Moriyama Ashikari-en hydrangea garden

Moriyama Ashikari-en (もりやま芦刈園) in Moriyama, Shiga Prefecture has 100 varieties of 10,000 hydrangea on a huge two hectares. It has numerous hydrangea groves…

Origin of Shiga prefectural name

SHIGA – Nourished Felicitations 滋賀県 If there are multiple theories for the origin of the prefectural name, it means nobody knows for sure…

Ibuki soba buckwheat noodle restaurants and history in Maibara

Updated Sept. 8, 2023 Ibuki soba buckwheat noodles (伊吹そば) is a local specialty unique to Maibara, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. It has been cultivated…

The Faina, new Ukrainian restaurant in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, Japan

Finally had the great pleasure to taste the well-publicized Ukrainian food in Hikone cooked by Ukrainian evacuees. Iryna Yavorska (52) and her mother…

Summer 2023 fireworks in Shiga Prefecture

Compiled by Philbert Ono, updated: Aug. 3, 2023 Here’s my 2023 summer fireworks (hanabi) schedule for Shiga Prefecture listed by date. Most fireworks…

Shiga History January–Dec 2023

Chronology of Shiga Prefecture’s major news headlines for January–December 2023. (Updated in Dec. 2023 to include the second half of the year.) Originally…

ChatGPT for Shiga travel advice, not there yet

I’ve been experimenting with AI chatbots ChatGPT and Google Bard and AI image generators such as Bing Image Creator for creating text and…

Enryakuji’s 10-year renovations 2016–2026

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…
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