Touring an old castle town in the moonlight (Hikone, Shiga)
Endowed with a wondrous natural environment in Lake Biwa and the Suzuka Mountain Range, Hikone has been heavily tinged with history and culture from its day as a castle town of the Edo Period to the present day. Towering over the city is Hikone-jo Castle known as one of the 8 scenic sites on Lake Biwa because of its beauty in the moonlight. The area around the castle is a mixture of old and new elements such as the Yumekyobashi Castle Road that leads to the castle entrance and 4-Bancho Square that brings to life the romance of the Taisho Era
| By train | By car |
|---|---|
| Take the JR New Rapid Service from Osaka Station … Approx. 75 min. | Approx. 102 km from the Suita IC of the Meishin Expressway Approx. 88 km from the Nagoya IC of the Meishin Expressway |
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- 1.JR Hikone Station
- 2.Hikone-jo Castle
- Known as one of the 8 scenic sites on Lake Biwa because of its beauty in the moonlight and built with 350,000 stones, Hikone-jo Castle was the home of the Ii Clan who ruled over Hikone.
- 3.Genkyu-en Garden, Rakuraku-en Garden
- These gardens were built by Naooki Ii, the 4th generation lord of the castle.
- 4.Hikone Castle Museum
- The museum was built to resemble the administrative offices that served the castle.
- 5.Umoreginoya
- This is the residence where the Steward Naosuke Ii lived from when he was 17 until becoming the castle lord at the age of 32.
- 6.Yumekyobashi Castle Road
- Yumekyobashi Castle Road recreates the streetscape of the Edo Period when Hikone prospered as a castle town, with merchant homes characterized by latticed windows and white walls.
- 7.4-Bancho Square
- The concept for the streetscape of 4-Bancho Square was "romance of the Taisho Era". It emanates a new yet nostalgic feeling with buildings sharing a unified modern look on an orange base, gas lanterns in the square and Buddhist statues here and there "wishing all a safe and pleasant journey".
- 8.JR Hikone Station
