Hikone

Home to Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan, Hikone is a tiny and humble Castle Town in the Shiga prefecture. However, the reason why travellers throng to this place from Kyoto is because of its majestic castle. An outright national treasure, the Hikone Castle is some 400 years old. Along with its cherry blossom laden Genkyu-en Garden and a sublime gate, it is a brilliantly preserved cultural property. The many black tiled roof houses of Hikone do everything they can to transport you to its glorious past. For a more outdoorsy experience, you could go up to the foothills of Mount Sawa, a kilometre from the castle, which is home to the humble Ryotan-ji Temple.
Hikone is a mere 50 minutes from the city of Kyoto and its main station lies along the JR Tokaido Main Line. You could take the direct JR ‘Special rapid’ train, and the journey should cost you around 1200 Yen. Alternatively, if you have a JR Pass, you could save more time by taking the Shinkansen up to Maibara, the first stop from Kyoto which will then further take you to JR Hikone by a local train.