About Shirahige shrine
Shirahige shrine on Okishima Island in Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan, is dedicated to a god known as Shirasu Omikami or Hiraomikami, and is said to have been built in the 25th year of the 11th Emperor Tarahito.
The shrine is also known as Omi’s Itsukushima because of its characteristic torii in the water. It has been designated as an important cultural property by the State of Japan, a landed cultural property, and a designated cultural property by Takashima City. The annual festival is held twice a year, once on May 3 for the Shirasu Festival and once on September 5 and 6 for the Autumn Grand Festival.
How to get there
Get off at Omi-Takashima Station on JR and take a 12-minute loop bus or a 5-minute taxi ride.
215 Ukawa, Takashima-shi, Shiga-ken 520-1122
Tips
Worth a visit to the site. You can take a taxi, and you can get there in half an hour on foot. A bit of sun from the side of the photo definitely feels different. Clouds + sun ~ ~ perfect
The shrine on the west side of Lake Biwa by the highway is called Omi Itsukushima because a torii is built in the lake, compared to Itsukushima Shrine in the sea of Hiroshima, but the torii in the lake of Hakushu Shrine is too small and thin and lacks grandeur. But popular, just off the highway, it is easy to visit, if you purposely go seems to have no meaning, it is said to be beautiful at night playing lights.
The biggest advantage is the openness. There is nothing else.
I took the Lake West Line from Kyoto Station and enjoyed the endless Lake Biwa all the way to Omi Takashima. After getting off the bus, I didn’t see a bus, so I drove the navigation to the fields in the hot sun. The vast fields were devoid of a single person, which was creepy even in the daytime. After about 20 minutes of walking, you can cross the field to reach the highway, and continue walking along the highway, so far you can see the big birdhouse in the lake. After walking for about an hour, I arrived at Hakushu Shrine. The torii in the lake is on the opposite side of the highway, and there are signs on the side of the road saying not to cross. But there are still tourists running around. It is still quite dangerous.
If you have time, we recommend coming here. Birdhouses have been seen a lot, but the birdhouses in the lake are not often seen, they are spectacular and very fairy.
After leaving the station, we took a car at the car rental company and came over. Two of us and a lady shared a car, and because we didn’t make a reservation, one trip was about 1080 yen.
Call ahead and make a reservation, it’s only 300 yen for one person (even if you’re the only one in the car for this trip). I forgot to take a picture of the phone number, but you can make an appointment with the driver for the return trip when you take the car there, also 300 yen per person.
Lake Biwa’s water is really too clear and beautiful!
Tour time is about 1 hour. The return trip we are walking back, the scenery along the way is particularly beautiful! It is worthwhile to have time for friends to walk. Walk to the station about 33 minutes.
Shirasu Shrine, one of the Eight Views of Omi, is worth seeing for its torii in the water. Unfortunately, the weather was bad when I went there, and it was cloudy and foggy. Transportation is not very convenient, there is not much frequency, and it is difficult to get a taxi there. However, there is a cab stand right outside the train station, so knock on the door and a driver will come out. I took a taxi there and asked the driver to stop and wait for me for a while, and then came back after taking pictures.
It was a very surprising place. The birdhouse in the water looks different under different sky and light conditions, and the shrine itself is very beautiful and quiet. It is 3km from JR Omi-Takashima Station, about 1,100 yen by TAXI, and also within walking distance.
