Otsu is the capital of Shiga Prefecture, sitting on the shore of Lake Biwa just one train stop from Kyoto — home to the historic Lake Biwa Canal, the major Tendai temple Mii-dera, and some of the Kansai region's most photographed cherry blossom canal walks.
One train stop from Kyoto Station gets you to a lakeside capital most itineraries skip entirely — here's how the canal walk, Mii-dera, and the Yamashina cherry blossom stretch actually fit together in a day.
A pagoda that traveled from Nara to Fushimi Castle to Otsu, a bell a warrior monk allegedly dragged up a mountain in a rage, and a Kannon statue shown once every 33 years — Mii-dera has more layered history than a quick walkthrough reveals.
A canal built by a 21-year-old engineer's graduation thesis ended up carrying Japan's first commercial hydroelectric power — and boats up and down a 36-meter hill on a cable-hauled railway.