Northern Lake Biwa: Shirahige's Lake Torii, the Metasequoia Avenue & Sacred Chikubushima Island — 2 Days

Omi-Maiko is the best-loved swimming beach on Lake Biwa, a long crescent of white sand backed by green pines on the western shore, with the Hira mountains rising sharply behind and the wide lake opening to the east. Even outside the summer swimming season it is a beautiful, restful place to begin a day on the northern lake, the clear shallow water and the pine grove giving it more the feel of a sea coast than an inland lake. A short walk along the sand sets the tone for the scenery to come.

Public lakeshore, free; swimming season summer only. On the western shore north of Otsu. Allow about 40 minutes.

Shirahige Shrine is said to be the oldest shrine in the old province of Omi, dedicated to a god of long life and guidance, and it is famous above all for the vermilion torii that stands out in the lake itself a little offshore, framed against the water and the far hills like a smaller Miyajima. The wooden halls on the landward side carry their own quiet dignity, but it is the floating gate, especially at sunrise and dusk, that draws photographers from across Japan. It makes a striking second stop, with the lake's scale and the shrine's age both on display.

Grounds free, always open. IMPORTANT: the lake torii is across busy National Route 161 — crossing on foot is banned after fatal accidents; use the designated viewing deck. Allow about 60 minutes.

Kitashina is a funazushi house in Takashima that has fermented the lake's nigorobuna carp in salt and rice since 1619, making the ancient, pungent fermented sushi that is the original ancestor of all sushi and a Lake Biwa specialty found almost nowhere else. The cured fish, sliced thin, is intensely savoury and sour, an acquired but historic taste usually served as part of a set with rice and soup, and the centuries-old shop is part of the experience. It is a genuine, unrepeatable food encounter for the curious traveller, best approached with an open mind.

Sets about ¥3,000-8,000 (approx., 2026); roughly 10:00-17:00, closed Thursdays. Reserve ahead; a strong acquired taste. In Takashima. Allow about 75 minutes.

At Makino, near the head of the lake, a perfectly straight road runs for some two and a half kilometres beneath about five hundred metasequoia, the tall dawn-redwood trees planted in twin ranks that arch together into a green-and-gold tunnel. It is one of the most celebrated tree avenues in Japan, glowing fresh green in early summer, deep red-brown in late autumn and bare and graphic in winter, with the Makino highlands rising behind. Driving or walking the avenue, with the trees closing overhead, is a simple, photogenic pleasure and the natural close to the western-shore day.

Free, open road. Best colour late November to early December; fresh green in early summer. At Makino near the lake's north. Allow about 60 minutes.

From Imazu Port on the western shore a cruise boat runs out across the open water to Chikubushima, the sacred island that rises from the northern lake, a passage of roughly twenty-five minutes with the Hira and Nosaka mountains spread around the wide bay. Boarding the small ferry and watching the wooded island grow from a green dot to a sheer rock crowned with temple roofs is the proper way to approach a place that has been a site of worship for over a thousand years. The ride out and back frames the scale of Japan's greatest lake from its quiet north end.

Round-trip cruise from about ¥2,500-3,000 (approx., 2026), island landing fee separate; weather-dependent, seasonal timetable — confirm in advance. Departs Imazu Port. Allow about 35 minutes for boarding and the crossing.

Hogon-ji crowns the sacred island of Chikubushima, founded in the eighth century and dedicated to Benzaiten, the goddess of music, eloquence and fortune, and counted among Japan's three great Benzaiten shrines. A steep stone stairway climbs from the jetty past the main hall to the National-Treasure Karamon gate, a gorgeous Momoyama-era structure said to have come from Hideyoshi's Osaka Castle, and the observation deck looks back over the water you crossed. The whole island is a single dense layering of temple and shrine on bare rock, and the climb rewards every step.

Island landing/admission about ¥600 (approx., 2026); accessible only by boat. Many steep stone steps. Allow about 60 minutes on the island.

Linked to Hogon-ji by a covered corridor of steps, Tsukubusuma Shrine occupies the island's lake-facing edge, its National-Treasure main hall a richly decorated structure said to incorporate parts of Hideyoshi's Fushimi Castle. Its best-known ritual is kawarake-nage, in which visitors write a wish on a small clay disc and throw it toward a torii standing in the water far below, success bringing the prayer to fruition. Perched directly over the lake, the shrine gives the island its most dramatic outlook before the boat back, the open water filling the view beyond the gate.

Included with the island admission; kawarake-nage discs a small extra. Reached by the corridor from Hogon-ji. Allow about 30 minutes.

Kaizu-Osaki is a rocky cape on the northern shore where a narrow road threads for some four kilometres beneath about eight hundred cherry trees that lean out over the water, the latest-blooming and one of the most beautiful cherry stretches in the whole Kansai region. Even out of blossom season the cape is a fine drive, with clear water below, the island of Chikubushima offshore, and quiet inlets and old fishing hamlets along the way. Reached by car after the cruise returns to Imazu, it is a scenic, unhurried close to two days on the northern lake.

Free, open road; cherry blossom typically early-to-mid April, the latest in Kansai. On the northern shore east of Makino. Allow about 60 minutes.