Hikone and Lake Biwa

Tina, Lauren and I decided to go to Lake Biwa in Hikone on Monday as it was a public holiday and we didn’t want to waste it by staying in Himeji doing nothing. We always make the most of our weekends and our days off! Lake Biwa is the biggest lake in Japan, so we HAD to go and see it!

It took almost two hours to get there on the train so it was a big day. When we arrived, it was lunch time so we walked down the main street which was full of old, Japanese style buildings with restaurants and souvenir shops on either side of the road.


All the restaurants were busy, but we finally found one that we didn't have to wait too long for. Hikone is famous for its beef, so naturally, I wanted to try some Hikone beef. This restaurant had exactly what I wanted. A big nice fat, juicy piece of sirloin beef! It was delicious! It cost an arm and a leg, but nevertheless, it was worth every cent! I had so many courses including soup, steak, salad, rice and dessert along with my favourite drink in Japan: Melon Soda. It was just what the doctor ordered!

So we left the restaurant feeling satisfied and definitely NOT hungry anymore! We walked through the Hikone Castle gardens.

The Hikone Castle is one of the few original castles left in Japan that managed to withstand all the wars, earthquakes and invasions from the enemy.

It is a beautiful castle, but in my opinion, I think the Himeji Castle still takes the cake! We got a nice view of Hikone from the top of the castle which was really nice to see.



During our walk, we spotted this place called Club Marie. I just HAD to pose and take a photo in front of this club, because this was one in a million in Japan!


We went for a walk for what seemed like ten hours to get to Lake Biwa. It was worth it though coz we got the most spectacular view of the lake that seemed to go on forever. It is one mother of a lake! We took some pretty pictures and then it was just about time to go.

So we walked another ten hours to get back to the train station and by that stage, we were pooped! It was a long, tiring day, but was worth the effort just to see the beautiful town.

Next on the list is Nagasaki!