On March 29, 2009, I saw the Saio Princess Procession in Tsuchiyama, Koka (あいの土山斎王群行). It was very nice. The Saio princess was an unmarried, young Imperial princess, often the Emperor’s… Read more
I enjoyed watching Shiga LakeStars games even though they didn’t do so well during their debut 2008-09 season ending up in 5th place with a record of 19 wins and 33… Read more
Plans to further develop the man-made Karasuma Peninsula in Kusatsu with a resort hotel failed as no takers emerged to build it. A third-sector corporation called the Biwako Lakefront Center (びわ湖レイクフロントセンター),… Read more
On March 26, 2009, Omi-Hachiman’s city council passed a bill to establish the Omi-Hachiman-Azuchi Municipal Merger Deliberation Council (近江八幡市・安土町合併協議会) on April 1 to aim for a municipal merger with neighboring… Read more
Chunichi Shimbun newspaper reported on April 9, 2009 that sales of bin-temari in Aisho town has increased by 150% during fiscal 2008 compared to last year. The local tourist… Read more
A new train station opened on April 8, 2009 on the Ohmi Railways’ Honsen Main Line. The new station is called Hikone Serikawa Station (ひこね芹川駅). It is between Hikone and Hikone-guchi… Read more
Cherry blossoms at most of the major spots in Shiga are now in full bloom, as of April 7-8. Otsu, Hikone, Nagahama, Yasu, etc., are in full bloom. Only the… Read more
Just uploaded photos of Shiga LakeStars vs. Tokyo Apache held on March 6, 2009 at Komazawa Gymnasium in Tokyo. They wear white uniforms for away games. Very exciting game that went into… Read more