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Largest lake in Japan
Photo: (WT-en) Jpatokal at English Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Lake Biwa (琵琶湖 Biwa-ko) is Japan's largest freshwater lake and the defining feature of Shiga prefecture.
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琵琶湖博物館 Biwako Hakubutsukan
It was founded in 1996. The Lake Biwa Museum was established in order to introduce the nature and culture of this valuable lake to everyone, under the theme of “Lakes and People". The Lake Biwa Museum’s aquarium is one of the largest freshwater aquarium in Japan.The giant Lake Biwa catfish (Silurus biwaensis) is the symbol of the Lake Biwa Museum.
ユースホステル和邇浜青年会館
If you want to experience truly rural Japan, this is it. The hostel is a huge, rambling, decrepit complex of buildings maintained (in the loosest sense of the word) by an old couple, who add up your bill with an abacus! Located inconveniently 1.5km through rice paddies from JR Wani station, on the western shore of the lake. There's also an old-school jazz kissa (cafe) on the grounds, which is open basically on demand.
The JR Tokaido Main Line and the Tokaido Shinkansen lines run more or less along the southern and eastern coasts of the lake, connecting Otsu and Hikone to Kyoto and Osaka in the west and Nagoya in the east.
Read in the guideBy boat
Cruises around the lake and ferries to Chikubu and Okishima islands in it depart from Otsu and Hikone. The main operator is Biwako Kisen (Japanese only).
By bicycle
The Biwaichi Route is a 200 km cycling trail around Lake Biwa. You can do the whole thing in 2 or 3 days, or cycle only a short section.
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