Location and Topography

Takashima City (area: 511km2, population: 55,000) is located in the northwestern part of Shiga Prefecture. The city faces Lake Biwa,the largest lake in Japan, to the east and the beautiful green mountains to the west.Sitting along the Hira Mountains stretching to the southwest,Takashima shares its border with Shiga Town, Otsu City and Kyoto Prefecture.
Mt. Aibano and the Nosaka Mountains stretching to the northwest also separate Takashima from Fukui Prefecture. Being located close to the Sea of Japan,we have severe winter with a lot of snow falls. In autumn, we often have scattered showers called “Takashima Shigure.”