An ancient shrine long revered as the guardian of the Omi merchants. Its two fire festivals, the Sagicho Matsuri in March and the Hachiman Matsuri in April, are nationally selected intangible folk cultural properties; the Sagicho is said to have been loved by Oda Nobunaga. Confectioners and a pickle shop line the approach.
257 Miyauchi-cho, Omihachiman, Shiga
Sources: gltjp.com
This moment in the journey
A grass-roofed building and Hachiman castella
I passed beneath a great tree hung with a sacred rope and looked across at Hakuunkan, which stands before the shrine's torii gate. Built in 1877 as the Hachiman East School in a Western-influenced style, it now serves as the tourist information center.
My destination was La Collina Omihachiman, a grass-roofed building that looks like something out of a Ghibli film. A path leads between green fields toward roofs that seem to go on forever against the hills. Inside, castella in paper molds were being lined up one after another.
The shop is known for its Hachiman castella, served warm and fluffy from the oven. With tea and an hourglass before me and the grass outside the window, I tore into a cake whose shape begs to be broken by hand. Gently sweet; I felt I could eat it endlessly.
Watch this scene on YouTube2:39
More notes from this journey
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From: A day in Omihachiman, where boats glide through town
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Omi beef steak
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From: A day in Omihachiman, where boats glide through town
Omihachiman, Shiga
Chojifu with mustard dressing
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From: A day in Omihachiman, where boats glide through town
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From: A day in Omihachiman, where boats glide through town
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Old Hachiman Post Office
A two-story wooden Western-style building designed by William Merrell Vories and completed in 1921.
From: A day in Omihachiman, where boats glide through town
Omihachiman, Shiga
Hakuunkan
Built in 1877 as the Hachiman East School by Omi merchants to educate their children, in a Western-influenced style, with most of the cost covered by donations.
From: A day in Omihachiman, where boats glide through town
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