Lake Biwa Canal

Lake Biwa Canal is a historic waterway in Japan connecting Lake Biwa to the nearby City of Kyoto. Constructed during the Meiji Period the canal was originally designed for the transportation of lake water for drinking, irrigation and industrial purposes, but also provided for the conveyance of waterborne freight and passenger traffic.

Photo: Aw1805, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Type: Canal
Description: canal in Japan
Also known as: “Biwa Canal”, “Biwako Canal”, “Biwako Sosui Canal”, and “Sosui”

Places of Interest

Highlights include Biwako-Hamaōtsu Station and Mii-dera.

Biwako-Hamaōtsu Station

Railway station

Photo: KishujiRapid, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Biwako-Hamaōtsu Station is a junction passenger railway station located in the city of Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway company Keihan Electric Railway.

Mii-dera

Buddhist temple

Photo: Fg2, Public domain.

Nagara-san Onjo-ji, also known as just Onjo-ji, or Mii-dera, is a Buddhist temple in Japan located at the foot of Mount Hiei, in the city of Ōtsu in Shiga Prefecture.

Ōtsu

Railway station

Photo: Mister0124, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Ōtsu Station is a passenger railway station located in the city of Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture, Japan, operated by the West Japan Railway Company.

Places in the Area

Nearby places include Otsu and Yamashina-ku.

Otsu

Photo: 663highland, CC BY 2.5.

Ōtsu is the capital of Shiga prefecture. Enryaku-ji, a Tendai monastery located on Mount Hiei overlooking Kyoto, is the headquarters of the Tendai sect and one of the most significant monasteries in Japanese history.

Yamashina-ku

Suburb

Photo: Asturio Cantabrio, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Yamashina is one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It lies in the southeastern part of the city, and Yamashina Station is one stop away from Kyoto Station on the Tōkaidō Main Line. Yamashina-ku is situated 7 km southwest of Lake Biwa Canal.