Shiga: 3 Places to Eat Fish from Lake Biwa, Local Cuisine & Fresh Seafood
Shiga Prefecture is home to Japan’s largest lake, Lake Biwa.
As well as local cuisine that uses fish from the lake, you can also eat fresh seafood in this area, which used to be known as Mackerel Highway, in reference to the seafood that was carried from the Sea of Japan to Kyoto.
There are many stores that sell delicious fish, but here we introduce you to three carefully selected restaurants in Shiga Prefecture where you can eat local cuisine and fresh seafood☆
Hisago Sushi in Omihachiman City
Omihachiman City has many historically famous places. At this restaurant, which is about a 10-minute walk from JR Omihachiman Station, you can enjoy local Shiga cuisine and fresh fish from Lake Biwa as sushi and in traditional “kappo” cooking.
After a renovation in May 2019, this store is more ready than ever to entertain customers.
The menu is full of unique Shiga specialties that are hard to find anywhere else. It includes the original dish of sushi of Biwa Trout, a fish that can only be found in Lake Biwa.
If you are interested in rare delicacies, please try the carp sushi and “narezushi.”
There is a children’s menu, too, so families can enjoy dining out together. There are also some cute desserts.
Although the atmosphere is elegant and luxurious, the prices are reasonable. This is the perfect place when you want to be a little extravagant, either as a family outing or as a date.
The dining experiences that you can only have here will surely stay with you as a memory of your trip.
| Store name | Hisago Sushi |
| Phone | +81-748-33-1234 |
| Address | 213-3 Sakuramiya-cho, Omihachiman City, Shiga Prefecture |
| Map | |
| Business hours | Monday – Friday 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. Sunday 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. |
| Closed | Tuesday, other irregular days |
| Payment | Credit card OK |
Shiseian & Koshu In Otsu City
This restaurant is close to Ishiyamadera Temple in Otsu City, which neighbors Kyoto. The temple has many important cultural properties and national treasures.
At this store you can buy souvenirs of the bounty of Lake Biwa, such as Shiga’s local specialty, carp sushi, and fish from the lake that has been preserved in soy sauce (known as “tsukudani”).
There are many fans of the carp sushi that is made here, many people come from far away to buy it, and many even have it sent to them. You can find comfort in the handmade, additive-free foods made at this store.
Since many people don’t like the smell of carp sushi, it has been made into cookies that remove the dish’s unique scent but maintain its flavor. They are perfect as souvenirs.
At sister store Koshu, as well as purchasing souvenirs, you can try some special meals.
The store’s main product is “shijimi-meshi,” which is rice cooked with precious shijimi clams from Lake Biwa. A red miso soup that includes the clams is also popular.
Although the store is well known and has been featured on television and in other media, its atmosphere is one in which you can relax.
| Store name | Shiseian |
| Address | 3-30-19 Ishiyamadera, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture |
| Map | |
| Phone | +81-77-534-9191 |
| Business hours | 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. |
| Closed | Open daily |
| Payment | Cash only |
Momijiya in Nagahama City
One of Nagahama City’s famous products, “Noppei udon”.
This local cuisine is a mix of Osaka’s “ankake udon” and Kyoto’s “shippoku udon” and has a long history.
The traditional flavor of Nagahama is being upheld here even now, with these carefully made udon noodles in a thick, lightly flavored soup, and this store’s characteristic touch of a large shiitake mushroom.
Perhaps due to the thickness of the soup, your body will be nicely warmed by eating this dish.
Here you can also eat the rare Biwa Trout that exists only in Lake Biwa. It is delicious Biwa Trout that has been selected by an expert with many years of experience.
It looks like salmon, but has less fat than salmon, so tastes lighter. We ate it extravagantly – together with the roe!
Here you can fully savor food only available in Nagahama. The atmosphere of the store – a renovated old Japanese house – is lovely too☆
| Store name | Momijiya |
| Phone | +81-749-62-0232 |
| Address | 7-15 Motohama-cho, Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture |
| Map | |
| Business hours | 10:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. |
| Closed | Tuesday |
| Payment | Cash only |
Shiga Prefecture is gaining attention from within Japan and abroad as an uncrowded tourist site, unlike Osaka and Kyoto, where you can leisurely enjoy the essence of Japan.
If you make the effort to visit, you want to eat not just seafood, but the unique cuisine of Shiga, too, right?
Let the beautiful natural surroundings and delicious food sooth you.
※The information on this page is as of February 2020.
