Hikone Castle, overlooking the shores of Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture, is one of Japan’s four National Treasure castles and one of only twelve with surviving original main keeps. Constructed by the powerful Ii clan in the early 17th century and never seriously tested in battle, Hikone Castle preserves an extraordinary completeness — not just the main keep but surrounding turrets, gates, and the classical Genkyuen garden — within a remarkably intact feudal landscape.
History
Hikone Castle was built by Ii Naomasa (one of Tokugawa Ieyasu’s four generals, known as the Red Devils for their red-lacquered armor) following the Battle of Sekigahara (1600). Construction continued under Ii Naokatsu and was completed around 1622. The Ii clan ruled the Hikone domain throughout the Edo period; their most famous member, Ii Naosuke (Chief Minister 1858–1860), signed the Harris Treaty opening Japan to American trade — and was assassinated outside Edo Castle in 1860 by anti-Western samurai in the Sakuradamon Incident. The castle was designated a National Treasure in 1952.
The Castle Complex
Main Keep
Hikone’s three-story main keep is architecturally remarkable for its decorative complexity — multiple gabled windows (chidorihafu and karahafu), ornate metalwork on the ridge tiles, and a layered roofline that creates an impression of greater height than the actual 24.1 m structure. The interior retains original features including stone-drop windows (ishi-otoshi) and the original wooden staircase. The 3rd floor offers views over Lake Biwa — Japan’s largest lake — with the Suzuka mountains beyond. Entry ¥800 (includes Genkyuen garden).
Tenbin Yagura (Scales Turret)
The unusual symmetrical gate-and-turret structure at the main keep’s approach — two corridors extending symmetrically from a central tower like scales (tenbin) — is one of Hikone’s most photographed architectural elements. It was originally assembled from components of two separate castles, giving it a slightly asymmetrical character on close inspection.
Genkyuen Garden (玄宮園)
The daimyo garden at Hikone Castle’s base — created in 1677 and modeled on a Chinese Tang-dynasty imperial garden — is considered one of Japan’s finest Edo-period strolling gardens. Ponds, islands, bridges, tea houses, and carefully composed views of the castle keep from multiple angles make Genkyuen one of the best gardens in the Kansai region. The combination of the castle reflected in the pond with autumn maples framing the image is among Japan’s most celebrated seasonal photographs. Entry included in castle ticket (¥800).
Hikone Yume Kyobashi Castletown
The restored street of Edo-period merchant architecture leading from Hikone Station to the castle — now a curated shopping and dining street — is one of the best-preserved castle town approaches in Japan. Traditional sweet shops, sake breweries, and craft stores in kurazukuri buildings line the 400-meter route. The Hikoyan mascot character (a cat-helmet samurai based on the helmet worn by Ii Naomasa) appears throughout the town and is Japan’s most commercially successful regional mascot character, generating significant tourist revenue.
Getting to Hikone
- From Kyoto: JR Biwako Line to Hikone (50 min, ¥1,340; JR Pass covered). Or limited express Shirasagi (40 min). Hikone is directly on the Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka JR main line.
- From Osaka: JR Biwako Line (80 min, ¥1,980; JR Pass covered).
- From Nagoya: JR Tokaido Line or Shinkansen to Maibara, then Biwako Line (total 50–70 min).
- From Hikone Station to castle: 10-minute walk straight down the main castle-town approach street.
Hikone as a Day Trip from Kyoto
Hikone makes an excellent and undervisited day trip from Kyoto — far fewer crowds than the major Kyoto sites, a complete castle experience including garden and castle-town streetscape, and easy JR access in under an hour. Allow 3–4 hours for the castle, garden, and Yume Kyobashi street. The Lake Biwa lakefront (10-minute walk from the castle) offers pleasant walking and cycling paths with mountain views across Japan’s largest lake. A Hikone–Nagahama combination (Nagahama is 20 minutes further north by JR, with its own castle ruins and historic merchant district) makes a full-day Shiga Prefecture itinerary.