Maibara Onsen Shiga

Maibara, at the northern tip of Shiga Prefecture on the shore of Lake Biwa, is a major Shinkansen junction station where the Tokaido and Hokuriku bullet train lines diverge, making it one of the most strategically important railway crossroads in central Japan and the gateway to both the Lake Biwa north shore and the Sea of Japan coast via the Hokuriku route. Maibara Onsen Shiga draws on sodium and bicarbonate thermal waters from the geothermal resources of the northern Lake Biwa basin, offering relaxing baths in a city whose position at the convergence of major transportation arteries has given it historical significance since the ancient Nakasendo and Hokkoku Road highways intersected near this northern lake shore. The northern Lake Biwa scenery of reed marshes and great crested grebe colonies, the historic Hikida Tanuki temple in Maibara, and the Ibuki Mountain Ski Resort rising behind the city in winter create a pleasantly varied spa destination at the northern tip of Japan's great inland lake.