Discover the traditional Japanese culture around the lake Biwa (Shiga)

The prefecture of Shiga, in the north of the city of Kyoto, there is the one of the biggest lakes of Japan, called Biwa, and one of the oldest lakes on earth, which might have been born in 4000000 years ago. The capital city, Otsu, had been the imperial capital of Japan in 7th century, and it had been called Omi. The Buddhist culture took root in this part of Japan since 8th century, it means that it is almost the same timing that the Buddhism arrived on the country, and one of the very old heritage dated back there in 8th century with the construction of the Enryakuji temple on the slopes of Mt. Hiei, the vestige of the sect Tendai (school of Buddhism having the origin in China, the first form of of Buddhism arrived in Japan and introduced by the monk Saichô /762-822). The original temple had been huge and there were 3000 buildings and the most influential monks took the important role in that period, very close to the imperial court. Accordingly, the Mt. Hiei is the very recommendable site for the hiking, it had been a veritalbe pilgrimage on which the first Buddhist monks had been assembled.

After taking a nice walk near the lake close to the beautiful castle, it will be nice to take a small boat on the lake which is so big that you might think that you would be in the ocean. After 2.5 hours of crossing, you would find a little land in the middle of the lake. It is the island of Chikubu which has the nickname as: "the island where the god live".

After a long crossing (If you embark from Hikone) in the middle of the huge lake, a magnificent small island of Chikubu appears.
 

In the heart of a luxuriant vegetation, many temples and shrines that you find, like the Buddhist temple Hogon-ji located near the top of the hill, dedicated to the goddess of the water and of the art, Benzai-ten and built in 8th century. In the seaside, we can see also the millenial buildings of the temple Tsukubasuma, listed in the National Treasure.
 

In the south of the lake Biwa, in the centre of the big forests, we can find a very old plantation of tea, which should have been planted originally by the monks of the temple Enryakuji several centuries ago. The tea plantation Asamiya spreads the land of more than 600m of the magnificent hills. It is the perfect place for enjoy the beautiful nature and take a rest to taste the tea which is most appreciated tea in Japan. A little far, there is the Miho museum designed by the architect I. M. Pei (passed away in this year), well known as the author of the pyramid of Louvre museum in Paris. 

From Kyoto, it is really recommended otherwise to go directly to Shiga station (accessible in 40 minutes). From there, you can rent a bicycle and take a ride on the way along the lake by seeing the beautiful landscape of the mountain chains Hira. You will run in many villages, traditonal farms, and huge rice paddies. Since many centuries ago, the nice inhabitants of this region live in harmony all around. They use the water for cultivate, for fishing, for moving around, and still now, it is possible to participate in the harvest, to be welcomed by the family and to taste the delicious meal with the food that you would have worked to harvest during the day.

The dishes of this region is based essentially on the many varieties of fish (aroud 50 fish species) of the lake. One of the most famous dishes is funa-zushi, a kind of sushi fermented in the salt and miso and soya beans. A dish with very pronouced taste which makes a great accompagny with the regional sake.