Warriors & Blacksmiths: Tracing Samurai Legends around Lake Biwa

This tour is ideal for travelers interested in samurai history and premodern Japan, without needing prior knowledge. It suits those seeking context beyond famous castles and major cities, and who enjoy landscape-based storytelling with walking and hands-on experiences. The experience is especially rewarding for guests curious about how warfare, craft, belief, and village life were historically interconnected.

Located in the northern reaches of Lake Biwa, the Kohoku region has long stood at the crossroads of eastern and western Japan. Its strategic location made it an important route for travel, trade, and military campaigns, and many of the events that shaped Japan during the Sengoku period unfolded in and around this landscape.

Today, traces of that history remain woven into everyday life. Traditional crafts, local faith, rural communities, and historic sites continue to reflect a region where the legacy of the past remains closely connected to the present.

After meeting at JR Maibara Station, travel by car to the Shizugatake area. When operating conditions allow, you ride the ropeway and walk across the historic battlefield where Hideyoshi secured a decisive victory, regarded as a major turning point in his rise during the Sengoku period.

From the summit, sweeping views of Lake Biwa reveal how terrain, water routes, and geography influenced warfare and political control.

When the ropeway is not operating, or in cases of poor weather, the route is adjusted to include a visit to the Nagahama Castle Historical Museum along the lakeshore. This alternative provides historical context connected to Hideyoshi and the same regional power struggles.

The journey continues to a village where faith and daily life have endured for over a thousand years.

Walking through the settlement offers insight into how belief and community life persisted even through repeated periods of warfare. This is a living village, not an open-air museum, where religious traditions remain part of everyday life.

Lunch is taken in Kinomoto, a historic brewing town known for its long-standing fermentation culture and home to some of Japan’s oldest sake breweries still in operation today, which you may encounter during the walk.

Together with your guide, you choose a local restaurant on the day, focusing on the town’s everyday food culture. Lunch cost is not included.

In the afternoon, visit Kajiya, a secluded blacksmith village once known for producing spears used in medieval warfare.

Today, local residents work together to preserve the memory and techniques of this craft. Guided step by step, you forge a small paper knife from a single nail—experiencing the materials, tools, and working rhythm that once supported samurai armies.

The tour concludes with return travel to JR Maibara Station.

• Available throughout the year
• Start time: 9:00 am
• Shizugatake Ropeway operates from late April to November
• Standard Meeting & Ending point: JR Maibara Station
• Recommended age: 13 and up (due to fire and metalwork tools)

• Local transfers are by the guide’s vehicle
• Mt. Shizugatake access involves a chairlift and short uphill walking; Nagahama Castle Historical Museum is visited instead if needed
• Total walking distance is approximately 2–3 km, with regular breaks
• Comfortable walking shoes required
• Route may be adjusted for weather and safety

• The tour operates rain or shine
• Guests are advised to arrange full travel insurance independently