Registered Tangible Cultural Properties of Shiga

A 1944 watch house of 39 square metres at Omi Jingu, made by closing one bay of the outer colonnade. Small gable-end eaves separate it from its twin across the gate.

The smallest registered building at Omi Jingu: an eight-square-metre raised-floor storehouse of 1940, roofed in cypress bark like the sanctuary it stands behind.

The 1940 hall at Omi Jingu in Otsu where food offerings are prepared, 53 square metres, with entrances north and south so the work can flow in one direction.

A nine-square-metre covered stair of 1944 at Omi Jingu in Otsu, gabled where it meets buildings and single-sloped over the steps between them. Registered in 1998.

The 1944 amulet office at Omi Jingu in Otsu, 39 square metres, attached to the tower gate. Square and round posts are used by position, with boat brackets above.

A 36-metre slatted fence of 1940 enclosing the innermost court at Omi Jingu in Otsu. Its diagonal braces are reinforced concrete and date from the original build.

A 36-metre slatted fence of 1940 at Omi Jingu in Otsu. From the fifth bay westward its small roof steps up one level to follow the fall of the sloping ground.

The south arm of the 1944 outer colonnade at Omi Jingu in Otsu. Once as long as the north arm, only three bays survive, yet the outer court still depends on them.

The full-length north arm of the 1944 outer colonnade at Omi Jingu in Otsu, 60 square metres. Round posts carry an open roof above a raised and railed veranda.

A five-bay roofed lattice fence of 1944 running to the north gate at Omi Jingu in Otsu. Square posts on a sill carry balance-arm brackets under a copper roof.

An eight-metre roofed lattice fence of 1944 at Omi Jingu. Its vermilion and white finish marks where the second building campaign meets the bare timber of the first.

The 1940 outer worship hall at Omi Jingu in Otsu, 157 square metres, where visitors pray. A stone stair is driven through its central bay beneath a curved gable.

The 1944 first torii at Omi Jingu in Otsu, 7.3 metres wide. A textbook myojin gate with curved upper members, inward-leaning round posts and a squared tie beam.

The 1940 second torii at Omi Jingu in Otsu, 6.4 metres wide, standing at the head of the approach steps. Visitors turn right here for the tower gate above.

The Ohmi Railway Echigawa Bridge, spanning the Echi River in Shiga Prefecture, is a 239-meter steel railway bridge built in 1898. Featuring a British-made pony Warren truss by Andrew Handyside & Company, this Registered Tangible Cultural Property has served as an active railroad crossing for over 125 years.

Discover the charming 1931 Western-style station building of Ohmi Railway Toriimoto in Hikone, Shiga — a Registered Tangible Cultural Property with a distinctive mansard roof, set along the historic Nakasendo post town.

The Omihachiman Youth Hostel in Shiga Prefecture is a nationally registered tangible cultural property originally built in 1909 as the Gamo-gun Industrial Promotion Hall. Featuring a distinctive cusped-gable entrance and grand interior staircase, this Meiji-era wooden public building offers guests the rare opportunity to stay overnight inside a cultural landmark.

The Oku-Ibuki Furusato Denshokan is an early Edo-period thatched-roof farmhouse in the remote mountain village of Kozuhara, Maibara City, Shiga Prefecture. As the sole building to survive four devastating fires that struck the village over a span of roughly thirty years during the late Edo period, it was registered as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2003. The museum preserves hemp textiles and folk artifacts, and its distinctive vertically planked kitchen floor—once used as a Noh performance stage—reflects Kozuhara's remarkable heritage as a village of the performing arts.

Discover Okkin Mukugawa Exchange Hall, a Meiji-era thatched-roof farmhouse registered as a Tangible Cultural Property in Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture. Explore its traditional irori hearth, tatami rooms, and the charming mountain village of Mukugawa near Lake Biwa.

Discover Kagi-rou, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Taga, Shiga Prefecture. This Edo-period ryokan founded in 1689 features exquisite sukiya-style architecture and stands as an iconic landmark of the Taga Taisha shrine town.