Chikubushima: A Quiet Day on an Island in Lake Biwa

This guide covers how to reach Chikubushima, the landing, the shrine, the temple and the way back.

Chikubushima is worth the boat ride for the main hall of Tsukubusuma Shrine, a National Treasure relocated from Fushimi Momoyama castle. The sections below follow the day in order, from the morning port to the way back.

Getting to Chikubushima from Nagahama

Chikubushima is an island made entirely of granite. The next step is choosing a boat port, and the table below sets out the options from each starting point.

From Nagahama Station, the walk to Nagahama Port is short. From Maibara Station, a taxi runs to Nagahama Port. From Nagahama Port, the Biwako Kisen boat crosses to Chikubushima. From Omi-Imazu Station, the walk to Imazu Port is short. From Imazu Port, another boat route crosses to Chikubushima.

From	Line and operator	Change	Time or fare
Nagahama Station to Nagahama Port	On foot	—	about 10 minutes
Maibara Station to Nagahama Port	Taxi	—	about 15 minutes
Nagahama Port to Chikubushima port	Biwako Kisen boat	No change	35 minutes
Nagahama Port to Chikubushima port, round trip, adult fare (junior high school students and over)	Biwako Kisen boat	—	3,800 yen
Nagahama Port to Chikubushima port, round trip, fare for elementary school students	Biwako Kisen boat	—	1,900 yen
Omi-Imazu Station to Imazu Port	On foot	—	about 5 minutes
Imazu Port to Chikubushima port	Biwako Kisen boat	No change	25 minutes
Imazu Port to Chikubushima port, round trip, adult fare (junior high school students and over)	Biwako Kisen boat	—	3,400 yen

Morning: Nagahama Port and the Boat

The Nagahama Castle Museum exhibits materials on the history of Hideyoshi, Nagahama and Kohoku. Keiun-kan has a strolling pond garden. The morning sailing and the walks from the port are in the table below.

Item	Detail
Nagahama Port to Keiun-kan, on foot	about 7 minutes
Nagahama Port to Nagahama Railway Square, on foot	about 7 minutes
Nagahama Port to the Nagahama Castle Museum, on foot	about 10 minutes
Morning sailing, regular period, Nagahama route	Departs Nagahama Port at 8:50, arrives at Chikubushima at 9:25, with 90 minutes on the island

From Nagahama Port, the Biwako Kisen boat carries the day on to Chikubushima.

Late Morning: Landing and Tsukubusuma Shrine

The Ryujin worship place of Tsukubusuma Shrine juts out into Lake Biwa. Kawarake throwing can be done from the worship hall of the shrine. Visitors write a wish on a kawarake clay dish and throw it toward the Miyazaki torii gate that juts out over the lake surface.

Item	Detail
Island entry fee, paid in cash	600 yen for adults and 300 yen for children
Chikubushima port to the Tsukubusuma Shrine main hall, on foot	about 7 minutes
Chikubushima port to the Ryujin worship place, on foot	about 7 minutes

From the shrine, the day continues at Hogonji, whose main hall is a walk from the port.

Midday: Hogonji Temple and the Treasure Hall

The Karamon and the Kannon-do have carvings and vivid patterns in the Momoyama style. The Karamon and the Kannon-do are connected, with the gate serving like an entrance hall that leads straight into the Kannon-do. The Karamon is covered in black lacquer over the whole building, with gold-plated metal fittings scattered across it and cypress-bark roofing.

The pillars and long horizontal beams of the pagoda are decorated with cloud-pattern coloring and peony arabesque patterns. The pagoda interior decorations are painted with mineral pigments dissolved in animal-glue water. Inside the pagoda, heavenly deities are painted on the pillars and Shingon patriarchs are arranged on the walls.

In the main hall, seated statues of Uga Benzaiten can be seen on the left and right. The wall paintings in the inner sanctuary are by Arai Kanpo.

Item	Detail
Treasure hall admission	300 yen for adults and 250 yen for children
Chikubushima port to the Karamon and the Kannon-do, on foot	about 5 minutes
Chikubushima port to the Hogonji main hall, on foot	about 10 minutes
Chikubushima port to the Hogonji treasure hall, on foot	about 10 minutes

From the main hall, the stone stairway leads back down to the boat landing.

Afternoon: The Stairway of Prayer and the Shore

The stairway called the Stairway of Prayer climbs to the main hall of Hogonji, and on sunny days sunlight filters through the trees along it. The island is made entirely of granite and is surrounded by sharply rising rock. Just after leaving the pier, souvenir shops stand along the approach road to the visitor reception.

Item	Detail
Chikubushima port to the Stairway of Prayer, on foot	3 minutes
Chikubushima port to the souvenir shops on the approach road, on foot	about 1 minute

The walk back down to the landing is the next step before boarding the boat.

Heading Back: Deciding When to Leave

The visiting hours at Hogonji follow the sightseeing boat schedule. The table below gives the times to plan around before choosing a boat back.

Item	Detail
Hogonji visiting and sutra-copy offering hours	9:30 to 16:30, based on the sightseeing boat operating hours
Imazu route, fifth sailing, regular period	Departs Imazu Port at 14:20, arrives at Chikubushima at 14:45, with 70 minutes on the island, leaves Chikubushima at 15:55 and arrives at Imazu Port at 16:25

If you would rather have part of the day arranged for you, look at Chikubushima tours on GetYourGuide.