Hikone

SIGHTSEEING, HIKONE Created :

Sumedha Bharpilania

Sumedha has travelled across 28 countries, including a major chunk of India, and calls Japan, Thailand, France and Switzerland her pet destinations. She is seasoned in going off the beaten track and loves documenting her journeys. Apart from getting lost in metropolises, being stranded at airports and finding solace in the hills, she actively writes for eminent travel platforms. You can follow her trips on her social media handles.

Credit: ThinkStock Photos

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.
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