Google Maps now show street views of Shiga Prefecture. On March 11, 2010, Google has started to post photos of the streets of Shiga, mainly in Otsu, Kusatsu, and the road going around Lake Biwa. No doubt, they will keep posting street views of more roads in Shiga as they become available. Street views are [...]
Posts under ‘Lake Biwa’
Biwako beaches pass water-quality tests
It’s summer again and before people flock to the beaches, Shiga Prefecture in May conducted water-quality tests at nine of Shiga’s most popular swimming beaches. Based on the water-quality test results, the beaches were ranked “AA,” “A,” or “B.” Receiving the highest “AA” rating were Omi-Maiko (Otsu), Miyagahama (Omi-Hachiman), and Nihonmatsu (Nishi-Azai). The second-highest “A” [...]
Shiga-born cormorants found in Kumamoto
Japan’s largest kawau cormorant colony is found in Lake Biwa. These birds are flying off from Shiga and spreading over a wide area. Kawau cormorants from Lake Biwa have been found in Kumamoto in Kyushu, over 580 km away, the furthest distance away confirmed so far. Previously, the furthest away where they were found was [...]
Shooting 70,000 cormorants in Shiga
NHK TV Otsu reported that from April 2009, Shiga will restart the shooting of cormorant birds called kawau. They found that the kawau population in Shiga has almost doubled since last year to a whopping 74,000 birds. Most of them live on Chikubushima island where they have devastated the trees with their droppings and nests. [...]
Emperor and Empress visit Shiga
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited Shiga Prefecture for the first time in 13 years during Nov. 10-13, 2007. The main reason was to attend the 27th Zenkoku Yutaka na Umizukuri Taikai (National Convention to Make Bountiful Oceans 第２７回全国豊かな海づくり大会) held in Otsu. On the first day, they visited a nursing home called Care Town Karasaki in [...]
Yachting ’round Lake Biwa
My friend Kenkichi Yagi, who lives in Otsu, wrote an interesting story about his sailing trip around Lake Biwa in 1966. He went with another friend and was able to complete the haphazard, adventurous trip in 2.5 days on a small yacht. His story is in English now with pictures: http://yagiken.cocolog-nifty.com/yagiken_web_site_english/
Lake Biwa’s private beaches
This past summer, I rented a bicycle at Omi-Maiko and went cycling along the beach toward Hira Station. There was a nice bicycle path most of the way, and some parts were like a private area for summer homes. I often saw a sign on the beach saying 「私有地」which means “Private Property, Keep Out.” It [...]