
Updated: Nov. 7, 2014 The Hikone Board of Education has published a manga comic booklet in English titled, Hikone: A Journey in Time. Targeting tourists, the black-and-white manga explains about… Read more

Chronology of Shiga Prefecture’s news bits for January-December 2011. Compiled by Philbert Ono.Updated: April 27, 2025 Jan. 9, 2011: The first episode of NHK TV’s year-long Taiga Drama called Go–Himetachi… Read more
The Shiga Prefectural Police Department has estimated that 1.31 million people will pray at shrines and temples in Shiga during the first three days of 2012. This is more than… Read more
Video link: http://youtu.be/Fo4fc8AufeY During June 4-12, 2011, about 40 rowers from Europe, Australia, and the US visited Shiga Prefecture to row completely around Lake Biwa, Japan’s largest lake. It is unusual… Read more
The 43 students studying Japanese at The Japan Center for Michigan Universities (JCMU) in Hikone have been ordered to return to the U.S. by March 25, 2011. The 2011 Spring… Read more

I watched and photographed the 5th Tokyo Marathon on Feb. 27, 2011 at Tokyo Big Sight. It was a warm, sunny day for over 33,000 runners chosen by lottery from… Read more
Natsuhara Heijiro (夏原 平次郎), the founder of the Heiwado supermarket chain, passed away on June 19, 2010. He died of pneumonia at age 91. A funeral was held at Hikone-shi Bunka Plaza… Read more