TANKS Travel Tales - a travelogue.......

Japan, Shiga Prefecture, Moriyama This article was originally published in this blog in May 2019. It chronicled my visit to Moriyama, a city in Japan's Shiga Prefecture. I had arrived in Moriyama from Takashima, another city in Shiga. My 2-day stay in Moriyama was planned to be a leisurely stop in my itinerary with nothing much planned except to enjoy the beautiful views of Lake Biwa. However, this short stay turned out to be a rather interesting part of my overall trip as I discovered lots of things to see and do. As I checked out of my hotel in my third day here for my onward journey to Tokyo, I left knowing I will return because there are still much to see and do here.  ****************** First Impressions My first view of the city was when the hotel bus rolled into the city over the scenic Biwako Ohashi Bridge over Lake Biwa. I had boarded the free shuttle provided by the Lake Biwa Marriott for hotel guests at Katata Station on the Kosei Line. With...

It was my first time visiting Shiga Prefecture. I had arrived at Otsu from Takashima. It was spring and cherry blossoms (a.k.a. sakura ) season and I was in Takashima specifically for the purpose of viewing cherry blossoms. Otsu was meant to be a brief transit stop for me, my next destination being Moriyama.  Alighting from the train at Katata Station of the Kosei Line, I realised that I had about 45 minutes before the hotel shuttle would arrive. I thus decided to spend a bit of time exploring the immediate surroundings of the Station. There was a tourist information office just next to the Station and I went in, intending to look for interesting places to visit in the surrounding vicinity. After speaking with the staff, I realised that Otsu would be an interesting place to explore. Because I had "spare" days in my itinerary, I decided that I would be back in Otsu the next day to do a walking tour of the areas around Katata Station. I was back in Otsu the next day. T...