The city of Otsu’s name means “large port,” and the port here played an important role in relaying goods to the capital in Kyoto even during the Heian Period (794-1185). Otsu Castle was built under the administration of warlord Toyotomi…

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Otsu-juku formerly resided in this area. During the Genroku era (1688-1704), Otsu was one of the prominent towns along the Tokaido road, with a population of about 19,000.

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Co nstruction of the old Tokaido Road was completed in the Edo Period (1603-1868). It connected Tokyo’s Nihon-bashi Bridge and Kyoto’s Sanjo district, making it one of five great roads of old. The Tokaido has also been made famous through…

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Jodo-ji Temple is the birthplace and family temple of the Ōishi Family, famous for their involvement with the Chūshingura (story of the “Forty-seven Rōnin”). Within the shrine grounds are the graves of each generation of the Ōishi family, as well…

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A planetarium is located on the second floor of the Otsu City Lifelong Learning Center, where visitors can enjoy live explanations and “star stories” (animations) under a beautiful starry sky, as well as three different astronomy-related shows. There is also…

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Located offshore in Otsu Harbor, the entrance to sightseeing o n Lake Biwa. With a width of about 440 meters and a height of about 40 meters, this is the world’s largest fountain. During the day, the fountain offers a…

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Traces of the former Tokaido, which once ran through the city of Otsu, still remain today in areas of Seta. After crossing the Karahashi bridge along the road from Otsu-juku into Kusatsu-juku, nearby modern-day JR Seta Station, a stone monument…

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It flourished as the center of distribution for goods using water transport on Lake Biwa. During the 17th century, over 1,000 Maruko-bune wooden transport ships sailed across the lake, and it bustled with goods from across Japan. Nowadays, it is…

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This museum is set-up as a studio near Nagara Park displaying a collection of Mitsuhashi Setsuko’s artwork. Mitsuhashi Setsuko had her dominant hand be amputated due to illness, but preserved by holding her artist brush in her left hand and…

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A shrine with ties to the Honda clan, which produced several of the feudal lords of the Zeze Domain, it was built in 1883 by former Zeze Domain clansmen and other volunteers. The four deities enshrined here are Honda Tadatoshi,…

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Wakamiya Hachiman Shrine is estimated to have been constructed in the 4th year of the Hakuho period (645-710) in Zeze along the path of the former Tokaido road. It is said that Emperor Tenji once made an imperial visit to…

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Zeze Shrine is said to have been established in the Nara period (710-794 CE), and is where the deity Toyokebimeno-kami is enshrined. During the middle ages, a period in which religious faith among military commanders was quite strong, there are…

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