Japan Roadtrip

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Hokuriku + Biwa (Toyama → Fukui → Shiga) — 7 days, car

From Toyama’s Kurobe Gorge through Gokayama and Eiheiji, Fukui’s Tojinbo cliffs and dinosaur museum, then Shiga’s Hikone Castle, Koto Sanzan temples, Omihachiman canal town, and Mt. Hiei’s Enryaku-ji.

Don't miss

funazushi at a Lake Biwa specialist — Japan’s oldest sushi.

  • Day 1 — Tokyo → shinkansen Toyama → Kurobe Gorge (trolley, foliage) (drive ~1h). Stay Kurobe. — Route map
  • Day 2 — Unazuki Onsen morning + Kurobe Gorge full line (Keyakidaira–Kanjuni) → Toyama city (Toyama Glass Art Museum, Tateyama view) (drive ~1h). Stay Toyama. — Route map
  • Day 3 — Toyama → Gokayama → Eiheiji (Fukui) (drive ~2.5h). Stay Eiheiji. — Route map
  • Day 4 — Eiheiji → Tojinbo Cliffs → Fukui (dinosaur museum) (drive ~1.5h). Stay Fukui. — Route map
  • Day 5 — Fukui → Ichijodani Asakura ruins → Shiga: Hikone Castle + Genkyu-en garden + castle town → Omi beef dinner (drive ~2h). Stay Hikone. — Route map
  • Day 6 — Hikone → Koto Sanzan (Eigen-ji, Kongorin-ji, Saikyo-ji) → Omihachiman canal town → Ishiyama-dera (drive ~2.5h). Stay Otsu. — Route map
  • Day 7 — Enryaku-ji (Mt. Hiei, UNESCO) → Miidera → Otsu morning (Biwa) → evening shinkansen from Kyoto/Otsu (drive ~1.5h). — Route map

Highlights

Gokayama Ainokura village

  • Gokayama Ainokura village — UNESCO gassho-zukuri thatched-roof hamlet*

Tojinbo Cliffs 🌊 Tojinbo Cliffs — dramatic columnar-basalt sea cliffs

Hikone Castle 🏯 Hikone Castle — the original-keep castle rising over Lake Biwa

Enryaku-ji (Mt. Hiei) 🛕 Enryaku-ji (Mt. Hiei) — Tendai Buddhism’s mountaintop headquarters, UNESCO

Eiheiji 🛕 Eiheiji — Soto Zen head temple

Ichijodani Asakura Ruins 🏙️ Ichijodani Asakura Ruins — samurai city ruins in Fukui

Local food & drink

  • Omi beef — Shiga’s big-three wagyu
  • Funazushi — Lake Biwa’s fermented crucian narezushi, Japan’s oldest sushi
  • Echizen oroshi soba — Fukui’s cold soba with grated daikon
  • Sauce katsudon — Fukui’s Worcestershire cutlet over rice
  • Heshiko — rice-bran-pickled mackerel
  • Masu-zushi — Toyama’s pressed trout sushi
  • Fukui sake — soft-water brewing
  • Shiga/Omi sake — Lake Biwa breweries Don’t miss: funazushi at a Lake Biwa specialist — Japan’s oldest sushi.

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