Experience Shiga in Autumn
Overview of Autumn in Shiga
Shiga is spectacular in autumn, coming alive with vibrant foliage and bountiful harvests.
Experience the best of the season by strolling along the lakeside, hiking mountain paths, and savoring delicious local cuisine.
Autumn Tours & Activities
Ishiyama-dera Temple Fall Moon Festival
More than 2,000 lanterns create an illusory and ethereal world inside the temple grounds.
Ichishirogama
Ichishirogama displays and retails koto-yaki pieces, slightly blue ceramics decorated with delicate images, as well as offering a pottery classroom.
Woodypal Yogo
Allows you to enjoy the outdoors any time of year, with cottages, a restaurant, a ski slope and campsite.
Aikyo-no-Mori
Aikyo-no-Mori (Aikyo Forest) is located amid a natural pine forest that spreads along the Shibukogawa River, a tributary of the Echigawa River.
Ikehara Soba Dojo
A refurbished old house that lets you experience authentic soba noodle making for yourself.
Otsu Festival
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.
Nature & Parks in Autumn
English Garden Rosa & Berry Tawada
An English garden located in Maibara.
Lake Biwa Flower Fountain
The Lake Biwa Flower Fountain is a large fountain located on a 180m breakwater in the Otsu Port offing, that sends out streams of 440m long water 40m high into the air (the equivalent of a 10 storey building).
Lake Biwa Legend Tours
Discover hidden stories of northern Lake Biwa through guided walks, local legends, temple culture, and quiet lakeside landscapes.
Roadside Station Higashi Omi City Aito Marguerite Station
Aito Marguerite Station, always bustling with visitors, functions as a rest spot for travelers on the road and a base for imparting information about the local region.
Nango Fisheries Center
The wide grounds of the Fisheries Center includes a number of ponds, providing plenty of opportunities to get close to the water and the fish swimming in it.
Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia) Avenue
The Metasequoia Avenue is lined with approximately 500 metasequoia trees, forming a stunning 2.
History & Culture in Autumn
Saimyoji Temple
The main temple at Saimyoji Temple is one of the three Koto Sanzan temples of the Tendai Sect.
Ishiyama-dera Temple Fall Moon Festival
More than 2,000 lanterns create an illusory and ethereal world inside the temple grounds.
Old Tokaido Road
The Old Tokaido Road was completed during the Edo period (1603 – 1868), and is one of the five old roads that connected Nihonbashi in Edo with Sanjo in Kyoto.
Sagawa Art Museum
This luxurious space, also known as the “floating museum,” features three separate halls in which you can, at your leisure, take in the works of three of Japan’s greats; artist Ikuo Hirayama (1930-2009), sculptor Sato Churyo (1912-2011) and ceramics master Kichizaemon Raku.
Hyozu-taisha Shrine and the Yatsugasaki Ritual
There is a legend that the deity worshipped at this shrine reached its current location by crossing Lake Biwa.
Former Hikone Domain Matsubara Suburban Residence Gardens (Ohama Goten)
A style of garden that features a path around a pond.
Looking for more seasonal experiences?
Wondering what to pack for your trip this autumn?
Check Shiga’s year-round weather and climate trends to help you prepare for your trip.
Other Seasons
Spring
Summer
Winter