by Philbert Ono The 79th Japan Games (第79回国民スポーツ大会) were held successfully in Shiga Prefecture for the first time in 44 years from September 28 to October 8, 2025. They were… Read more
Omi-Hachiman-based confection maker Taneya has opened a new cafe and shop named LAGO Otsu (LAGO 大津) on Lake Biwa’s lakefront in Otsu. Ever since it opened on March 24, 2025,… Read more
SHIGA – Nourished Felicitations 滋賀県 If there are multiple theories for the origin of the prefectural name, it means nobody knows for sure what the origin or the exact meaning… Read more
Next to Kyoto, Enryakuji Temple (延暦寺) on Mt. Hiei (Hiei-zan 比叡山) in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture is now offering a rare look at its massive, 10-year renovation of its main temple… Read more
Besides skiing, what else can we do in Shiga in winter? Let me suggest a snow cruise on Lake Biwa. After a snowfall, the snowy mountains around Lake Biwa are… Read more
Compilation of recent Otsu news from shiga-ken.com’s Shiga Headlines on Twitter. If the embedded timeline is not displayed below, access it directly at Twitter here: https://twitter.com/ShigaHeadlines/timelines/1357002000718729218 Otsu News – Curated tweets by ShigaHeadlines Read more
Tawara-no-Tota Hidesato Slaying the Giant Centipede俵藤太秀郷ムカデ退治（俵藤太物語） Adapted in English by Philbert Ono based on an old folktale. Updated: July 21, 2023. *Audio version (5 min.) of this story is now… Read more
by Philbert Ono, photos courtesy of Seita Mori and selected by Philbert Ono It’s about time I introduce YUtour (悠ツアー), a licensed tour guide service for foreign tourists in Shiga… Read more