Over the weekend I made the amazing discovery that samurai cats are real! About an hour east from Kyoto lies a quiet castle town called Hikone with the adorable samurai cat mascot you see here: Hikonyan. Hikone is in Shiga Prefecture and borders Lake Biwa, one of the most famous lakes in Japan due to its lovely scenery. I decided to start my trip by taking a ferry from Nagahama Port, which is just a few stops north of Hikone Station on the JR Tokaido-Sanyo line, and visit the mythical island in the middle of the lake called Chikubushima. See the ferry schedule for reference–a roundtrip ferry ticket is around 3000 yen.
Chikubushima is known as the “Island of the Gods” and is said to be imbued with magical powers. Though I am not a religious person, I appreciate going on journeys like this because it gives me the chance to see rare parts of the world! You can walk around the whole entire island within 30 mins and see shrines, a beautiful view of the lake, and also try some local cuisine at the cafes (though the selection is very limited).
The main point of interest here is visiting Hogonji Temple and making a wish with a daruma doll. Daruma Dolls are a special kind of talisman here that you can write your wish on a slip of paper and put it inside the doll for good luck. The Japanese people at the shrine were extremely kind and helped me do this. Though this island was tinier than I expected, it was a very nice way to start my trip!
After the pleasant ferry ride back (which only takes 30 mins), I then decided to go directly to Hikone Castle to see the Hikonyan Show! During this time, the fiercely adorable samurai cat will come out before the castle gates to greet his visitors. Hikonyan is treated as a celebrity by Japanese people. I was surprised to see a line of people with cameras out waiting to see him, but he is definitely worth the hype! He appears every day and you can see the timetables here.
In addition to Hikonyan, you can walk through the Hikone Castle, see the Genkyu-en Gardens, and also visit the Yume Kyōbashi Castle Road that has shops and souvenirs. I visited all of these places by foot from Hikone Station, but you can also take buses around the city! By 6pm, I was exhausted from all the travel so I decided to go back to my capsule hotel in Kyoto. Hikone makes for the perfect day trip from Kyoto because it is easy to access and full of history.
