. Check the correct direction in the official timetable for your date.
- Ishiyamadera Sanmon-mae bus stop → Ishiyamadera Temple grounds
Enter through the gate with JPY 600 general grounds admission, then have a meal nearby. Hours are 8 am–4:30 pm, with last entry at 4 pm. The inner hall and Hozoden are extra. Swap visit days or omit the temple if there is insufficient time before last entry.
- Ishiyamadera Temple grounds → JR Ishiyama Station
Return on an Ishiyama Station-bound bus from Sanmon-mae stop 2. This is different from an Otsu Station service. Leave time to walk from the bus stop to the JR platform.
- JR Ishiyama Station → Kusatsu Station and the same accommodation
Take a JR Biwako Line train towards Maibara or Yasu that stops at Kusatsu and return to the same accommodation for the night. The JPY 500 temple return bus and JR return fares are separate; JR is excluded from the itinerary subtotal.
JR West Sagano/Biwako Line station map (revised 16 March 2024)JR journey searchKojak bus fare table revised 1 March 2026
The return bus leaves from Sanmon-mae stop 2 for Ishiyama Station. Check that it is not bound for Otsu, and allow time after alighting to reach the JR platform. Look up both directions for your date.
Day 2: museum exhibitions
- Kusatsu Station west-exit stand 2 → Lake Biwa Museum bus stop
Take an Ohmi bus to Lake Biwa Museum from Kusatsu Station's west-exit stand 2. Get off at the museum stop after about 25 minutes. Check both directions in the official timetable for your date and allow extra waiting time.
- Lake Biwa Museum bus stop → Lake Biwa Museum permanent exhibitions
Walk to the museum for the permanent exhibitions, a meal and a break. General permanent-exhibition admission is JPY 840; special exhibitions cost extra. The museum opens from 9:30 am to 5 pm, with last entry at 4 pm. Check the calendar for Monday closures, public-holiday openings and temporary closures.
Museum accessLake Biwa Museum feesLake Biwa Museum opening calendar
- Lake Biwa Museum permanent exhibitions → Kusatsu Station and the same accommodation
After the exhibitions and a meal, take a bus from the museum stop to Kusatsu Station's west exit. Finish sightseeing in time for your bus, then return to the same Kusatsu accommodation from the station.
Check the museum's opening calendar and return bus to Kusatsu for your date. Leave time to walk from the exhibition rooms to the bus stop.
Day 3: Hikone Castle
- Kusatsu Station → Hikone Station
Take a JR Biwako Line train towards Maibara that stops at Hikone. Look up the outward train and fare together with your Kyoto-bound return stopping at Kusatsu.
JR West Sagano/Biwako Line station map (revised 16 March 2024)JR journey search
- Hikone Station west exit → Hikone Castle ticket office
Official guidance gives a walk of about 15 minutes from Hikone Station to the castle. Leave through the west exit, walk towards the castle and use the on-site map to find your entrance and ticket office. Allow extra time for ticket queues and the climb to the keep.
- Hikone Castle ticket office → Castle and Genkyuen Garden
Visit the keep and garden with the JPY 1,000 castle and Genkyuen ticket. Hikone Castle opens from 8:30 am to 5 pm, with last entry at 4:30 pm. There are slopes and stone steps up to the keep; choose a route that suits your walking ability. To add the museum on the same day, check its hours, closures and availability of the JPY 1,500 combined ticket.
- Castle and Genkyuen Garden → Hikone Station
After a meal near the castle, return to Hikone Station. Allow for the walk back, access to the platform and train waiting time. Shorten any extra sightseeing rather than miss your return train.
- Hikone Station → Kusatsu Station and the same accommodation
Return to the same Kusatsu accommodation on a Kyoto-bound JR Biwako Line train stopping at Kusatsu. JR return fares and times, plus the walk to your accommodation, are separate from the admission and bus subtotal and must be checked for your date.
JR West Sagano/Biwako Line station map (revised 16 March 2024)JR journey search
Allow visiting time before the 4:30 pm last entry. To include the museum, check its hours, closures and combined-ticket availability. Look up the return train and the route from the station to your accommodation separately.
Day 4: short Kusatsu walk, then departure
- Accommodation near Kusatsu Station → Deai Hiroba (de愛ひろば) area
Take a short walk at Deai Hiroba (de愛ひろば), about six minutes from Kusatsu Station. This is the one-way station-to-park walk; allow extra time to reach the station from your hotel and to spend in the park.
- Deai Hiroba (de愛ひろば) area → Station for your booked departure
After your walk and meal, return to Kusatsu Station for your booked departure. Allow time to walk back and reach your platform. Omit the final-day walk if your train leaves early.
Only add a final-day visit or walk if there is time before your train. Allow separately for the return to the station and the walk to your platform.
Included: Ishiyamadera grounds JPY 600 + Lake Biwa Museum permanent exhibitions JPY 840 + Hikone Castle and Genkyuen Garden JPY 1,000 + temple return bus JPY 500 + museum return bus JPY 960
Additional costs: Intercity JR, return trips to accommodation, luggage storage, accommodation, meals, Hikone Castle Museum, inner hall, Hozoden, special exhibitions, park events and final departure transport cost extra.
Basic admission and both return bus journeys total JPY 3,900 per adult: admission JPY 2,440 + temple bus JPY 500 + museum bus JPY 960. Choosing a same-day Hikone Castle Museum combined ticket raises this to JPY 4,400. JR, accommodation, meals, extra visits, park events and final departure transport are excluded. Adjust the visiting order around attraction closures and bus operating dates.
Current fees and exceptionsLake Biwa Museum feesHikone Castle visitor guidanceKojak bus fare table revised 1 March 2026Official Ohmi bus guidance
Hikone base for the castle, canal and museum
Stay three nights in Hikone, visiting the keep and garden on one day and the castle museum on another. Spend another day walking Hachiman-bori's canal and old streets. This itinerary does not visit Lake Biwa Museum.
Day 1: castle and garden
Start the first day at Hikone Station.
- Hikone Station → Hikone Castle ticket office
Official guidance gives a walk of about 15 minutes from Hikone Station to the castle. Leave through the west exit, walk towards the castle and use the on-site map to find your entrance and ticket office. Allow extra time for ticket queues and the climb to the keep.
- Hikone Castle ticket office → Castle and Genkyuen Garden
Visit the keep and garden with the JPY 1,000 castle and Genkyuen ticket. Hikone Castle opens from 8:30 am to 5 pm, with last entry at 4:30 pm. There are slopes and stone steps up to the keep; choose a route that suits your walking ability. To add the museum on the same day, check its hours, closures and availability of the JPY 1,500 combined ticket.
Official Hikone Castle guidanceHikone Castle visitor guidanceOfficial museum guidance
- Castle and Genkyuen Garden → Your starting station and the same accommodation
After a meal near the castle, return to the same Hikone accommodation. Castle entry ends at 4:30 pm; if you arrive late, swap it with the next day's museum visit.
Allow visiting time before the 4:30 pm last entry. To include the museum, check its hours, closures and combined-ticket availability. Look up the return train and the route from the station to your accommodation separately.
Day 2: castle museum
- Accommodation near Hikone Station → Hikone Castle Museum
Walk about 15 minutes from Hikone Station's west exit to the castle museum in the Omotemon area and buy a separate JPY 700 ticket. The hotel-to-station walk is extra. From March to November the museum opens at 9 am, unlike the castle's 8:30 am start.
- Hikone Castle Museum → Your starting station and the same accommodation
After the exhibitions, have a meal and a break near the castle or station, then return to the same accommodation. This plan does not split a combined ticket across two days. Change dates for exhibition changeovers or closures.
Hikone Castle Museum opens at 9 am. Check official visitor information for exhibition changeovers and temporary closures on your date.
Day 3: Hachiman-bori
- Hikone Station → Omihachiman Station
Take a Kyoto-bound JR Biwako Line train stopping at Omihachiman. Leave through the north exit and walk to the bus stand. JR fares and bus waiting time are separate.
JR West Sagano/Biwako Line station map (revised 16 March 2024)JR journey search
- Omihachiman Station north exit → Hachiman-bori bus stop
Use the correct stand, 6 or 7, at Omihachiman Station's north exit for a bus stopping at Hachiman-bori (Osugicho) Hachimanyama Ropeway-guchi. Check both the outward bus and return to the station in the official timetable for your date.
- Hachiman-bori bus stop → Canal and old streets
Walk from the stop to the canal, explore the old streets and have a meal nearby. The canal is a short walk from the stop. This itinerary covers a walk; boat rides and paid attractions are optional extras. For a boat ride, check the boarding point, operating dates and fare, then shorten your other sightseeing to fit the return bus.
- Canal and old streets → Omihachiman Station
Return to the Hachiman-bori stop and take an Omihachiman Station-bound bus. Adult station–canal fares are JPY 260 one way or JPY 520 return. Check the return boarding point and departure time separately in the official timetable for your date.
- Omihachiman Station → Hikone Station and the same accommodation
Take a JR Biwako Line train towards Maibara or Nagahama that stops at Hikone and return to the same accommodation. Allow time after the bus for the walk to the platform and the train wait. Check your date's return JR fares and bus connections separately.
JR West Sagano/Biwako Line station map (revised 16 March 2024)JR journey search
Check the return trains between Hikone and Omihachiman together with buses to the canal and back. A boat ride is optional and separate from the walk; check its boarding point, dates and fare too.
Day 4: castle-town streets and departure
- Accommodation near Hikone Station → Streets and shops that are open
Walk to Yumekyobashi Castle Road, about 20 minutes from Hikone Station, and browse shops that are open. Add time for strolling, a meal and the walk back to this one-way access time.
- Streets and shops that are open → Station for your booked departure
After your walk and meal, return to Hikone Station for your booked departure. Leave time for the walk back and access to the platform. Omit the final-day walk if your train leaves early.
Only add a final-day visit or walk if there is time before your train. Allow separately for the return to the station and the walk to your platform.
Included: Hikone Castle and Genkyuen Garden JPY 1,000 + separate-day Hikone Castle Museum ticket JPY 700 + Hachiman-bori return bus JPY 520
Additional costs: Hikone–Omihachiman JR, return trips to accommodation, luggage storage, accommodation, meals, boat rides, paid activities, extra visits and final departure transport cost extra.
Castle and garden admission, a separate-day castle museum ticket and the Hachiman-bori return bus total JPY 2,220 per adult. JR, boat rides, paid activities, accommodation, meals and final departure transport are excluded. Check museum closures and JR and bus services for your date, and leave time on departure day to return to Hikone Station and board your train.
Hikone Castle visitor guidanceOfficial museum guidanceHachiman-bori bus fares and return timetables
Frequently asked questions
Do the two four-day itineraries visit the same museum?
They visit different museums. Kusatsu itinerary A uses a bus from Kusatsu Station to Lake Biwa Museum. Hikone itinerary B visits Hikone Castle Museum on a different day from the castle and garden. General permanent admission at Lake Biwa Museum is JPY 840; a separate Hikone Castle Museum general ticket is JPY 700. Check each museum's closures before choosing dates.
Museum accessLake Biwa Museum feesLake Biwa Museum opening calendarOfficial museum guidance
Can I return to the same Kusatsu accommodation after Hikone Castle?
Itinerary A takes a JR Biwako Line train towards Maibara stopping at Hikone, then walks from the west exit to the castle. Return on a Kyoto-bound train stopping at Kusatsu and go back to the same accommodation. The roughly 15-minute station-to-castle walk excludes ticket queues, keep stairs and the walk to your hotel. Check return trains and fares for your date first.
JR West Sagano/Biwako Line station map (revised 16 March 2024)JR journey searchHikone Castle access
Do I have to buy a JR pass for Hikone Castle?
Ordinary tickets are available. To compare the WEST QR Kansai Area Pass, choose your actual JR segments and dates, check that they are covered, then compare ordinary fares. The listed admission and bus costs exclude JR. Temple, museum and Hachiman-bori buses and attraction admission are separate from the pass.
JR West Sagano/Biwako Line station map (revised 16 March 2024)JR journey searchOfficial WEST QR Kansai Area Pass conditionsKojak bus fare table revised 1 March 2026Official Ohmi bus guidanceHachiman-bori bus fares and return timetables
Official sources and check dates
- Museum access ·
- Hachiman-bori access ·
- Hikone Castle access ·
- Kojak bus fare table revised 1 March 2026 ·
- Ishiyama Station-bound timetable from Sanmon-mae stop 2 ·
- Hachiman-bori bus fares and return timetables ·
- Hikone Castle visitor guidance ·
- Bus departure timetable ·
- JR journey search ·
- Official museum guidance ·
- Current fees and exceptions ·
- Official bus guidance ·
- Official Ohmi bus guidance ·
- Lake Biwa Museum fees ·
- Lake Biwa Museum opening calendar ·
- Outward services ·
- Return services ·
- Kusatsu City access and facility guidance ·
- Official Shiga access guidance ·
- Shopping-street directory ·
- Official Hikone Castle guidance ·
- Official Hachiman-bori guidance ·
- JR West Sagano/Biwako Line station map (revised 16 March 2024) ·
- Official WEST QR Kansai Area Pass conditions ·