Shiga & Lake Biwa · Landmarks

Best Castle & Palace in Shiga & Lake Biwa

9 places, each checked by our team.

• Azuchi Castle Ruins 安土城Azuchi (Omihachiman) — Hilltop ruins of Oda Nobunaga's revolutionary castle (1579) above the Lake Biwa plain; Special Historic Site and Top 100 Castle.
• Hachimanyama Castle Ruins 八幡山城跡Omi-Hachiman — Toyotomi Hidetsugu's 1585 mountain castle above Omi-Hachiman, reached by ropeway, with Lake Biwa views.
• Hikone Castle 彦根城Hikone — One of Japan's five National Treasure castle keeps, completed in 1622 for the Ii clan and overlooking Lake Biwa.
• Kannonji Castle Ruins 観音寺城跡Azuchi / Omi-Hachiman — Vast mountain castle of the Rokkaku clan covering Mt Kinugasa, with early large-scale stone walls.
• Minakuchi Castle (Museum) 水口城（水口城資料館）Koka (Minakuchi) — Moated castle built for shogun Iemitsu's 1634 visit; a rebuilt turret holds a small castle museum.
• Nagahama Castle (Historical Museum) 長浜城（長浜城歴史博物館）Nagahama — Lakeside reconstructed keep on the site of Hideyoshi's first castle, now a history museum with a Lake Biwa lookout.
• Odani Castle Ruins 小谷城跡Nagahama (Kohoku) — One of Japan's five great mountain castles: seat of the Azai clan and setting of Oichi's tragic story.
• Sawayama Castle Ruins 佐和山城跡Hikone — Hilltop site of Ishida Mitsunari's castle overlooking Hikone Castle and Lake Biwa.
• Zeze Castle Ruins Park 膳所城跡公園Otsu (Zeze) — Lakeside park on the honmaru of Zeze Castle, one of Japan's three great lake castles, with 150 cherry trees.