Updated: April 25, 2024 Hikone Castle Museum exhibits the Hikone Byobu folding screen (彦根屏風), a National Treasure, every spring usually for a month from mid-April to mid-May. In 2023, the screen… Read more
Hina-matsuri dolls (雛祭りの雛人形) are being displayed at various locations in Shiga to celebrate Girl’s Day on March 3. On the weekend of Feb. 23-24, 2013, Gokasho in Higashi-Omi is having… Read more
I recently visited Seian University of Art and Design in western Otsu (near Ogoto Onsen Station on the JR Kosei Line) for the first time. (In Japanese. the university is called Seian Zokei Daigaku 成安造形大学.) I was… Read more
Went to Mitsui Memorial Museum in Nihonbashi, Tokyo to see an exhibition of religious art from Shiga Prefecture. It was excellent. Buddha statues, mandalas, bells, scrolls, etc., from many of… Read more
Earlier this month in August 2012, I revisited Shigaraki in Koka, Shiga Prefecture. I went with a large group and we visited a pottery center called Sotoen (宗陶苑). Shigaraki has… Read more
Maibara is well-known for fireflies in June. They appear at dark along the Amanogawa River and Yurigawa River for about 2-3 weeks. We’re at the tail end now. The species is… Read more
The Sagicho Matsuri (左義長まつり) in Omi-Hachiman, Shiga will be held on March 17-18, 2012. This is one of Shiga’s must-see festivals. The annual Sagicho Matsuri is a dramatic parade and… Read more
If you’ve been to a post office in Shiga, you probably noticed those unique-shaped, die-cut postcards featuring one of Shiga’s symbols like the Shigaraki tanuki raccoon dog, Hikone Castle, and… Read more