Local Cooking and Cycling Tour: Beautiful Takashima Biwa Lake and Rice Terraces

After a 1 hour scenic train ride from JR Kyoto station, you will arrive at JR Omi-Takashima station (Kosei-Line).
Enjoy the lovely countryside and lake views.

The almost perfectly flat Lakeside road is ideal for a memorable bicycle ride. Feel the refreshing breeze from Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan. You will be visiting Shirahige Shrine, the oldest in Shiga prefecture, with its impressive view of a Torii gate standing in the water and a center of devotion for many local people. With many water springs, this part of the lake around the shrine appears particularly serene, creating an even more unforgettable impression for those who visit.

*From December to March (in case of bad weather conditions), you will take a taxi to Shirahige Shrine instead of bicycling, due to the cold weather and snow. You can still enjoy the beautiful scenery passing by through the car window.

After enjoying the bicycle ride, you will be taking taxi to the mountain village nestled in a narrow valley in the northern Hata District.
The Tanada of Hata are authentic terraced rice fields where humans and nature have co-existed together over the centuries, and is a valuable heritage that has fortunately remained to this day. They are arranged like steps on the hillside between altitudes of 300m and 400m. When you look at the landscape with the old traditional mud-walled warehouse and old-fashioned thatched houses, you will feel a nostalgic longing for the tranquility of the old days. You can enjoy taking a walk to explore this neighborhood area after lunch.

For lunch, you will experience making country-style food with a friendly "Obaachan," elderly lady, and have lunch in her private house. Filled with locally-grown natural ingredients, this healthy meal is the kind she has prepared every day. You can enjoy talking with her about Japanese country life.

After slowly savoring each dish of the lunch you helped prepare, take a leisurely stroll down through the quaint country village, where life seems a bit slower and a bit more robust many miles from the nearest convenience store.

－Returning to Kyoto with fond memories.
You will get a local bus to JR Omi-Takashima station. The tour conductor will accompany you to the JR Omi-Takashima train station for your return journey to Kyoto.