Shiga Prefecture (滋賀県)

Shiga Prefecture (滋賀県) is a prefecture in the Kansai Region of Japan. It is 4,017 sq km in size, and ranks 38th among the prefectures in size. The prefecture surrounds Lake Biwa, the biggest lake in Japan. To the north of Shiga Prefecture is Fukui Prefecture, to the northeast Gifu Prefecture, to the southeast Mie Prefecture and to the southwest Kyoto Prefecture.

Hikone Castle, Shiga Prefecture


Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1.3 million people (2011 estimate). It is enclosed by mountains, with the Hira Mountains to the west, the Suzuka Mountains to the southeast and the Ibuki mountain range to the northeast. Seta River flows out of Lake Biwa into Osaka Bay. It is the only river to flow out of the lake whereas all other rivers flow in.

Shiga Prefecture is today an industrialized area with a concentration of industries especially in the southern part. Among the companies having factories here include Canon, IBM Japan and Mitsubishi.

Biwako Quasi-National Park, Lake Biwa, Shiga Prefecture

Going to Shiga Prefecture

You can take the Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train that runs between Kyoto and Nagoya. It stops at Maibara in Shiga Prefecture. There are also local trains from Kyoto to Lake Biwa and Otsu.

Arcade at Daitsuji Temple, Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture

Cities of Shiga Prefecture

Tourist Attractions of Shiga Prefecture

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Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

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