Hachiman-bori Canal

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About Hachiman-bori Canal

Hachiman-bori was opened in 1585, when Toyotomi Hidetsugu, nephew of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, built a castle on Mount Hachiman and planned the town at its base. The roughly 6 km canal linked Lake Biwa to the town center and served as both moat and port: boats arrived with goods and left for the lake, and the town became a commercial hub.

Along the canal, white-walled storehouses, dark roofs and stone walls descend to the water, with stairs for boats. Willows and cherry trees line the banks, and rowing-boat tours run along the best-known stretch. In the 1970s the canal had been neglected and was cleaned and restored by local residents in a movement that became nationally known.

Next to it is the Omi merchants’ quarter on Shinmachi and Nagahara streets, a preservation area of traditional buildings with wooden houses, slatted fences and pines on top of the walls. Some houses open as museums, displaying the lifestyle and businesses of merchant families. Buildings by William Merrell Vories, an American architect who lived in the town in the early 20th century, also appear in the center.

At the canal’s end, Himure Hachimangu shrine, traditionally founded in the 2nd century, has a large torii and wooden halls, and hosts the Sagicho fire festival in March. The ropeway for Mount Hachiman departs just behind the shrine.