Shiga travel: which side of Lake Biwa should you stay on?

Ishiyama Station

Otsu · 大津 (Shiga · 滋賀県)

Consider Ishiyama Station for a focus on Ishiyamadera worship. Temple buses leave bay 1. To visit Lake Biwa Museum too, take JR to Kusatsu and change to the museum bus. The temple and museum buses leave from different stations.

Official bus guide2026-10-09Museum access2026-10-09JR West Sagano/Biwako Line stopping station map, revised 2024-03-162026-10-08

Kusatsu Station

Kusatsu · 草津

Choose Kusatsu Station for the museum first, or separate days for southern temple worship and eastern castle/canal visits. Museum buses leave west exit bay 2. The temple, Hikone Castle and Hachiman-bori require JR to other stations. Even near-station hotels need an address-specific check of walking time to the bus bay.

Museum access2026-10-09JR West Sagano/Biwako Line stopping station map, revised 2024-03-162026-10-08

Omihachiman Station

Omihachiman · 近江八幡

For more time at Hachiman-bori, distinguish station-area hotels from canal-area accommodation. Take a bus from north-side bay 6 or 7 to the canal. For Hikone Castle too, check JR between Omihachiman and Hikone together with your return bus.

Hachiman-bori access2026-10-08Hachiman-bori bus fares and return timetable2026-10-09JR West Sagano/Biwako Line stopping station map, revised 2024-03-162026-10-08

Hikone Station

Hikone · 彦根

Consider Hikone Station for time at the castle, Genkyuen Garden and castle museum. Official directions give about 15 minutes walking from station to castle and museum. Ticket queues and the slope/stone-step ascent to the keep are extra. Castle and museum open at different times; a Hachiman-bori day trip adds return JR and bus travel.

Hikone Castle access2026-10-09Official museum guide2026-10-09Hachiman-bori bus fares and return timetable2026-10-09

Yume Kyobashi Castle Road below Hikone Castle

Yume Kyobashi Castle Road (夢京橋キャッスルロード) is a shopping street near Kyobashi Bridge over the castle moat. The official guide lists a walk of about 20 minutes from Hikone Station. Sweet shops and restaurants line the street, making it an option for a meal after the castle or a short walk on departure day. Each shop sets its own hours and days off.

Official Shiga access guide2026-10-09Shopping street shop list2026-10-08

Hachiman-bori and Shinmachi Street

Shinmachi Street · 新町通り

Former Omi merchants' homes and shops remain along Shinmachi Street. To explore these old streets alongside Hachiman-bori, use the official walking map to choose your route. Walking along the canal and taking a boat are separate activities. If you add a sightseeing boat or museum, check its hours and fees separately.

Omihachiman city Shinmachi-dori guide2026-10-09Official Omihachiman city walking map2026-10-09Hachiman-bori access2026-10-08

Deai Hiroba near Kusatsu Station

Deai Hiroba (de愛ひろば) is in section 5 of the park on the former Kusatsu River bed, about a six-minute walk from Kusatsu Station. It can be a short walk before your train on the last day of a Kusatsu stay. Distinguish the whole park's access hours from the office's hours, and check separate conditions for paid facilities or events.

Kusatsu city access and facilities guide2026-10-09

From Hikone Station to the castle and museum

Hikone Castle and its museum are about a 15-minute walk from Hikone Station. Use the official access guide for the route. That estimate excludes ticket queues and time on the stairs inside the keep. Check the castle and museum opening times separately.

Hikone Castle access2026-10-09Official museum guide2026-10-09

Stations for buses to Ishiyamadera and Lake Biwa Museum

For Ishiyamadera, take a bus serving Sanmon-mae from bay 1 at JR Ishiyama Station; the ride takes about 10 minutes. Lake Biwa Museum buses leave from bay 2 at Kusatsu Station's west exit. Distinguish the stations and bus bays first, then use each attraction's access guide to check outward and return services for your visit date.

Official bus guide2026-10-09Museum access2026-10-09

From Omihachiman Station to Hachiman-bori

Take a bus serving Hachiman-bori from bay 6 or 7 at Omihachiman Station's north exit. Return on an Omihachiman Station-bound bus. For a Hikone hotel, continue on a JR service towards Maibara or Nagahama that stops at Hikone. Allow time to transfer between the bus and train.

Hachiman-bori bus fares and return timetable2026-10-09JR West Sagano/Biwako Line stopping station map, revised 2024-03-162026-10-08

JR between cities and ordinary tickets

Enter your actual travel date and departure and arrival stations to look up trains and ordinary fares between Ishiyama, Kusatsu, Omihachiman and Hikone. Compare ordinary tickets for the same journeys before choosing a pass.

JR West2026-10-08JR search2026-10-08JR West Sagano/Biwako Line stopping station map, revised 2024-03-162026-10-08

Local buses to the museum and canal

Take the bus to Lake Biwa Museum from Kusatsu Station, and to Hachiman-bori from Omihachiman Station. Select your destination in the Ohmi Railway bus information to check return services and fares. Check Kojaku Bus services to Ishiyamadera separately in the temple access guide above.

Ohmi Railway buses2026-10-08Official Ohmi bus guide2026-10-09Hachiman-bori bus fares and return timetable2026-10-09

Eat in the city you are visiting today

Look at the shopping street below the castle on your Hikone day, or Omihachiman restaurants on your canal day. Check the city when browsing Shiga's restaurant guide. Using the same restaurant on an Otsu temple day and a Hikone Castle day adds travel between cities.

Shopping street shop list2026-10-08Omihachiman city Shinmachi-dori guide2026-10-09

Omi beef

Omi beef (近江牛) appears in dishes such as rice bowls and beef stew. For a meal in Hikone after the castle, compare menus in the Yume Kyobashi Castle Road shop directory. Meals are outside the attraction and bus costs shown in the itineraries.

Shiga tourism body's Omi beef guide2026-10-09Shopping street shop list2026-10-08

Red konjac

Red konjac (赤こんにゃく) is a well-known local food in Omihachiman. Its red colour comes from iron oxide, rather than chili pepper. It may be served with vinegar-miso dressing or wasabi soy sauce. Check how a restaurant prepares it instead of assuming the colour means it is spicy.

Agriculture ministry red konjac guide2026-10-09

Funazushi

Funazushi (ふなずし) is a preserved food made by fermenting Lake Biwa crucian carp with rice. It differs from ordinary sushi with fish placed over rice. If you want to try fermented food, look for it on the menu; for a first taste, ask about portion sizes and how to eat it. Check the menu before visiting, as not every restaurant serves it.

Agriculture ministry traditional Shiga food guide2026-10-09

Hikone Castle and Genkyuen Garden

Adult admission is ¥1,000. A separate Hikone Castle Museum ticket is ¥700. To visit all three on the same day, check whether the ¥1,500 combined ticket is on sale and the museum exhibits are open.

Hikone Castle visitor guide2026-10-08Official museum guide2026-10-09

Ordinary Ishiyamadera admission

Adult admission is ¥600. The Main Hall inner sanctuary and Hozoden Treasure Hall cost extra.

Current fees and exceptions2026-10-09

Lake Biwa Museum permanent exhibitions

Adult admission is ¥840. Special exhibitions and the bus from the station cost extra.

Lake Biwa Museum fees2026-10-09

Ishiyama Station–Sanmon-mae bus

The adult fare is ¥250 each way or ¥500 return. Temple admission and JR fares are separate.

Kojaku Bus revised fares, March 1, 20262026-10-08

Kusatsu Station–Lake Biwa Museum bus

The adult fare is ¥480 each way or ¥960 return. Museum admission and JR fares are separate.

Official Ohmi bus guide2026-10-09

Omihachiman Station–Hachiman-bori bus

The adult fare is ¥260 each way or ¥520 return. Sightseeing boats, paid facilities and JR fares are separate.

Hachiman-bori bus fares and return timetable2026-10-09

Choose your WEST QR travel dates and journeys first

The Kansai Area Pass is valid for one to four consecutive days on ordinary-car unreserved seats on JR local, rapid and Special Rapid services within its coverage area. It does not cover Shinkansen. Buses to the temple, canal and museums, and attraction admission, cost extra. Conditions include a foreign-government-issued passport, Temporary Visitor status and an internet-connected smartphone. One pass cannot cover all five days, so compare the days you would use it with ordinary tickets for the remaining days. Check station-to-station coverage and the valid area in the official conditions.

Official WEST QR Kansai Area Pass conditions2026-10-09

Lake Biwa Waterfowl and Wetland Center · 琵琶湖水鳥・湿地センター

View photos taken at the waterfowl and wetland centre, with their capture times, on the environment ministry's official page. Waterfowl are not always visible. New photos are not taken on closure days: Tuesdays (the following day if Tuesday is a public holiday) and December 29–January 3. These photos cannot establish weather, crowds or operating conditions at Hikone Castle or Ishiyamadera.

Environment ministry updated Lake Biwa waterbird photographs2026-10-09Environment ministry waterbird camera facility and closure information2026-10-09