Hikone Onsen Shiga
- Location
- Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, Japan
- Water type
- sodium chloride
- Temperature
- 41 °C
- pH
- 7.3
Water profile
Relaxing — deep, immediate muscle release.
Loaded with major ions — the essential minerals (Ca, Mg).
Dense, salty water — you float without effort.
Hikone, midway along the eastern shore of Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture, is home to Hikone Castle, one of only four surviving original castle keeps in Japan designated as a National Treasure, its white plaster walls and elegant turrets reflected in the castle moat beneath ancient cherry trees that draw tens of thousands of blossom viewers each April. Hikone Onsen Shiga draws on sodium and bicarbonate thermal waters from the geothermal resources of the Lake Biwa basin, providing restorative baths in the atmosphere of this beautifully preserved castle town where Ii clan samurai culture has been lovingly maintained across four centuries. The Genkyu-en garden designed in the style of China's Xiao-Xiang lake district, the adjacent Lake Biwa Museum, and the castle town's traditional merchant streets make Hikone one of the most complete cultural and wellness destinations on Japan's great inland lake.