Japan offers no shortage of romantic destinations — Kyoto temple districts, Hakone hot springs, the lamplit streets of Kanazawa. What Shiga offers is something less catalogued: a lakeside prefecture where extraordinary views unfold at dawn without crowds, where a sacred island requires a 25-minute ferry journey, where Edo-period merchant canals reflect lamplight on quiet evenings, and where a meal of the country’s finest wagyu arrives in a room overlooking a National Treasure castle. For couples who prize the uncrowded and the genuinely beautiful, Shiga deserves serious attention.

Shirahige Shrine at Dawn — The Floating Torii

At the southern end of Takashima, on the western shore of Lake Biwa, a large vermillion torii gate stands in the water roughly 60 metres from the lakeshore. Behind it, the forested slopes of Mount Hira rise across the grey surface of the lake. When mist lies on the water in the early morning hours — most reliable from late spring through autumn — the gate appears to float free of any visible foundation, emerging from the lake as the light strengthens.

This is the great gate of Shirahige Shrine, one of the oldest shrines in Shiga Prefecture and traditionally connected to blessings of longevity, en-musubi (the binding of fated relationships), and safe passage on water. It is compared, often, to the more famous floating torii of Miyajima in Hiroshima Prefecture. The honest comparison favours Shirahige for one reason: Miyajima is rarely uncrowded. At Shirahige, arriving at 5:30 to 6:00 in the morning means having the shoreline, the mist, and the torii almost entirely to yourselves.

The torii is photographed from the roadside directly east of the gate. Lake Biwa’s Route 161 runs along the shore here, and the view is unobstructed. Sunrise times vary by season; in summer the light arrives early and the mist is thickest. In cooler months the mist may be thinner but the quality of morning light is often exceptional. Shirahige Shrine itself, set back from the road in the hillside above, is worth visiting after the waterfront to understand the shrine’s history and receive the dawn quiet of its cedar-shaded grounds.

Shirahige is accessible by local bus from Omi-Takashima Station on the JR Kosei Line. From Kyoto, the Kosei Line runs through the western shore tunnel to reach Takashima in approximately 45 minutes. Staying at accommodation in Takashima or nearby allows an early departure on foot or bicycle to reach the shore before sunrise.

Chikubu Island — A Sacred Island in the Lake

Chikubu Island rises from the northern end of Lake Biwa, a small wooded island whose entire surface is considered sacred ground. The ferry from Nagahama Port takes approximately 25 minutes and costs around ¥3,000 round trip. On the island, Tsukubusuma Shrine and Hogonji Temple occupy the summit together — a rare Buddhist-Shinto co-existence that predates the formal separation of the two traditions in the Meiji era.

The approach up stone steps through old forest, with the lake visible between the trees, is among the most atmospheric short climbs in central Japan. The main shrine hall is designated an Important Cultural Property, and its interior houses objects donated by some of the most powerful figures in Japanese history, including Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

One of the island’s most appealing traditions involves kawarake — small unglazed clay discs that visitors purchase at the island’s shops and attempt to throw through a small torii gate built on a projecting rock face above the water. A disc passing cleanly through the torii is said to bring good fortune. The combination of physical aim, the slight absurdity of the challenge, and the genuinely beautiful setting over the lake makes this a shared experience that couples tend to remember in particular detail.

Nagahama is 30 minutes from Hikone by JR Biwako Line, or about 75 minutes direct from Kyoto.

Omihachiman Hachimanbori — An Evening Canal Walk

Omihachiman is one of the most beautiful small historic towns in Japan, and one of the least crowded. The Hachimanbori canal was constructed in 1585 to connect the town’s commercial district to Lake Biwa, and the warehouses and merchant residences built along its banks form one of the finest intact Edo-period streetscapes in the country.

Visitors who know Kurashiki in Okayama will immediately recognise the atmosphere: white-walled kura storehouses reflected in dark water, willow branches trailing over stone embankments, the absence of the modern city visible from the canal level. The difference at Omihachiman is that the crowds that have found Kurashiki have not, in comparable numbers, found this place. On an evening in the middle of the week, the canal is likely to be yours almost entirely.

Walking the embankment in late afternoon and into dusk, as the light drops and the paper lanterns of canal-side restaurants begin to illuminate, is the kind of evening that asks nothing of you except attention. Several buildings along the canal have been converted into cafes and restaurants; a canal boat tour is also available during daylight hours, typically costing around ¥1,000 per person for a 20-minute circuit.

From Omihachiman Station (JR Biwako Line, 30 minutes from Kyoto), the canal district is a 10-minute walk or short taxi ride.

Miho Museum — Art in Mountain Serenity

In the mountains south of Lake Biwa, deep inside a nature conservation zone in Shigaraki, the Miho Museum was designed by I.M. Pei and completed in 1997. The building is largely underground, embedded in the hillside to protect the natural landscape, with the main gallery reached by a tunnel that opens suddenly onto a steel-and-glass pavilion suspended above a forested valley. The collection covers ancient art from the Near East, Egypt, Greece, Rome, and Japan, displayed with the care and spacing that only a museum of genuine resources can provide.

For honeymooners, the practical advice is to arrive in the late afternoon when tour groups have largely departed. The architecture, the mountain stillness, the quality of the collection, and the absence of urgency create an atmosphere that rewards slow movement between galleries. The museum’s roof terrace looks across forest ridges with no sign of habitation in any direction — a view more commonly associated with wilderness retreats than with world-class museums.

Entry is ¥1,100. The Miho Museum runs a dedicated bus service from Kintetsu Misono Station, which connects to Kyoto. Check the current schedule carefully, as the museum is closed on certain days and the bus service is timed to museum hours.

Omi Beef Kaiseki — The Prefecture’s Prized Wagyu

Omi beef is one of Japan’s three great wagyu brands alongside Kobe and Matsusaka. The cattle are raised in Shiga Prefecture under careful conditions, and the beef has been supplied to the imperial household since the Edo period. The marbling is intense, the fat renders at low temperature, and the flavour is distinct from other regional wagyu in ways that regular consumers of the category tend to notice.

For a honeymoon dinner, the most fitting approach is a kaiseki course at one of Hikone’s established ryokan inns that specialise in Omi beef. A full kaiseki dinner incorporating Omi beef across multiple preparations — sukiyaki, shabu-shabu, or teppan — runs from approximately ¥15,000 to ¥25,000 per person depending on the establishment and course level. Several inns near Hikone Castle offer private dining rooms with views of the castle grounds.

Hikone’s ryokan district is within walking distance of Hikone Station, and for couples choosing to stay overnight, the combination of tatami rooms, private onsen facilities at some properties, and the castle illuminated after dark adds a dimension to the evening that hotel accommodation cannot offer.

Building the Itinerary

A two-night Shiga honeymoon might unfold as follows: arrive in Otsu from Kyoto on the first afternoon, take an evening walk along the Otsu waterfront, and stay on the western shore to be positioned for the Shirahige Shrine dawn on the second morning. After the sunrise, take the Kosei Line south to Kyoto and connect to Kintetsu for a Miho Museum afternoon, then overnight in Hikone with the Omi beef kaiseki dinner. On the final morning, take the ferry to Chikubu Island from Nagahama before returning via Omihachiman for the canal afternoon.

All of this is achievable by train and ferry without a car. The combination of early mornings and unhurried afternoons is the underlying structure of a good Shiga trip: the lake is at its most beautiful before the rest of the day begins.