The Fire Festival, with a history of nearly 800 years, is a dramatic winter ritual held in Moriyama City, Shiga Prefecture.

One of the most famous SAMURAI lord NOBUNAGA ODA.

Here you can take photos with the giant Shigaraki tanuki, dine at our restaurant, make pottery, enjoy confectionery, purchase Shigaraki-yaki pottery, and observe a climbing kiln.

Tour Design Ichie Wado specializes in a half-day “Otsu-e” folk art workshop & immersive local culture walk for foreign tourists in Otsu, Shiga.

The “Okinahajimeshiki” is a divine service performed at Taga Taisha Shine to greet the gods at the start of the year.

With its connection to the opening poem of the famous collection known as the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, Omi Jingu Shrine plays host to the “Karuta Opening Ceremony,” based in the Japanese card game.

Enjoy 10,000 fireworks launched into the air over Lake Biwa, a stunning display of light that plays out in harmony with jets of fountain water.

An extension of the Furyu Dance that was popular in the Kinki region during the Muromachi Period, this dance is now mainly performed along the banks of Lake Biwa in Kusatsu City.

The Nagahama Plum Tree Bonsai Exhibition started in 1952, and has now become the number one plum tree bonsai exhibition in Japan in terms of both history and scale, as well as a much beloved annual springtime tradition in Kansai.

In the illuminated Genkyu-en, listen to the sound of insects and enjoy the gentle passage of time in a manner impossible in any city.

More than 2,000 lanterns create an illusory and ethereal world inside the temple grounds.

In the Heian Period (794 – 1185), the Saio (Princess) travelled from Heian-kyo (modern Kyoto) to Ise in order to become a priestess at the shrine there.

The Otsu Festival has been held since the start of the Edo period (1603 – 1868), and is a designated Intangible Folk Culture Property of the prefecture.

A “Sentoe” lantern festival is held in order to pray for wishes to be fulfilled.

The “Evening bell at Mii-dera Temple” is famous for being one of the Three Bells of Japan, and also as one of The Eight Views of Omi.

The New Year’s Bells and Ceremony to Exorcise Evil are annual traditions for New Year’s Eve at Hieizan.