Higashiōmi: Culture and Walking Tours in Yokaichi

Yokaichi brings together the history of 江州音頭, a kite museum, and walking tours with a range of themes. For a trip to Higashiōmi, this offers a choice of cultural highlights: the history of music and dance, kites, or historical sites. If you’re looking for a hotel in Higashiōmi, these offerings can help you decide in advance which topics you’d like to explore during your stay.

江州音頭: Origins and a Summer Tradition

About 150 years ago, 西沢寅吉, the first 桜川大龍 from 八日市 (Yokaichi), created 江州音頭. He incorporated elements of 念仏踊り and 歌念仏. 八日市 is the birthplace of this tradition; today, 江州音頭 is celebrated nationwide as a summer tradition. This brings two perspectives together: its origins in Yokaichi and its spread beyond the town today.

The 聖徳まつり also features 江州音頭. A group dance with a total of 800 participants is part of the festival. The 聖徳まつり takes place in front of 八日市 Station. If you’re interested in the history of dance, this is where the tradition’s origins meet a concrete example of communal dancing.

Kites from the Region and Around the World

The 世界凧博物館東近江大凧会館 is located in the Yokaichi area. It displays a 東近江大凧 measuring 100 tatami mats, as well as Japanese regional and traditional kites and colorful kites from around the world. The collection thus offers two distinct perspectives: an especially large kite with local ties and an international selection. Alongside the regional and traditional variety of Japanese kites, this makes for a cultural focus quite different from the history of music and dance associated with 江州音頭.

Two Walking Tours with Different Themes

The 八日市まち歩きコース includes 招福楼, 御代参街道, 旧住井歯科医院, 市神神社, 大凧会館, 布引焼窯元, and 駅前グリーンロード. The meeting point is 八日市 Station on the 近江鉄道. Allow about 2 to 2.5 hours for the tour; the guide can adjust the duration. This approximate timeframe is a guide for planning your day, but should not be taken as a fixed duration.

The 市街地に残る戦争遺跡を巡るコース has a different focus. Its stops include 飛行場線軌道跡, 陸軍八日市飛行場跡, and 掩体壕. You can choose between a walking tour with several named stops and a course focused on wartime relics in the city. The two offerings have different emphases and are not the same kind of tour.

Planning Your Stay

The 東近江市八日市駅前観光交流施設, a visitor information center, is located near 八日市 Station on the 近江鉄道. As operating details may change, it’s advisable to check them before visiting. The station is also the meeting point for the 八日市まち歩きコース. When planning your trip, you can take the approximate duration of this tour into account and include a visit to the kite exhibition or the 江州音頭-related topics as other cultural highlights.

When looking for hotels in Higashiōmi, you can use the range of activities to help make your choice: Would you rather explore the history and continued practice of 江州音頭, discover the kite exhibition, or plan one of the two walking tours? The offerings differ in theme and timing. This lets you shape your stay around the cultural interests that matter most for your trip.

Discover more destinations: Takashima, Kōka, Hikone, Moriyama, Kusatsu, Ōmihachiman, Ritto, Ōtsu.

See the main travel guide: Shiga Prefecture.