Food
1First, a light brunch. Let’s go eat soba!
Tsurukian
Have a light meal of “Ibuki Soba”, made with buckwheat flour and spring water from Mount Ibuki, the tallest mountain in Shiga prefecture. The original soba is made with local, seasonal ingredients and is very popular. Start off brunch with a lightly seasoned dish of soba!
What is soba?
Soba is a Japanese noodle processed using flour made from cereal buckwheat seeds, and is a dish that uses the noodles.
Location : 1-1 Tachibana-cho, Hikone, ShigaMAP
TEL : 0749-26-2615
Business Hours : Lunch 11:30 - 15:00 / Dinner 17:00 - 20:00
Closed : Wednesdays
Credit Cards : VISA・MasterCard・JCB・Diners
2Experience the feeling of cruising on a boat like a Daimyō (Japanese feudal lords).
Yakatabune (private boat)
During the Edo period (1603 to 1868), Hikone Castle had rice granaries and the boats traveled around by utilizing the water transport of the moat. Seasonal cherry blossoms and autumn leaves, Ishigaki and rice granary floodgates as well as willows can be observed from the viewpoint of the water surface from the roofed pleasure boat that has been reproduced based on drawings and old photographs of the time.
Operation Hours: 10:00 to 15:00 ; on Saturdays, Sundays, and Holiday, we operate until 16:00 (departing every hour). During spring sakura festivals and autumn illuminations in Nishiki, we operate during the night.
Time on vehicle: About 45 minutes.
Location : 3-3 Konkicho, Hikone, ShigaMAP
TEL : 080-1461-4123
3Take a leisurely stroll in the city for sweets.
Sawasen
The freshly baked Japanese confectionery “Sawasen”, a Japanese sweet dumpling (dango) made with locally produced rice is highly recommended.
Location : 1-7 Sawa-cho, Hikone, ShigaMAP
TEL : 0749-27-3030
Business Hours : 10:00 - 18:00(Open until 17:00 from Dec. to Feb.)
Closed : Open all week (Except the period from Dec. 24th to Dec. 31st)
Kotetsu
“Kotetsu” is proud to make Dorayaki without the use of any preservatives (with two layers of dough much like a castella cake, sweetened bean paste is sandwiched in this Japanese sweet). The dorayaki has Hikone City’s official character, “Hiko-nyan” printed and is a very cute sweet that definitely should be seen and eaten.
Location : 1-2 Tachibana-cho, Hikone City, ShigaMAP
TEL : 0749-26-3838
Business Hours : 9:30 - 17:30
Closed : Open all week
Mandokoro-en Yumekyobashi
Perfect for Matcha lovers! “Mandokoro-en Yumesaki Kyōbashi Store” is a Japanese tea specialty store with a cafe set up inside the store; the matcha ice cream is very high in demand.
Location : 2-1-7 Honmachi, Hikone, ShigaMAP
TEL : 0749-22-8808
Business Hours :Weekdays 9:30 - 17:30 / Holiday 9:30 - 18:00
Closed : Tuesday irregularly
Hareto-Keto Raw Chocolate ＆ Detox Cafe
This is a cafe that serves vegan sweets, detox drinks, and organic Japanese tea in a Samurai residence. Gluten free and dairy free. You can eat vegan chocolates and cakes while looking out at the Japanese garden at the Hikone Domain Ashigaru-gumi Residence designated as a cultural asset. The raw chocolate full of nutrients from cacao makes for a perfect gift!
Location : 2-6-54 Seribashi, Hikone, ShigaMAP
TEL : 080-4390-1476
Business Hours
4Give yourself or your loved ones a gift! Have fun shopping in search of souvenirs!
Shofuku-Honpo
Hikone is known to be the origin for “Maneki-neko (Beckoning cat)”. “Maneki-neko” is a cat decoration that invites people with their front feet, and are considered to be a lucky charm for business prosperity. Why not take home a “Maneki-neko” from “Shofuku Honpo”, a maneki-neko specialty store? At the Yumekyōbashi Akari-kan which houses the “Shofuku Honpo”, there is a museum that sells various goods such as Hikone’s traditional craft, the Japanese candle, as well as diverse cultural collections and is a place that must be visited.
Location : 2-1-3 Honmachi, Hikone, Shiga (Yumekyobashi Akari 1F)MAP
TEL : 0749-27-5501
Business Hours : 9:30 - 17:30
Closed : Tuesdays
Koide
A pottery specialty store named “Koide Kyōbashi” is situated right next to the Yumekyōbashi Akari-kan. Many of the pottery and glass items sold here would make the dining table colorful and it is the perfect place to gather bowls and dishes for daily use and/or for gifts. The “Hikone Byōbu” from the beginning of the Edo period is a masterpiece of genre paintings and is known to be a national treasure. At the store, dishes and flower bowls with engravings of the designs from the “Hikone Byōbu” are sold, making it a valuable and rare gift and/or souvenir to bring back from Hikone.
Location : 1-1-3 Honmachi, Hikone, ShigaMAP
TEL : 0749-27-2626
營業時間 : 10:00~17:00
Business Hours : 10:00 - 17:00
Itojyu
For those who would like to buy a reasonable souvenir, “Umoregi”, a signature product of “Itojyu” is recommended. Matcha and wasanbon sugar has been sprinkled in this very Japanesque sweets, and is counted as one of the representative confections of Shiga prefecture.
Location : 1-3-37 Honmachi, Hikone, ShigaMAP
TEL : 0749-22-6003
Business Hours : 8:30 - 18:00
Closed : Tuesdays
5Have a luxurious dinner with some Omi Beef, one of the three greatest Wagyū Beef.
Sennobo
“Sennobou” is a yakiniku dining that specializes in dishes that include pure Omi Beef above grade A4. Valuable and fresh hormones along with marbled beef can be enjoyed at a reasonable price.
Location : 1-11-25 Hon-machi, Hikone, ShigaMAP
TEL : 0749-27-2929
Business Hours : Lunch 11:30 - 14:00 / Dinner 17:00 - 22:30 (Last order 21:30)
Closed : Wednesdays
Sennaritei Kyara
Recommended dishes at Omi Beef “Sennari Tei Kyara”, are Sukiyaki and “Tea Shabu-shabu” in which only carefully selected heifers of the Omi Beef are used. The five different types of nigiri of Omi Beef cannot be missed. In addition, situated inside an ancient storehouse, it is a restaurant in which you can enjoy the history and Japanesque atmosphere.
Location : 2-1-7 Honmachi, Hikone, ShigaMAP
TEL : 0749-21-2789
Business Hours : 11:30 - 14:30 / Dinner 17:00 - 22:00 (L.O. 20:30)
Closed :Tuesdays
