Experience the best of Takashima

Takashima lies on the western shore of Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake, in the north of Shiga Prefecture, where the Hira mountains rise steeply behind a narrow strip of farmland and old lakeside villages. Its best-known sight is the great red torii of Shirahige Shrine, which stands in the shallows of the lake in front of a shrine often called the oldest in the Omi region.

In Makino, in the north of the town, the Metasequoia Namiki is a long avenue of tall metasequoia trees that turn orange and brown in autumn. The Hira range gives walking in summer and snow in winter, and the shore has beaches for swimming. Boats cross the lake from Imazu to Chikubushima, a small sacred island with a temple, and Nagahama and Hikone, with their castles, face Takashima across the water.

Lake Biwa fish are the traditional food of Shiga, from grilled ayu to funa-zushi, an old fermented sushi made with crucian carp, and Omi beef is the region's famous meat. North Shiga catches heavy snow in winter, and the lake is at its calmest and clearest in the cool air of October.