Annular solar eclipse above Tokyo. Click on image to enlarge.

A large swath of Japan was treated to an annular solar eclipse at around 7:30 am on May 21, 2012. People in southeastern Shiga Prefecture joined the masses in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka to view the rare annular eclipse over most of Japan’s Pacific Ocean side. The rest of Japan could at least see a partial eclipse. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the moon comes between the sun and Earth and casts a shadow on Earth. The moon is farther away from Earth than during a total solar eclipse, so it does not cover the sun totally, exposing only a solar ring. In Japanese, an annular solar eclipse is called kinkan nisshoku (金環日食), literally “devoured sun with golden ring.”

People in the southeastern half of Shiga Prefecture could see the annular solar eclipse with the perfect ring of fire. The area from Maibara to Otsu was close to the northern boundary of the annular shadow path. Beyond that in Nagahama and Takashima, people could only see a partial solar eclipse. The annular ring could be seen for about 5 minutes at the center of the annular shadow path which went through central Tokyo. The further away you are from shadow’s center, the less time the ring appears.

In Shiga, the ring appeared for a maximum of about 3 minutes depending on the location. It was around 3 minutes in Koka and Higashi-Omi starting at 7:29 am. People in central Otsu saw it for about 2 minutes from 7:29 am. In Maibara, it was about a minute or less at 7:31 am. Nagahama and Takashima were outside the annular shadow and could only see a partial solar eclipse (a crescent sun). The last time an annular solar eclipse occurred in Shiga Prefecture was 282 years ago. Gee, I wonder how they viewed it at the time, if they even knew about it.

I was in Tokyo and photographed the eclipse about 1.5 km from the shadow’s center so I had the maximum 5 minutes to view and photograph the ring. We were lucky to have fleeting breaks in the veil of clouds during the eclipse. The clouds actually made it look more dramatic. A cloudless sky would create a totally black background in the photo. The ring appeared at 7:34 am in Tokyo. The last time this occurred in Tokyo was 173 years ago in 1839. The next annular solar eclipse in Tokyo will be three centuries from now. Too bad about Mt. Fuji being totally fogged over. People up there saw nothing. Map of the annular eclipse path: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2012May20Agoogle.html

It was also cloudy in Shiga at the time of the eclipse, but the sun did peep out of the clouds now and then and most got a chance to see the ring. Koka was the first to see the eclipse in Shiga starting at 6:17 am. Many school kids in Shiga went to school about an hour early and gathered on the school grounds to view the eclipse using solar eclipse sunglasses. Earth science students at Maibara High School used high-powered telescopes to successfully observe and photograph Baily’s beads which appear at the moment when the ring forms. Since Maibara is along the fringe of the annular shadow, it was a prime spot to view Baily’s beads. The students even appeared on national TV news that day on NHK at 7 pm.

The temperature dropped slightly by 0.6 C to 1 C in Shiga during the eclipse. The sky also became slightly darker during the peak, but it was still very bright. The photos look dark because of the dark filter on the lens. You cannot see the ring without a dark filter or solar eclipse glasses. Even at the peak of the eclipse, the sun was still a bright spot in the sky. Some people in Japan got married or engaged or gave a wedding or engagement ring to their fiance during the eclipse. To me, it looked like a heavenly angel’s halo without the angel. It certainly was worth getting up early to see it.

Hikone: A Journey in Time (cover)

The Hikone Board of Education has published a manga comic booklet in English titled, Hikone: A Journey in Time. Targeting tourists, the black-and-white manga explains about Hikone’s feudal history and cultural sights through the eyes of John, a fictitious 20-year-old lad from Michigan (Shiga’s sister state) visiting Hikone while staying with a Japanese family. The A5-size, 70-page booklet is available for 500 yen at the Hikone Castle Museum next to the ticket booth where you enter Hikone Castle.

The manga story starts off with John visiting Hikone Castle with his host family, the Tachibanas who have a 12-year-old daughter named Hana. A lightning bolt during a rainstorm transports John and Hana back in time to the year 1600 during the Battle of Sekigahara (in Gifu). A mysterious and beckoning cat named Toku serves as their time-warp tour guide as they witness the Eastern Forces’ Tokugawa Ieyasu defeat the Western Forces’ (and Shiga native) Ishida Mitsunari. Then they see Ieyasu’s major ally Ii Naomasa consequently awarded the domain of Hikone and his successors building Hikone Castle and the town. Ii Naosuke is also introduced as the Tairo (Chief Minister) of the Tokugawa government in 1858 who made the decision to open up Japan to the Western powers led by Commodore Perry (very good manga likeness).

Naosuke is later assassinated by radical samurai from Mito in 1860 while on his snowy way to Edo Castle’s Sakurada-mon Gate. Although the manga shows him being shot and stabbed in his palanquin, it does not show (nor mention) that he was also dragged out of his palanquin and beheaded.

Toku the talking cat then takes John and Hana to see Hikone’s cultural products like kotoyaki pottery and Takamiya jofu textiles and Korean emissary processions. John and Hana are later zapped back to the present day as the cat disappears. The manga continues with the legendary story of the maneki-neko or beckoning cat saving Ii Naotaka (3rd lord of Hikone) from a lightning bolt at Gotokuji temple in Tokyo. John also visits a butsudan Buddhist altar factory where Hana’s dad works. I wish they also mentioned that many of the butsudan parts are crafted elsewhere (such as in neighboring Maibara) and then assembled in Hikone.

The end of the book has short English articles about the Korean Road (along which the Korean emissary traveled in Hikone on the way to Edo), Hikone Castle being on the World Heritage Site Tentative List, Hiko-nyan (Hikone’s official mascot), and a list and map of cultural properties in Hikone. It doesn’t elaborate on Hikone Castle’s prospects of actually becoming a World Heritage Site which I think is a long shot. It has languished on the Tentative List for 20 years since Japan first nominated it in 1992. The manga is apparently part of a strategy to gain support for Hikone Castle’s designation as a World Heritage Site.

Actually, I think they should first push Lake Biwa’s designation as a national park (it’s a quasi-national park). It’s one of the world’s oldest lakes with unique native species and has a long satoyama history of people living and interacting with the lake. And besides Hikone Castle, there are numerous nationally historic, cultural, and scenic sites around the lake such Mt. Shizugatake, Anegawa River, Mt. Ibuki, Nagahama Castle, Lake Yogo, Azuchi Castle, and Harie.

The manga provides whirlwind/superficial coverage of Hikone’s history, so some important details are missing. But it does give the newcomer a good, if not amusing, idea of what Hikone is about. It’s good enough for me to buy a copy to give to friends visiting Shiga.

The booklet is an excellent attempt by a local Board of Education to reach out to foreign tourists, a very rare project indeed. All local Boards of Education should follow suit. After all, they are the ones who have the expertise in local history and culture. The tourist bureaus are not terribly interested in explaining about local culture and history (because they are not academics nor researchers) and don’t care so much about serving a minority (foreign) segment of visitors. When they do produce something in English, it’s usually pretty shoddy.

The Hikone Board of Education contracted Kyoto Seika University to produce the booklet. The manga was drawn by a graduate of the university, Kojima Eiyu (小島瑛由). He did a fine job. The English translation was done by a manga researcher at Kyoto Seika University International, Jessica Bauwens-Sugimoto, and the editing was supervised by Peter J. Morris, Executive Director of International Programs at the University of Shiga Prefecture (not to be confused with Shiga University, a national university).

Employing native English speakers was wise (compared to using machine translation or a Japanese translator), but the booklet still has too many typos and grammatical issues. Apparently, the translator and editor weren’t given a chance to proofread their work. Many Japanese in printing/publishing don’t understand that translators/writers need time to proofread their work. I bet it was a rush job and the translator had only the Japanese text to translate, without the benefit of seeing the manga cells. It’s like translating a photo caption without seeing the photo. It’s very difficult. The translator/editor should also be given adequate leeway to modify the English text/dialog to suit the foreign readership and convey the meaning accurately.

The booklet includes a separate insert providing a Japanese translation of the English dialog on each page. (It seems to be the Japanese source text that was translated into English.)

Some 3,000 copies have been printed for the first printing. According to the Shiga Hikone Shimbun, the production cost was 2.6 million yen (867 yen per copy) which means they are taking a substantial loss by selling it for so cheap at 500 yen. The BOE published it to mark the 75th anniversary of Hikone. For more information, call the Hikone Board of Education at 0749-26-5833.

If they will revise this manga for another printing, here are my suggestions/corrections (excluding typos and grammatical errors) for improvement:

• On the booklet’s cover, instead of touristy photographs, why not have a large manga in color to indicate that it’s a manga booklet? It would be more eye-catching.
• John’s dad is Japanese and mom is American. But the story does not play up this tidbit at all. His parents don’t say anything and we can only question his nationality.
• The word “cool” is used too often.
• The asterisk used to cite Japanese terms should appear at the end of the word, not above it.
• Page 7 describes Hana as a “little girl.” I wouldn’t call a 6th grader “little.”
• On page 7, delete “the” in “I especially love the castles.” (An example of a grammatical error.)
• “City” need not be appended to “Hikone.” It’s not part of the city’s name (like Kansas City or New York City). Appending “city” would be necessary only if the name of the city is the same as the prefecture, such as Hiroshima, to prevent confusion. I also recommend teaching how to pronounce “Hikone.” Most Americans might pronounce it Hee-cone with a silent e.
• Page 10 does not say where Uoya-machi  is and its relation to the castle.
• Page 11 should mention that the Horse Stable and Tenbin Yagura are Important Cultural Properties. Too bad there’s no illustration of the Horse Stable’s interior. No mention of the Nishinomaru 3-story turret which is also an Important Cultural Property. It doesn’t show the exhibits inside Hikone Castle Museum. Should mention that the castle is a short walk from Hikone Station.
• Page 14 says that you can walk around the outside balcony. This seems to be a mistranslation. It’s not about walking around the outside balcony (which we cannot do since the balcony is too small), it’s about the cornice-like balcony that goes around the tower. Also on the same page, “one can only climb up 1 or 2 meters” needs to be clarified/explained further.
• The use of capital letters is inconsistent: For example, Hikone Castle and Hikone castle.
• Page 16 should mention the other three castles (Matsumoto, Inuyama, and Himeji) which are also National Treasures.
• Page 19 should caption the statue of Ii Naosuke.
• Page 24 has “…East and West. Led by Ishida Mitsunari and Tokugawa Ieyasu.” This makes it look like Mitsunari led the East and Ieyasu the West. It should be vice versa.
• Page 25 should mention where Sekigahara is. And that the battle sites can be easily visited from Sekigahara Station, not far from Hikone.
• Page 36 shows Naosuke’s entourage leaving his residence near Edo Castle (or perhaps entering Sakurada-mon Gate). However, the text says that he met trouble as he was entering Sakurada-mon Gate. This implies that he was assassinated at or inside the gate or castle grounds. Not so. He was attacked soon after leaving his residence and well before they reached Sakurada-mon Gate.
• The practice of breaking up a sentence into two (or more) speech bubbles doesn’t bode well in English.
• Page 42 should explain the Noh illustrations.
• Page 48 has mistranslations in the second cell. Hana asks, “So did many Westerners come to Japan?” Toku answers, “Actually, not at all. But for many years before, there were many visits from Korea.” This exchange should read, “Did only Westerners come to Japan?” and Toku answering, ”No, there were also Korean visitors from centuries before.” There were the Dutch at Dejima, so it’s not “not at all.”
• Page 60 should mention that funa-zushi is the origin of sushi instead of “the only true fermented sushi in Japan.” (As if there are fake fermented sushi in Japan.)
• “Hikonyan” should be spelled “Hiko-nyan.” Otherwise, people are apt to mispronounce it as “Hikon-yan,” for example.
• 冊子の全体的の印象はよいですが、なんか英語訳が急いで作られた感じがする。スペルミス、文法のミス、説明不足、誤訳などが結構あります。もっと時間をかけて最終のチェックが必要。教育委員会の英文出版物としてもっときちんとした正しい英語が重要。英語を勉強している生徒たちに間違った英語・訳を普及させたくない。
  

  Sample manga page from Hikone: A Journey in Time.

  

  Japanese translation insert (cover).

  

  Sample Japanese insert page.

放送されるのは守山市のすし切り祭りと甲賀市土山のケンケト祭りの動画です。

放送日：２０１２年５月９日（水）

時間帯：午前５：２０～８：００で、滋賀の祭り企画コーナーが流れるのは午前７：００ごろ。

番組名：読売テレビ「朝生ワイドす・またん！＆ＺＩＰ！」

番組の「超スゴい衝撃映像ＳＰ」というコーナーで「滋賀の超オドロキ奇祭」が紹介されます。

（緊急ニュースなどが入った場合、流れない場合もございます）

関西（大阪、京都、滋賀、奈良、兵庫、和歌山）にいる人、時間ありましたら是非見て（または録画して）ください。

http://www.ytv.co.jp/cematin/

Yomiuri TV will introduce Golden Week festivals in Shiga Prefecture on a morning TV program on May 9, 2012 (Wed.).

They will air two of my Shiga festival videos: The Sushi-kiri Matsuri held in Moriyama and the Kenketo Matsuri held in Tsuchiyama, Koka.

Broadcast date and time: May 9, 2012, around 7 am.

TV program name: 朝生ワイドす・またん！＆ＺＩＰ！ (The program is from 5:20 am to 8 am.)

If you’re in Osaka, Kyoto, Shiga, Nara, Hyogo, or Wakayama, hope you can watch or record the program.

April 29: Kusatsu Shukuba Matsuri celebrates Kusatsu's history as a stage town on the Nakasendo and Tokaido Roads. Numerous events and activities are held such as flea markets, street & stage performances, and Japanese dances. The main highlight is the Kusatsu Jidai Gyoretsu procession of people dressed in historical costumes from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm. Near JR Kusatsu Station.

Golden Week is Japan’s spring vacation from late April to early May with a string of national holidays. April 29 is Showa Day (set to April 30 this year since the 29th is Sun.), May 3 is Constitution Day, May 4 Greenery Day, and May 5 Children’s Day. This year’s calendar in 2012 can make it a nine-day holiday for the working folk if they only take off on two working days (May 1 and 2).

In Shiga, it is prime time for matsuri festivals. There are so many matsuri during this time that it took me at least 4 or 5 years to see most of them because many are held at the same time. You really have to decide which one to see. The festivals will be extra special this year because many GW festivals were canceled or postponed last year due to the 3/11 triple disasters.

Here are some of the GW matsuri I recommend seeing. A wide variety for sure. Click on the image to see more photos and information of the respective festival. Maps of the shrine locations, etc., are provided by the Map links.

April 29: Kaizu Rikishi Matsuri Festival in Makino, Takashima.

April 29: Kaizu Rikishi Matsuri features men dressed as sumo wrestlers (rikishi) carrying two mikoshi portable shrines around their respective lakeside neighborhoods near JR Makino Station. They wear kesho mawashi ceremonial aprons. They jostle the mikoshi during the day from 1 pm to 3 pm, and then from 5 pm. At around 8 pm, they proceed to Kaizuten Jinja Shrine for the festival climax with lit torches. Be aware that the festival goes on until after 10 pm which may be past your last train home. Also, if you’re walking back to Makino Station from the shrine, be careful as part of the highway has no sidewalk. Bring a flashlight so the cars (and big trucks) can see you on the road at night. Otherwise, it’s very hazardous. See my video here. Map here.

Hino Matsuri at Umamioka Watamuki Shrine. Click image to see more info and photos.

May 3: Hino Matsuri in Hino is the largest festival in eastern Shiga Prefecture and one of Shiga’s grandest float festivals. Sixteen ornate floats and three portable shrines are paraded through the streets and gather at Umamioka Watamuki Shrine amid festival music of flutes and taiko drums. It’s all day long from morning till late afternoon when the floats leave the shrine. The three portable shrines are taken across town to the Otabisho and back. Buses run from Hino Station to Umamioka Watamuki Shrine. If you have time, I also highly recommend taking the bus from Hino Station to Shakunage Gorge (しゃくなげ渓) for a relaxing nature stroll in a gorge adorned with shakunage (rhododendron), Hino’s official flower. See my video here. Map here.

May 3: Kenketo Odori at Takigi Jinja Shrine (龍樹神社).

May 3: Kenketo Odori at Takigi Jinja Shrine (龍樹神社) in Tsuchiyama, Koka is a dance performed by eight boys aged 7 to 12. The dance was originally started to ward off calamities. The boys wear tall peacock feathers on their heads. The delightful dance is a National Intangible Folk Cultural Property. From Kibukawa Station (JR Kusatsu Line and Ohmi Railways), catch the Aikuru Bus and get off at Higashi Maeno. The shrine is a short walk toward the river. Also see my video at YouTube. Map here.

May 3: Kenketo Festival at Suginoki Shrine in Yamanoue, Ryuo town, Shiga. Click image to see more info and photos.

May 3: The Kenketo Festival is held at few Shinto shrines in Ryuo and neighboring Higashi-Omi. It is mainly a naginata (pole sword) dance and procession by boys dressed in costume. They travel to these different shrines and perform, but the main venue is Suginoki Shrine in Yamanoue, Ryuo town, Shiga. Also see my YouTube Video here. Map here.

May 4: Shichikawa Matsuri in Takashima. Click image to see more info and photos.

May 4: The Shichikawa Matsuri at Oarahiko Shrine in Takashima features a procession of yakko-furi laborers carrying archery targets (photo), yabusame horse runs, and a portable shrine procession. This is the largest festival in the Kosei area (western Shiga) and the only one featuring horses in Kosei. Attracts a good crowd. The shrine is near Shin-Asahi Station (JR Kosei Line), but renting a bicycle at the station is recommended. See my video here. Map here.

May 4: Omizo Matsuri in Takashima. Click image to see more info and photos.

May 4: Omizo Matsuri has five ornate floats pulled around the neighborhood of JR Omi-Takashima Station (JR Kosei Line). The festival eve on May 3 has the floats festooned with paper lanterns as they are pulled around in the evening. On May 4, they pull the floats around during the day and gather at Hiyoshi Jinja Shrine. When entering the shrine, they dramatically run while pulling the float. Also see my video at YouTube. Map here.

May 4: Iba-no-saka-kudashi Matsuri in Higashi-Omi near Notogawa Station.

May 4: Iba-no-saka-kudashi Matsuri held by Sanposan Shrine in Higashi-Omi, Shiga Prefecture is an unusual festival with three portable shrines hauled down a steep mountain (Kinugasa-yama) for about 500 meters. It doesn’t sound that far, but it’s all steep, rocky terrain. The mikoshi bearers can easily get injured. This is also one of the hardest festivals to view. You have to climb up this steep, rocky mountain and perch on a ledge. One earthquake and you can fall. The locals have an easy time climbing up the mountain though, even with kids. See my video here. Map here.

May 4: Shinoda Hanabi in Omi-Hachiman. Intangible Folk Cultural Property.

May 4: Shinoda Hanabi is a super spectacular and artistic fireworks display at Shinoda Shrine in Omi-Hachiman. Torch fireworks, Niagara Falls, and panel-type fireworks provide an explosive, close-up experience. For people who cannot wait till summer to see fireworks. Beware of a forest of camera tripods and photographers in front. Get there early if you want to take good shots. Not recommended if you don’t like sudden and loud explosions. Intangible Folk Cultural Property. Walk from Omi-Hachiman Station. Map here.

May 4: Misaki Shrine Fire Festival in Aisho, near JR Inae Station.

May 4: The Misaki Shrine Fire Festival in Aisho climaxes with a towering clump of bamboo set afire to create a fire column well over 10 meters high. It starts at 7:30 pm when people carry 2-meter long torches from their homes to the shrine. A taiko drum is also carried and beaten. Very dramatic (no marshmallows). The shrine is a 20-min. walk from JR Inae Station. See my video here. Map here.

May 5: Hyozu Matsuri in Yasu.

May 5: Hyozu Matsuri is Shiga’s preeminent mikoshi (portable shrine) festival with 35 mikoshi paraded around Hyozu Taisha Shrine in Yasu. Two of them are carried only by spunky young women called “Ayame,” meaning iris flowers. Very colorful and lively festival as they frequently stop, yell, and hold up the mikoshi high in the air. Beware that it can be dusty on the gravel paths. Other mikoshi are carried by children and men. See my video here. Map here.

May 5: Sushi-kiri Matsuri at Shimoniikawa Shrine in Moriyama.

May 5: The Sushi-kiri Matsuri sushi-cutting festival at Shimoniikawa Shrine in Moriyama has two young lads very stylistically and meticulously cutting funa-zushi fermented fish (crucian carp native to Lake Biwa) as an offering. All throughout, they are verbally heckled by some men. Not visually spectacular, but unusual and intriguing. The best part is at the end when they give free morsels of funa-zushi to spectators. Shiga’s best-known delicacy from Lake Biwa. Also see my YouTube video here. Map here.

May 5: Naginata Odori Matsuri at Azu Jinja Shrine in Moriyama.

May 5: Naginata Odori Matsuri at Azu Jinja Shrine in Moriyama consists of colorful dances and music by children, taiko drumming, a naginata dance and acrobatics by boys using a pole sword. They conduct a roundtrip procession from Azu Shrine to Azu Wakamiya Shrine. A great variety of eye candy for Children’s Day. Also see my YouTube video here. Map here.

May 5: Sekku Matsuri Festival bull's eye at Namura Shrine in Ryuo. Click image to see more info and photos.

May 5: Sekku Matsuri Festival at Namura Shrine in Ryuo is for horse lovers. After children carry around a portable shrine, yabusame horseback archery is held in front of the shrine gate. Several horses make their runs, but only one of them shoots arrows at the targets. A good excuse to visit this shrine noted for its elegant-looking, thatched-roof main gate and Nishi Honden hall which is a National Treasure. The shrine’s architecture is from the Kamakura Period. See my video here. Map here.

Kaizu-Osaki along the northern lake shore in Takashima. Cherry blossoms with Chikubushima island in the background. Beware of the narrow lakeshore road jammed with cars. 30-mi. walk from JR Makino Station (Kosei Line). Rental bicycles available.

Besides skiing, the best thing about winter is being able to look forward to spring. After a long and cold winter this year, we can hardly wait for the welcomed warmth of spring. Synonymous with spring is sakura, or cherry blossoms. Shiga Prefecture has many great spots for cherry blossoms, including two of Japan’s 100 Famous Cherry Blossom Spots at Kaizu-Osaki and Nagahama Castle’s Hokoen Park.

According to the cherry blossom forecast, the flowers should be in full bloom around April 15-20. Note that they bloom later in northern Shiga (Takashima and Nagahama) than in southern Shiga (Otsu). To see the current blooming condition, see the Weather News Sakura page for Shiga. The markers’ warmer colors until red (full bloom) indicate how far the flowers have bloomed.

Here are my photos of some of Shiga’s best sakura spots. Click on the photo to see more photos of the respective sakura spot.

Nagahama Castle in Hokoen Park near JR Nagahama Station (Hokuriku Line). A breath-taking number of cherry trees surround the castle. Be sure to go up the castle tower to see the sakura too.

Hikone Castle is another incredible place for sakura. I recommend going in the morning to take photos.

Mishima Pond and Mt. Ibuki in Maibara. Prime spot to photograph Shiga's highest mountain and cherry blossoms.

Weeping cherry tree in Omi-Fuji Karyoku Koen Park (also called Omi-Fuji Green Acres) next to Mt. Mikami in Yasu.

A walk along the sakura-lined Hachiman-bori Moat in Omi-Hachiman is very pleasant.

Zeze Castle Park in Otsu includes cherry blossoms planted here in memory of the college rowers from Kanazawa University who died in a rowing accident on Lake Biwa in April 1941.

One of the most beautiful weeping cherry trees at Hiyoshi Taisha Shrine in Otsu. Near Sakamoto Station on the Keihan Ishiyama-Sakamoto Line.

Cherry blossoms lit up at night at Miidera temple in Otsu.

Essential Vocabulary

• sakura さくら or 桜 - Cherry blossom and Japan’s national symbol and flower. By far, it is the most celebrated flower in Japan.
• tsubomi つぼみ – Flower buds.
• sakura zensen 桜前線 – Cherry blossom front as they bloom across Japan from Okinawa to Hokkaido.
• kaika 開花 – Flowers started blooming. This is about a week before the tree reaches full bloom.
• mankai 満開 – Full bloom. You will hear this on the news often.
• hayasaki 早咲き – Early-blooming flowers. A few varieties of cherry blossoms bloom earlier than usual.
• hanami or ohanami 花見 – Flower-viewing picnic (often with alcohol) under the cherry blossoms at a park. The most common way to celebrate spring under the flowers and commonly seen in the news. Hanami picnics are usually not allowed in shrines and temples.
• sakura matsuri さくらまつり or 桜祭り- Cherry blossom festival. Not a religious festival, but can take the form of various events and stage entertainment.
• Somei Yoshino 染井吉野 - The most common and coveted species of cherry blossoms whose light pink (almost white) flowers bloom in fluffy bunches on the tree.
• yo-zakura 夜桜 – Cherry blossoms lit up at night. Some temples and parks light up the flowers at night.
• shidare-zakura しだれ桜 or 枝垂桜 - Weeping cherry blossoms with long, hanging branches of flowers.
• Sakura Meisho さくら名所 – Famous cherry blossom spot. It is most often a castle, public park, garden, shrine/temple, or riverside.
• Sakura, Sakura さくら さくら- Famous folk song about cherry blossoms.
• chiru, chitta 散る、散った – Flowers fell off the tree. Happens a few days after full bloom when the petals fall like pink snow.
• sakura fubuki さくら吹雪 – Swirling cherry blossom petals. Occurs when the wind blows off the flower petals, creating a pink snow.

Saio princess

The annual Tsuchiyama Saio Princess Procession (あいの土山斎王群行) will be held on March 25, 2012. If you like kimono, you gotta see this festival. It’s a small, but very elegant and colorful matsuri in Koka’s Tsuchiyama area. A Saio princess dressed in a beautiful, juni-hitoe, 12-layer kimono will be carried in a palanquin escorted by a bevy of women in kimono. They also dance along the procession route. This is actually an extension of Kyoto’s famous Aoi Matsuri.

The Saio princess was an unmarried, young Imperial princess, often the Emperor’s daughter, who was appointed (by divination) to be the High Priestess of Ise Grand Shrines in Mie Prefecture from the 7th to 14th centuries. For about 660 years, over 60 Saio princesses served at Ise Grand Shrines. The new Saio princess traveled from Kyoto to her Saiku palace near the Ise Shrine. The journey took 5 nights and 6 days, and passed through Tsuchiyama in Shiga Prefecture. Held on the last Sunday in March, this festival reenacts the Saio Gunko procession in Tsuchiyama to Tarumi Tongu which was one of the five palaces where the Saio lodged along the way. The Saio princess is selected among volunteer women from Koka.

The festival starts at 11:30 am with the Saio princess carried on a palanquin arriving at a small park called Yume no Ogawa next to Ono Elementary School. She purifies herself at a small stream in the park. Then they gather inside the school gym for the Departure ceremony.

The procession will depart the school at 1:30 pm and proceed on foot on the old Tokaido Road to Tarumi Tongu (垂水頓宮). Tongu means temporary palace. There were five of them for the Saio princess between Kyoto and the Saiku palace in Ise. The one in Tsuchyama is a National Historic Site, although nothing remains of the palace. From 886 to 1264 (378 years), a total of 31 Saio princesses lodged at Tarumi Tongu.

The procession will stop and dance twice at 2 pm at  Ichiba Kumin Hiroba square (市場区民広場)  and at 2:40 pm at Maeno Community West Hiroba Square (前野集会所西広場). Great photo ops at these two stops. The procession will arrive Tarumi Tongu at 3:40 pm where a short ceremony will be held. The festival ends at 4 pm.

Saio princess procession at Maeno.

Getting there: Take the “Aikuru” bus from Kibukawa Station (JR Kusatsu Line and Ohmi Railways). In about 30 min., get off at Ono Higashi-guchi (大野東口) and walk to Ono Primary School nearby.

*In the case of rain, the festival will be held inside the school gym.

View Koka, Shiga Prefecture in a larger map

More photos: http://photoguide.jp/pix/thumbnails.php?album=733

Official site and schedule: http://www.kouka.ne.jp/~w1085116/saiou/15/15_schedule.html

Chopsticks for recovery in Tohoku.

Various events were held in Shiga Prefecture on March 11, 2012 to mark the first anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake or Tohoku (northeastern Japan) triple disaster. Memorial services and prayers were held at a number temples in Shiga such as the Kannon temples in Takatsuki, Nagahama and Ishiyama-dera in Otsu. Many people spent a minute of silence at around 2:46 pm when the earthquake struck a year before.

In Higashi-Omi, they flew a large kite bearing the word “Recover” (復興 Fukko) in tandem with other kite festival groups in other parts of Japan. In Kutsuki, Takashima, about 50 children wrote prayer messages on cards attached to 250 balloons which were then released. In the evening, candlelight vigils were held in Hikone and Otsu.

At the Meishin Expressway (freeway connecting Nagoya and Kobe) Taga Service Area, a food fair selling products from Tohoku (Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate Prefectures) was held. One of the products was canned fish recovered from the tsunami debris. Volunteers recovered the cans and relabeled them for sale. The famous Taga soba noodles were also sold for 500 yen/bowl and the profits donated to Tohoku.

In Otsu, about 1,000 people staged an anti-nuke demonstration called, “Bye-bye Nuclear Power, Protect Lake Biwa” (ばいばい原発守ろうびわ湖) in Zeze Park and marched to JR Zeze Station and Parco department store. Evacuees from Fukushima were among the demonstrators.

An association of portrait studio owners in Shiga (協同組合滋賀写真師会) held a portrait shoot in Otsu and charged only 2,000 yen to take portraits of families, couples, and friends. They donated the entire proceeds to portrait studios in Tohoku to fund portrait sessions of Tohoku disaster evacuees. This excellent project (http://www.egao-japan.net/) is now spreading to other parts of Japan.

Meanwhile, 389 evacuees (152 families) from Tohoku remain in Shiga Prefecture as of March 8, 2012. Most of them, totaling 250, are from Fukushima Prefecture. Sixty-five people are from Miyagi Prefecture and 6 are from Iwate Prefecture. Ninety-nine evacuees are living in public housing rent-free. This arrangement is being extended by 6 months to 2 years. Some 81 evacuee children (47 in grade school and 17 in junior high) are attending schools in Shiga. Last December, the evacuees in Shiga formed their own “Association of Evacuees in Shiga” (滋賀県内避難者の会) to socialize and share information. The association’s leader commented that some evacuees still cannot find work and it will still take more time to rebuild their lives.

Many of the Fukushima evacuees are here because their homes are within the no-go zone near the stricken nuclear power plants. Many also have young children, and as any parent, they would do anything to protect their kids from whatever might harm them. About 63,000 evacuees from Fukushima currently live outside Fukushima Prefecture.

Sagicho Matsuri at Omi-Hachiman. Click on image to see more Sagicho photos.

The Sagicho Matsuri (左義長まつり) in Omi-Hachiman, Shiga will be held on March 17-18, 2012. This is one of Shiga’s must-see festivals.

The annual Sagicho Matsuri is a dramatic parade and clashing of 13 or 14 colorful Sagicho floats carried around the old streets of the city and in Himure Hachimangu Shrine near Hachiman-bori Canal. On the first day (Sat.), the floats are paraded along the streets near the shrine and undergo judging for best design. The floats are works of art with a motif based on the year’s Oriental zodiac. Since it is the Year of the Dragon, be prepared to see all kinds of dramatic dragons on the floats. What’s incredible is that the float decorations are all made of edible materials mounted on a straw and wood base. The floats are thus different every year.

The second day (Sun.) of the Sagicho Festival is the climax. During the day, the Sagicho floats collide with each other and try to topple each other. Then at night, the floats are set afire. Sagicho is actually a fire festival. If you plan to see it at night, be sure to dress warmly. It can get quite cold.

Float decoration with a boar's mane made of tiny fish. You can smell the seafood.

Here’s a rough schedule of events at the Sagicho Festival this year (official festival site here):

March 17, 2012
1 pm: Gathering of Sagicho floats at Himure Hachimangu Shrine.
2 pm: A procession of Sagicho floats leave Himure Hachimangu Shrine and parade around nearby streets.
5:30 pm: Sagicho floats return to Himure Hachimangu Shrine.

March 18, 2012
10:30 am: Sagicho floats start parading around the streets.
2 pm to 5 pm: Sagicho floats gather and clash in front of Himure Hachimangu Shrine.
6 pm: Children’s Sagicho floats are set afire in front of Himure Hachimangu Shrine.
8 pm to 10:40 pm: Sagicho floats are set afire one by one in front of Himure Hachimangu Shrine.

Also see my video at YouTube.

東京日本橋の高島屋で開催中の第24回 琵琶湖夢街道 大近江展へ行きました。

とても美味しそうな見せ方。近江牛。

気に入った商品のディスプレー。しかし、この商品は米ではなく、だんごであった。

このパッケージのデザインは今一と思った。ザゼンソウと周航歌は米と関係ないし、一瞬、ザゼンソウから収穫された米と思わせる。パッケージのデザインは売れ行きを大きく左右する重要な要素。

この左義長祭りの飾りがとっても迫力あったけど、一番人が少ない場所に隠れていてほとんどの来場者が見ていないと思う。もったいない。せっかく八幡から持ってきたのにもっと目立つところに置かないとね。会場のど真ん中とか入口の付近。食べ物でできたものだから近江展とよく似合うと思った。滋賀の「見る」魅力をもっと表に引き出せないのか。

外国人が多い東京に大近江展の外国語の宣伝がまったくありませんでした。びわこビジターズビューローの外国語Facebookやホームページにまったく掲載なし。

Takashimaya Department Store in Nihonbashi, Tokyo is currently holding the Dai-Omiten (大近江展) food and craft fair featuring stuff from Shiga Prefecture. In one corner, this Sagicho Festival float decoration is on display. The festival has 13 floats and each one has an elaborate decoration with the year’s Oriental zodiac sign. What’s incredible is that the decorations are made of edible things. For example, the dragon’s teeth are cashew nuts. The Sagicho festival is held in mid-March (17th and 18th this year) in Omi-Hachiman, Shiga. The food fair is on the 8th floor, from 10 am to 8 pm (until 6 pm on March 1), until March 1. http://www.biwako-visitors.jp/pdf/oumiten.pdf

Hiko-nyan runners at Tokyo Marathon 2012.

The massive Tokyo Marathon was held on Feb. 26, 2012. Out of almost 300,000 applicants, about 36,000 lucky people got to run from 9:10 am to 4:10 pm. I was near the finish line and saw these two Hiko-nyan runners.

Being an Olympic year, this was an important race for the Japanese runners seeking to qualify for London. Also, the Biwako Mainichi Marathon to be held in Otsu, Shiga on March 4 will also be a crucial race as an Olympic qualifier.

Hina dolls in Gokasho. Click image to see more photos.

Hina-matsuri dolls (雛祭りの雛人形) are being displayed at various locations in Shiga to celebrate Girl’s Day on March 3.

The most hina ningyo dolls I’ve ever seen in Shiga were in the Omi-shonin merchant homes and museums in Gokasho, Higashi-Omi. They are on display until March 20 (9 am to 4:30 pm) in the former residences of Tonomura Uhee (外村 宇兵衛), Tonomura Shigeru (外村 繁), Nakae Jungoro (中江 準五郎), and Fujii Hikoshiro (藤井 彦四郎邸). The homes are large, stately Japanese-style mansions. Must-see for architecture buffs. Buy a single 600 yen ticket and you can enter all the homes. Closest train station is Ohmi Railways Gokasho Station.

Hina dolls are also displayed at other places in Shiga:

Omi-Hachiman: Former Ban family residence (旧伴家住宅) until March 20 (closed Mon.). Omi merchant home which also served as a girls school and public library until 1997. Spacious room with a large display of Hina dolls. The former Nishikawa Residence (Kyu-Nishikawa-ke Jutaku 旧西川家住) also has doll display. This is a large Omi merchant home designated as an Imnportant Cultural Property.

Hino: Omi Hino Merchant House (近江日野商人館) until March 4. The former home of Hino merchant Yamanaka Hyouemon was donated to the town in 1981. Now a museum exhibiting the history and artifacts of the Hino merchants. Admission 300 yen. Another place is Hino Machikado Kan-okan (日野まちかど感応館) which is a former home along Hino’s main road. It is also a tourist information office. Free admission.

Otsu: Saikyoji temple (西教寺) until March 3 (9 am to 4:30 pm). Dolls from the Edo Period are also on display. This temple in Sakamoto is noted for the grave of Akechi Mitsuhide. Admission 400 yen. English Website.

Have a Happy Girl’s Day!

Japanese map in pdf: http://www.ohmitetudo.co.jp/railway/event/2012/hinameguri/img/hinameguri1.pdf
http://www.ohmitetudo.co.jp/railway/event/2012/hinameguri/img/hinameguri2.pdf

Lake Yogo with deep snow.

Shiga and the Japan Sea Coast (especially Niigata Prefecture) got a heavy dump of snow during Feb. 2 and 3, 2012. Nagahama and Imazu (Takashima) in northern Shiga have gotten over 70 cm of snow. On Feb. 3, some 160 troops from the Ground Self-Defense Forces were dispatched to Imazu to help remove snow. The last time they dispatched military personnel for snow removal was 31 years ago in Jan. 1981.

On the morning of Feb. 3, people in central Nagahama, such as in Kurokabe Square, were busy shoveling snow. Maibara and Hikone also got a good amount of snow. Some 35 kindergartens and elementary and junior high schools in Nagahama and Maibara canceled classes on Feb. 3 due to hazardous roads. Meanwhile, 105 schools either delayed the start of classes or canceled afternoon classes.

Snowy and icy roads are also causing car accidents. During Feb. 2-3, about 300 accidents occurred mainly due to road slippage. Twenty-two people were injured. Higashi-Omi, Hikone, and Omi-Hachiman saw the most car accidents with 76, 63, and 50 accidents respectively.

People are also getting injured while shoveling snow off their rooftops or falling into roadside gutters hidden by the snow. Some agricultural greenhouses also collapsed under the snow, even as south as Kora town.

The snowfall’s peak is passing, but shinkansen trains are being delayed between Nagoya and Kyoto on Feb. 4.

Take extra precautions when traveling to or in Shiga. Be very careful when walking on icy surfaces. Beware of cars that cannot stop due to road slippage. And don’t forget about the Hong Kong flu that’s going around. A very high number of cases have been reported in neighboring Gifu, so take precautions especially for the kids and elderly. Stay safe this winter.

Ogre dancers at Taga Taisha Setsubun. Click image to see more photos.

February 3 is the Setsubun Festival at many temples and shrines in Japan. It marks the beginning of spring according to the lunar calendar. They yell, “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!” (鬼は外! 福は内!) while they throw beans at ogre to eliminate the evil (oni) of the previous year and bring in good fortune (fuku).

In Shiga Prefecture, the most impressive Setsubun festival is held at Taga Taisha Shrine in Taga town. They have impressive ogre (called oni in Japanese) dancers from Shimane Prefecture to act as the demons to chase away during the festival. The bean-throwing is called mame-maki. They will hold two mame-maki sessions on Feb. 3, at 11 am and 2 pm. Expect a large crowd.

It starts with a ceremony in the shrine’s worship hall. Then a dramatic performance by the ogre on stage where they are chased away by priests throwing beans at them. The main event is when over a hundred people born in the year of the dragon begin to throw soybeans and mochi to the crowd. The soybeans are thrown in little paper bags, so you can still pick them up and eat them even if they fall to the ground. But the mochi are hard as a rock, so watch out. The bean-throwing is fun, but potentially dangerous with beans or mochi hitting your face/head and people pushing you around. Taking pictures is pretty risky as well. One mochi even hit my camera lens. Fortunately, no damage. You should always look up and see where the mochi and beans are flying.

Taga Taisha is near Taga Taisha-mae Station on the Ohmi Railways Taga Line. Google Map here.

Mame-maki at Taga Taisha.

Taga Taisha Setsubun official Website: http://www.tagataisya.or.jp/info/setubun/index2.html
More photos: http://photoguide.jp/pix/thumbnails.php?album=727

Otsu Mayor-elect Naomi Koshi.

Otsu’s mayoral election was held on January 22, 2012 with Naomi Koshi (越 直美) defeating two-term (8 years) incumbent Mayor Makoto Mekata (目片信) by almost 10,000 votes.

The 36-year-old Koshi Naomi, a lawyer by trade, is Japan’s youngest woman mayor ever to be elected. She is Shiga’s first female mayor. And it is the first time in Japan to have a woman prefectural governor (Yukiko Kada) as well as a woman mayor of the prefectural capital. She is the third woman mayor of a prefectural capital (the other two are in Sendai and Yokohama). There are currently only 14 female city mayors in Japan.

Ms. Koshi ran as an independent, but was endorsed by the Democratic Party of Japan, Social Democratic Party, and Taiwa-no-Kai (対話の会) which also backs Shiga Governor Yukiko Kada. The 70-year-old incumbent Mayor Mekata, also an independent, was backed by the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito, and numerous corporate organizations. It is amazing to see such a newcomer defeating a well-entrenched and experienced incumbent.

Ms. Koshi vowed to reform Otsu, especially social services such as childcare and elderly support,  tourism promotion, and financial reforms. She also supports foreign language education in schools. Her youth and symbol of change have appealed to voters who also have high expectations for her and the governor to work together. (The incumbent mayor was not on very good terms with the governor.)

Ms. Koshi received 51,735 votes, Mayor Mekata got 42,232 votes, and the third candidate Masako Higashi (東 昌子) won 22,712 votes. Some 44.15% of eligible voters went to the polls. This is 1.84% higher than the last election.

Governor Yukiko Kada, who congratulated Ms. Koshi at her campaign headquarters, commented that the citizens of Otsu wanted change and that having a woman in office brings the woman’s point of view which is rare in politics and business. She added that there will be a good synergy by having the city and prefecture working together for child care, elderly support, tourism, and other areas. Ms. Koshi does intend to work in tandem with the governor better than her predecessor did. She hopes that by changing Otsu, she can change Shiga, and then Japan. She’s young yet, and if she does well in Otsu, I think she could very well run for governor someday.

Mayor-elect Koshi Naomi was born on July 5, 1975. She grew up in Otsu and attended public schools including Zeze High School. She earned her undergraduate and graduate law degrees at Hokkaido University. In June 2009, she graduated from Harvard Law School in the U.S. This means she speaks English. (Now you know why I’m writing about her.) From 2002 to Nov. 2011, she practiced law for a Tokyo-based law firm and in New York. She specialized in corporate law. Her hobbies are swimming and yoga.
Official Website: http://www.koshinaomi.net/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/koshinaomi

Congratulations to her and I look forward to her policies on promoting tourism.

Official poster for the Nagahama Sengoku Taiga Furusato Expo. Click image to see the pdf pamphlet in Japanese.

Riding on the coattails of last year’s NHK Taiga Drama Go and the Azai Sisters, the city of Nagahama is following up on their successful Go and Azai Sisters Expo by holding another feudal history expo this year called Nagahama Sengoku Taiga Furusato-haku (長浜・戦国大河ふるさと博) from March 24 to Dec. 2, 2012.

It can be translated as Nagahama Warring States Hometown Expo. I’m told that as of this writing, they have no plans to provide any foreign language information for this expo (none for last year’s expo either). So I’ll voluntarily provide essential information in English. (My Go and Azai Sisters post (and Go Expo photos) was last year’s most popular Shiga News post receiving several hundred hits.)

Last year’s expo was limited to places in northern Shiga related to Go and the Azai sisters. But for this year’s expo, they are expanding the theme by including major sengoku (warring states) sites. The expo thus covers a larger area than last year, which means you might not be able to see all the expo sites in one day.

Like last year’s expo, Odani Castle is included as one of the expo sites and a shuttle bus will be provided to go up the mountain. A guide will be on hand to conduct tours (in Japanese only). There’s also Mt. Shizugatake (guide provided), Chikubushima island, a pavilion in Kinomoto, the Azai Folk History Museum, and a small pavilion in central Nagahama. First-time visitors should not miss Odani Castle, Mt. Shizugatake (splendid views of Lake Biwa and Lake Yogo), and Chikubushima (Lake Biwa’s most famous and historic island).

Sengoku history fans also should note that Nagahama also has the Ishida Mitsunari Birthplace and the Battle of Anegawa Site, both of which surprisingly are not included in the expo, but accessible by local bus routes. Nagahama Castle is not part of the expo either. It is readily accessible and probably doesn’t need the extra publicity.

Expo admission will be charged. As of this writing, it doesn’t look like they will have a passport-type pass (like last year) to all the expo sites. The sites have been grouped into three areas: Odani-Azai Area, Chikubushima-Nagahama Area, and Shizugatake-Kinomoto Area. Each attraction is charging its own admission. Admission to the pavilions is 300 yen, while going to Chikubushima will cost 2,980 yen for the round-trip boat ride from Nagahama Port plus 400 yen to enter the site. Mt. Shizugatake has a round-trip chair lift costing 760 yen (hiking up/down for free is also possible). There are discounts for junior high school and younger kids. Admission is free for infants younger than elementary school age.

A shuttle bus costing 500 yen will run to all the expo sites. However, the shuttle bus will not run during June 1 to July 22 (rainy season) and the entire month of September (typhoon season perhaps).

After the expo starts and I visit the expo this spring, I will update this page with more details and photos. Till then, make plans to visit Nagahama this year if you haven’t visited yet.

Omi-shonin merchant die-cut postcard issued in 2011.

If you’ve been to a post office in Shiga, you probably noticed those unique-shaped, die-cut postcards featuring one of Shiga’s symbols like the Shigaraki tanuki raccoon dog, Hikone Castle, and an Omi shonin merchant. The Japan Post Office has been issuing these charming postcards since 2009. One die-cut postcard per year has been issued for each prefecture. So each prefecture now has three die-cut postcards. Shiga’s three die-cut cards are shown here. In Japanese, they call it gotochi form cards (ご当地フォルムカード).

Each prefecture’s die-cut cards are sold only in that prefecture’s post offices. Each card costs 180 yen and requires a 120 yen stamp for domestic mail. Some cards have sold out, but they will be reissued soon.

If you are a postcard collector like me, you may wonder what the other die-cut postcards in other prefectures look like. Well, there is a Web site where you can see the postcard designs for each prefecture. Just click on a prefecture to see the three cards so far. You can then see the prefecture’s unique symbols and attractions: http://postacollect.com/gotochi/index.html

Map of Shiga pamphlet in English. Previous version on left, and latest one on right.

Did you know that the Biwako Visitors Bureau publishes a Map of Shiga in English? Most likely not, as it is never displayed on any tourist pamphlet rack. You have to ask for it. But not only that, it’s normally available only at the tourist info office at Otsu Station. It’s not even distributed to other tourist info offices in other cities/towns in Shiga. I asked them why, but got no straight answer.

The latest edition is A4 size (folds out to A1 size) instead of the compact size of the previous edition (left in above photo). It has all the train lines/stations so it can be useful for first-time visitors. Unfortunately, the English is not so good, and it has not been improved at all from the previous edition(s).

One side of the sheet has the map in English, and the reverse side has listings of sightseeing attractions and hotels. I think the reverse side should have more detailed maps of the major cities. But instead we see embarrassingly short introductions of a woefully inadequate list of attractions  (see photo below). Lake Biwa is mentioned here and there (on the cover even), but not explained anywhere as an attraction. Chikubushima and Omi-Maiko are not even mentioned. The map is slanted toward Otsu and there are cities/towns which are not even mentioned (such as Takashima) in the attractions. No festivals either.

It seems that they are trying to have the Map of Shiga double as Shiga’s tourist pamphlet in English. This obviously won’t work since there’s simply not enough space for Shiga’s many attractions. They need to make a separate foreign-language pamphlet introducing Shiga’s tourist spots and improve the map to show our National Treasures and other important things that they have neglected to emphasize.

But why am I telling you this? I should be telling this to Biwako Visitors Bureau. Well, that’s what I’m doing right now on their Facebook page in Japanese.

Sightseeing and hotel listings in the Map of Shiga English pamphlet. Click on the image to enlarge.

左が旧版、右が最新版の英文Map of Shiga。

社団法人びわこビジターズビューローが発行したMap of Shigaの英文地図のパンフレットを拝見しました。旧版と比べると英文が全然改善されてない。形だけが変わっていて中身がそのまま。

旧版のMap of Shigaのよくない英語をそのまま流用されている。むしろスペルミスや間違っている文法が増えている。Native speakerによるcheckがやっていない。

地図には近江八景と琵琶湖八景が強調しているけど、これらは観光の目玉にならない。残念ながら、広重が見た詩的な近江はもうありません。琵琶湖八景を当てにする観光客も少ないと思います。県庁の英文観光ページにも同じです：http://www.pref.shiga.jp/multilingual/english/about/attractions.html

地図（と県庁のHP）に強調して欲しいのはまず国宝。寺院と神社は勿論、高槻の国宝の観音さんもいかが？そして戦国時代の史跡。特に大河ドラマに登場した場所。広重が好きなら宿場町もハイライトしよう。あとは各市町の観光案内所(電話番も)、自転車が借りれる駅（載れる道も）、道の駅（物産センター含む）。なぜJTBやKinki Nippon Touristのofficeがあるけど自分の案内所と物産センターが載ってないのか？

地図の裏面(下の写真)は滋賀の観光スポットを簡単に紹介しているけど、とても物足りない。滋賀の魅力が十分に伝わってこないし、全市町の名所が載せていない。高島市、米原市、日野町などが全然載ってない。お祭りの紹介もゼロ。英語もずさん。”Biwako Hana Funsui”にある”ajutages”っていったい何？

そしてなんと琵琶湖も全然紹介してない。どういう湖とか、基本的な説明なし。近江舞子も竹生島も全く紹介なし。Biwako Visitors Bureauの名称にも地図の表紙にも「ビワコ」があるのに紹介してない。あんだけ「Biwako, Biwako, Biwako」ばかり言っているのに。

しかし、滋賀は琵琶湖だけじゃない。県民も「琵琶湖」より「滋賀」の名称が圧倒的に好んでいます。Shiga Lakestarsのプロバスケチームの名前も投票で決まったけど、Biwako Lakestarsは全くダメだった。琵琶湖は国立公園にもなっていないし、摩周湖や十和田湖のように「美しい湖」というイメージが全国的にありません。滋賀県すら聞いたことない外国人にBiwakoと言ってもピントこない。Ninja, samurai, National Treasuresの方がずっと通じやすい。

滋賀の総合的な観光案内パンフを作りたい場合、別紙にするべき。地図は地図だけにして裏面には主な市街の拡大地図が望ましい。

Map of ShigaはやはりBVBのHP/FBと同じ性質である。形だけで中身が不十分。企画と実行がよく考えていない。せっかく奇麗に印刷したのに、もったいない。

この他の指摘と意見は下記にまとまりました。今度の改訂版に参考になればと思います。

表紙

• Map of Shigaの名称をMap of Shiga Prefectureに。なぜかというと、信州の志賀高原とよく間違われる。
• Lake Biwa JapanをLake Biwa, Japanに。
• 相応しい滋賀の観光キャッチコピーがあったらいい。
• 滋賀は日本のどこにあるか分かるように日本の地図に滋賀がマークされた小さい地図もあるといい。

裏表紙

• “Access Map”の”Access”は和製英語です。正しい英語は英文ガイドブックなど参考してください。
• By Train, etc.の見出しですが、etc.は見出しに使わない。アクセスの説明も不十分。新幹線駅の利便性や京都からの電車乗車時間などもっと優しく説明しよう。
• Tourist SectionをTourist Information Officesに。県内にある全ての観光案内所を掲載してください。文字をもっと小さくしたら入ると思う。なぜ高島市が載っていないのか。あんなでっかい市の観光案内所の案内が何でない？
• 英文住所にある”City”や”Town”は不要。でもShigaが必要。
• コロン（：）の後に必ず一個のスペースを入れる。Tel: Address: など。

表面（地図）

• ローマ字やスペルミスが多数。よくチェックしてください。
• 県内と県外の部分が両方緑色となっているため、県境が見にくい。旧版の地図の方が見やすい（県外が白い）。市町の境も非常に見にくい。
• 強調している近江八景はローマ字で英語になっていない。Karasaki no Yauの意味は分かる訳ない。分からないものを載せても意味がない。
• サイクリングロードも色付きで表示するとより使い物になる。（この他の指摘は上記。）

裏面（下の写真を参考）

多数言い回しが悪い英語がある。たとえば：

• “Hikone Castle”にある”350,000 koku”と言ってもkokuの説明が必要。”Hikone Castle is considered”もおかし。2007年の400年祭（開催中）のこともまだ載っている。
• Enryakujiに”registered as a world inheritance”はWorld Heritage Site。
•  Sightseeing Guidance of Shiga PrefectureとMajor Tourist Sightsの違いが分かりません。同じことですよ。

その他

• 旧版の地図と比べるとA4版は不便。例えばサイクリングしているとき。
• 地図には観光スポット、ホテルなどの紹介は大津に片寄っている。湖北の方が湖が奇麗のにあまり強調されていない。大津に関しては大津市観光協会の英文パンフで十分。
• 英文地図や外国語パンフは県内の全ての観光案内所へ配布するべき。大津駅の観光案内所だけに置くことは不公平と不便。
• 観光案内所に外国語でEnglish map availableのような標識も置くか外国語パンフレットを誰でも見えるところに置く。

Map of Shigaの裏面。クリックすると拡大できます。

上記のアドバイスは別に素晴らしいアイデアではなく、ごく当たり前の常識事項です。僕はなぜここまで気にしているというと、滋賀へ訪れる外国人の友人にこんな英文パンフレットを上げると恥ずかしいからです。滋賀ってしっかりしていない印象がする。悪いイメージに繋がる。例えば、変な日本語の観光パンフレットを日本人の友人に上げたいと思いますか？

The paper article in The Daily Yomiuri is more impressive than the online version. Click to enlarge.

A short article about Lake Biwa titled, Japan’s blue pearl / Views of Lake Biwa is in today’s The Daily Yomiuri English newspaper (Jan. 15, 2012 issue). It was written by Christal Whelan in her monthly column called KANSAI CULTURESCAPES. She is a cultural anthropologist (Ph.D) living in Kyoto.

She writes mainly about Biwa pearls which are ironically obscure now, but quite famous outside Shiga among pearl fans. During New Year’s, I met with Christal when she visited Nagahama and Chikubushima for the first time. She visited Shiga a few times to research this article and has seen many more places (such as Harie in Takashima) than she writes about. She told me that she enjoyed Shiga and would definitely come back and visit again.

Thanks to Christal and The Daily Yomiuri for the article.

Her article is online, but as of this writing, the five photos in the newspaper article are not included in the online article: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/culture/T120109001338.htm

Another Internet TV channel is called Konbanwa Shiga (Good Evening Shiga), a local TV news program broadcast in Shiga Prefecture by the Biwako Broadcasting Co. (BBC) on Thursdays from 8:55 pm to 9 pm. Also rebroadcast on Saturdays from 6:35 pm to 6:40 pm. The 5-min. program is in Portuguese hosted by a Brazilian who works at Shiga Prefecture’s International Affairs Office.

They also upload each edition to YouTube in multiple languages. They have a separate YouTube channel for each language besides Portuguese (click on the link to go to the respective channel): English, Tagalog, Chinese, and Spanish. I’ve embedded one of their vids below. It is about an American well integrated in Hino town working to preserve and improve the town’s traditional architecture and townscape.

The problem with both the shigakoho and Konbanwa Shiga channels is that they fail to provide a description of each video uploaded. So you don’t know what the video is about unless you start watching it. This makes it impossible for us to decide which video we would be interested in. But at least they are doing something to reach out to us. Even for a 5-min. program, translating and narrating all that in multiple languages is a major undertaking. Hope it continues.