Tour du lac

Tour du lac Tour du Lac Biwa offers small half and one-day tours exploring the beautiful environs of Lake Biwa-J
(5)

SPEND QUALITY TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS OR A SPECIAL PERSON AT THE TRANQUIL LAKESIDE WHICH IS A HIDDEN GEM AWAY FROM ALL THE MAIN TOURISTS HOT SPOTS OF JAPAN. On our tour, you can experience quality Japanese traditional life as well as cooking experience using plentiful fresh local vegetables and rice through heart warming communication with our kind and friendly local host families. We offer

programs where you can enjoy the beautiful scenes of Lake Biwa or terraced rice fields either by bicycles or by foot at your own pace. Other programs are offered where one can learn about traditional local culture and art. All the tours are either private or as part of a small group attended by a guide to ensure that quality of your tour. Discover and participate in the traditions of Shiga life in un-crowded, natural surroundings. It’s a great chance to see the real Japanese life amongst the beautiful countryside in Shiga. We believe that our tours offer a real heart to heart cross-cultural experience, which will remain as one of the highlights of your trip in Japan.

Four guests who joined our tour last weekend went barefoot into the rice paddies with the support of local farmers.Rice ...
02/06/2024

Four guests who joined our tour last weekend went barefoot into the rice paddies with the support of local farmers.
Rice planting is a big event for those participating in local terraced rice field ownership. The guests enjoyed the precious experience of rice planting by being able to participate in a local activity. We were also able to see rice planting using machinery by the lake where they enjoyed cycling in the afternoon. They enjoyed the wonderful contact with the local people!
They said they would like to participate in the fall rice harvesting as well!

A warm welcome to Japan from Seattle.  It is a great honor that these Soto Zen practitioners visited us and chose Mount ...
23/04/2024

A warm welcome to Japan from Seattle.
It is a great honor that these Soto Zen practitioners visited us and chose Mount Hiei Enryaku-ji, where the founder, Dogen Zenji, practiced, as their first destination.

Led by Dai Ajari, we walked along the sacred pathway, visited several vital monasteries, and received a powerful Kaji incantation from him.

In such a serene atmosphere, we prayed for their safe travel and peace in the world. 
May such time of prayer continue indefinitely.

Today we are very honored to have the opportunity to welcome the Ambassador and his wife of the Sovereign Order of Malta...
15/02/2024

Today we are very honored to have the opportunity to welcome the Ambassador and his wife of the Sovereign Order of Malta in Panama on our tour.

A Festival Day! The paddy field owners, their families, and local university students gathered to create a lively atmosp...
30/10/2023

A Festival Day!
The paddy field owners, their families, and local university students gathered to create a lively atmosphere.
We savored fire-roasted sweet potatoes, boiled chestnuts, and a unique local delicacy known as 'natto mochi.' Natto mochi is a specialty of Ogi village, salted natto (fermented soybeans) wrapped in mochi. It's a unique flavor, and some owners had never tried it (most loved it!).
We offer a mochi-making experience as part of our tour. We hope you give it a try!

Time for harvesting! Autumn of abundance came to the community rice paddy project. The summer was sweltering, and we wer...
26/10/2023

Time for harvesting!

Autumn of abundance came to the community rice paddy project.
The summer was sweltering, and we were concerned about the harvest, but fortunately, it wasn’t as bad as expected.
Here, from planting to harvesting, we followed traditional methods, meaning almost everything was done by hand.
Adults and children worked together in the fields, feeling the joy of receiving the blessings of nature.

This project is led by the Shiga prefectural government and local farmers to prevent the drift from farming, the decline in rice prices, and the challenges of maintaining these terraced fields.
Those interested in agriculture contribute a small amount of funds to become owners of the rice paddies and collaborate on growing rice.
Tour du lac also supports this initiative as a local community member.

On a beautiful sunny day in late summer, a lovely family from Germany joined our tea farm visit tour. They are regular J...
05/09/2023

On a beautiful sunny day in late summer, a lovely family from Germany joined our tea farm visit tour.
They are regular Japanese tea drinkers in Germany, and enjoyed the freshly brewed taste of sencha green tea and hojicha roasted tea together with our local host.

This year, we are again participating in activities to preserve the terraced rice paddies in our community.We are workin...
03/08/2023

This year, we are again participating in activities to preserve the terraced rice paddies in our community.
We are working in collaboration with a group of young local farmers.
Each of them has their own rice paddies, but they also collectively manage uncultivated rice paddies in the area with the aim of nurturing future successors to local farmers, conserving farmland, and revitalizing the community.
In Japan, rice prices have dropped dramatically compared to the past, making it highly challenging to make a living as a farmer.
As a result, local farmers and agricultural cooperatives are working together to highlight the natural and cultural appeal of farming and mountain villages to create attractive regions.
Tour du lac hopes to cooperate with such local conservation activities besides offering the tours.

We have run without a break since the spring peak season, and this tour was a culmination of our work before the next bi...
16/07/2023

We have run without a break since the spring peak season, and this tour was a culmination of our work before the next big season, autumn.
In the deep mountainside village of Mukugawa, our 29 guests from the US visited a tiny shrine which is the guardian of the local mountain, had a lovely walk through the beautiful lush greenery, explored inside the magnificent thatched roof building, and enjoyed the warmth of the handiwork & a casual tea ceremony experience.
Thank you for bringing as many guests as villagers to this quiet village, Mandy!

Another year of the local community's terraced rice field conservation project has come to a successful conclusion.In th...
23/10/2022

Another year of the local community's terraced rice field conservation project has come to a successful conclusion.
In this project, volunteers from local farmers work as leaders and invite people interested in agriculture from neighboring communities to join them in growing rice together.
Rice is the staple food of the Japanese people and essential for our daily life, but nowadays many children (and adults) do not know how it is grown. Many people had a sense of crisis, but the pandemic has risen a renewed interest in activities that bring people back to nature, and this year again the rice field gathered a lot of people.
Working in the mud is really hard work, but I think it is a wonderful opportunity for working out and producing delicious and safe food with our own hands.
This year we were blessed with good weather, and it seems that many of the rice fields produced a good crop. I hope that this peaceful scene will continue forever.

Finally, Japan reopens.Welcome to Shiga, Japan! We were blessed with the  beautiful sun shine and spent a wonderful time...
17/10/2022

Finally, Japan reopens.
Welcome to Shiga, Japan! We were blessed with the beautiful sun shine and spent a wonderful time with a nice couple from the States. Thank you so much for choosing us!

Autumn, the season of harvest,  has come. Our field needs a little more time to be harvested but so close to having fres...
04/09/2022

Autumn, the season of harvest, has come. Our field needs a little more time to be harvested but so close to having fresh delicious rice.

How long we have been waiting for this day...For the first time in two years, we welcomed guests from Germany.As we enjo...
17/07/2022

How long we have been waiting for this day...
For the first time in two years, we welcomed guests from Germany.

As we enjoyed rice cake pounding and home cooking with our guests, we realized once again that this kind of cultural experience is very important to deepen mutual understanding.
I can't wait to get back to normal and share smiles with our guests from all over the world.

On Sunday, we planted rice in the terraced rice paddies of which we are now part owners. In Japan, the number of abandon...
23/05/2022

On Sunday, we planted rice in the terraced rice paddies of which we are now part owners.
In Japan, the number of abandoned rice paddies is increasing due to the aging of the population and the falling price of rice, and various measures are being taken to overcome this issue. Rice field owner system is one of them. People who are interested in rice farming and rice field conservation gather together, pay a certain amount of money, and work on planting and harvesting rice in their allotted areas, receiving the harvested rice at the end of the year.
We heard it is getting popular probably because more people are interested in nature and agriculture just like the other outdoor activities.
Local farmers take care of the rice paddies, so even laymen can participate without worry. Touching the soil naturally improves one's health, and there is the delight of eating delicious rice in the fall. If anyone is interested, please join us!

It will take a little more time before opening the gate for tourist from overseas, so in this fiscal year, we have devel...
16/03/2022

It will take a little more time before opening the gate for tourist from overseas, so in this fiscal year, we have developed and refined our tours, and did an intensive guide training.

Here we would like to share some of those tours.
The first is “Walk the sacred Gyoja pathway with Dai Ajari (high monk)”. This tour was by far the most difficult of all the tours we offer and was certainly a big challenge.
Together with our highly motivated interpreters, we worked hard to provide what people need in this chaotic day and age, and sought about how to explain the history of Buddhism and the circuit training, Dai Ajari’s ascetic practices in an interesting way within a limited time, and how to make the safe and attractive Mt. Hiei (UNESCO) walking routes.
We tried several different routes and schedule with the young and friendly Dai Ajari Mitsunaga who was pleasantly cooperated with us.
We are getting ready to welcome you as soon as the travel ban is lifted.

"Rice Terraces Owner System" is a way to preserve the beautiful terraced rice fields in Shiga Prefecture and to help peo...
08/10/2021

"Rice Terraces Owner System" is a way to preserve the beautiful terraced rice fields in Shiga Prefecture and to help people understand the rigors and joys of rice farming. Hachioji-gumi, a group of professional farmers in Ogi village, is working to protect the rice cultivation that has continued for more than 1,200 years and to pass on the beautiful terraced rice fields to the next generation. We have been actively taking part in this activity since last year.
Exhausted from working in the summer heat, one of the farmers encouraged us saying, "To grow delicious rice, you have to let the rice hear your footsteps. It is important to go to the rice paddies every day and watch the rice plants closely”.

Glaring summer sun, gnats, mosquitoes, vipers, wild boars and deer were part of our rice farming struggles. We had to make sure to keep waterways clear, mowing the grass and weeding in the muddy fields.
Yet finally, we harvested the rice and completed hazakage (hanging the harvested rice on poles for drying) in September. The only thing left for us to do is to thresh the rice. We wonder what the second year's Tour du lac rice will taste like. We are very much looking forward to having our first bowl of steamed rice.

Rice planting of two rice paddies at Ogi village, where we host Mochi making tour, was completed last Sunday. Fortunatel...
26/05/2021

Rice planting of two rice paddies at Ogi village, where we host Mochi making tour, was completed last Sunday. Fortunately, we were blessed with the beautiful sunshine amid rainy season and the terraced rice paddies were bustling with the owners.
Surrounded by greenery and in contact with the soil, we breathed in the spirit of nature. Balancing ourselves to keep our feet in the mud, we feel that we naturally got in shape both physically and mentally.
The stories we hear from the locals in between the work are very interesting and provide us with valuable learning opportunities. We can’t wait to share them with you…

住所

和邇高城385/4
Otsu-shi, Shiga
520-0528

営業時間

月曜日 09:00 - 17:00
火曜日 09:00 - 17:00
水曜日 09:00 - 17:00
木曜日 09:00 - 17:00
金曜日 09:00 - 17:00
土曜日 09:00 - 17:00

ウェブサイト

アラート

Tour du lacがニュースとプロモを投稿した時に最初に知って当社にメールを送信する最初の人になりましょう。あなたのメールアドレスはその他の目的には使用されず、いつでもサブスクリプションを解除することができます。

事業に問い合わせをする

Tour du lacにメッセージを送信:

共有する

カテゴリー

Slow life, slow food, leisurely tours alongside the tranquil shores of Lake Biwa

SPEND QUALITY TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS OR A SPECIAL PERSON AT THE TRANQUIL LAKESIDE WHICH IS A HIDDEN GEM AWAY FROM ALL THE MAIN TOURISTS HOT SPOTS OF JAPAN. On our tour, you can experience quality Japanese traditional life as well as cooking experience using plentiful fresh local vegetables and rice through heart warming communication with our kind and friendly local host families. We offer programs where you can enjoy the beautiful scenes of Lake Biwa or terraced rice fields either by bicycles or by foot at your own pace. Other programs are offered where one can learn about traditional local culture and art. All the tours are either private or as part of a small group attended by a guide to ensure that quality of your tour. Discover and participate in the traditions of Shiga life in un-crowded, natural surroundings. It’s a great chance to see the real Japanese life amongst the beautiful countryside in Shiga. We believe that our tours offer a real heart to heart cross-cultural experience, which will remain as one of the highlights of your trip in Japan.


旅行サービスのその他Otsu-shi

すべて表示