{"id":592937,"date":"2025-05-18T16:00:45","date_gmt":"2025-05-18T16:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/tour\/592937\/"},"modified":"2025-05-18T16:00:45","modified_gmt":"2025-05-18T16:00:45","slug":"kyotos-hidden-gems-%f0%9f%87%af%f0%9f%87%b5-lake-biwa-otsu-shiga-day-trip-from-kyoto-vlog-japan-travel-guide-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/tour\/592937\/","title":{"rendered":"Kyoto&#8217;s Hidden Gems \ud83c\uddef\ud83c\uddf5 Lake Biwa, Otsu &#038; Shiga | Day Trip from Kyoto Vlog (Japan Travel Guide 2025)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title = \"Kyoto&#039;s Hidden Gems \ud83c\uddef\ud83c\uddf5 Lake Biwa, Otsu &amp; Shiga | Day Trip from Kyoto Vlog (Japan Travel Guide 2025)\"   width=\"580\" height=\"385\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/W8706ynlCZ0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<br \/>\nKyoto&#8217;s Hidden Gems \ud83c\uddef\ud83c\uddf5 Lake Biwa, Otsu &#038; Shiga | Day Trip from Kyoto Vlog (Japan Travel Guide 2025)<\/p>\n<p>An underrated, hidden gem just 9 minutes away from Kyoto! Step off the beaten path as we explore this charming city along Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture.<\/p>\n<p>Once upon a time, the port city of Otsu was a popular tourist destination for travelers during the Edo period. As the last stop on the ancient Old Tokaido Road (connecting Tokyo to Kyoto), many Japanese travelers would stop here to refresh themselves along the sacred shores of Lake Biwa. Today, this sleepy town is often overlooked thanks to its close proximity to Kyoto. <\/p>\n<p>Join us as we explore Otsu, one of Shiga Japan\u2019s best-kept secrets. Preserving its old Japan charm, this underrated Kyoto destination features ancient temples, scenic lake views and local eats that most tourists miss. <\/p>\n<p>Whether you&#8217;re planning your next Japan travel adventure or just love exploring new places to visit, this Kyoto hidden gem should be on your list!<\/p>\n<p>#kyotovlog  #lakebiwa #japanlife <\/p>\n<p>Thank you to Hotel Koo for sponsoring our stay!<br \/>\nBook your stay at Hotel Koo here: https:\/\/hotel-koo.com\/en\/<\/p>\n<p>Follow us on Instagram \ud83d\udc4b<br \/>\nRalph \u2014 https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ralphmendo<br \/>\nSam \u2014 https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/sampotenciano<\/p>\n<p>Looking for an eSIM?<br \/>\nDownload Airalo today and use our personal codes SAM8917 and RALPH8761 for $3 off your first eSIM:<br \/>\nhttps:\/\/www.airalo.com\/?code=SAM8917<br \/>\nhttps:\/\/www.airalo.com\/?code=RALPH8761<\/p>\n<p>Music: \ud83c\udfb7<br \/>\nMark Generous &#8211; A Large Yellow Crane &#8211; https:\/\/thmatc.co\/?l=B3C04D47<br \/>\nMark Generous &#8211; Blue Jeans &#8211; https:\/\/thmatc.co\/?l=3B9C84D6<\/p>\n<p>Chapters:<br \/>\n00:00 Introduction<br \/>\n00:22 Kyoto to Otsu<br \/>\n01:27 Otsu City<br \/>\n02:19 Best Hotel in Otsu<br \/>\n06:06 Best Omi Beef<br \/>\n10:35 Morning in Otsu<br \/>\n13:01 Japanese Breakfast<br \/>\n14:21 History of Otsu Japan<br \/>\n16:19 Otsu Mochi Shop<br \/>\n17:32 160 Year Old Tea Shop<br \/>\n20:26 Lake Biwa Pearl Jewelry<br \/>\n21:37 Traditional Japanese Lunch<br \/>\n23:40 Old School Photo Shop and Snacks<br \/>\n24:45 Otsu Shotengai Walk<br \/>\n25:17 Imperial Family Pickle Shop<br \/>\n26:46 Nagara Shrine<br \/>\n27:40 Rabbit Shrine<br \/>\n28:18 Mii-dera Shrine<br \/>\n29:05 Exploring Otsu<br \/>\n29:50 Siiji Izakaya<br \/>\n31:30 Lake Biwa at Night<br \/>\n32:57 Japanese Machiya Breakfast<br \/>\n35:52 Otsu Morning Walk<br \/>\n36:23 Dry River Bakery<br \/>\n38:51 James Western Clothing<br \/>\n40:22 Cafe<br \/>\n41:03 Curry Shop<br \/>\n42:14 Lake Biwa<br \/>\n43:13 Marlet Cafe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kyoto&#8217;s Hidden Gems \ud83c\uddef\ud83c\uddf5 Lake Biwa, Otsu &#038; Shiga | Day Trip from Kyoto Vlog (Japan Travel Guide 2025)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":592938,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[348330,348336,3188,345927,333469,348324,319338,47920,47933,341546,231802,42573,348325,348326,348335,348327,28792,348328,46580,348331,348334,97831,348329,348333,158178,348332,144946,144520,144521],"class_list":{"0":"post-592937","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kinki-region","8":"tag-day-trips-from-kyoto","9":"tag-hidden-gems-kyoto","10":"tag-japan-travel-vlog","11":"tag-japan-travel-vlog-2025","12":"tag-japan-vlog-2025","13":"tag-kyoto-2025","14":"tag-kyoto-day-trip","15":"tag-kyoto-food","16":"tag-kyoto-food-guide","17":"tag-kyoto-hidden-gems","18":"tag-kyoto-itinerary","19":"tag-kyoto-japan","20":"tag-kyoto-japan-travel-vlog","21":"tag-kyoto-travel-guide-2025","22":"tag-kyoto-travel-vlog","23":"tag-kyoto-travel-vlog-2025","24":"tag-kyoto-vlog","25":"tag-kyoto-vlog-2025","26":"tag-lake-biwa","27":"tag-lake-biwa-day-trip","28":"tag-lake-biwa-japan","29":"tag-otsu","30":"tag-ralph-and-sam-japan","31":"tag-shiga-japan","32":"tag-shiga-prefecture","33":"tag-shiga-prefecture-japan","34":"tag-144946","35":"tag-144520","36":"tag-144521"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/tour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/tour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/tour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/tour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/tour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=592937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/tour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/tour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/592938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/tour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=592937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/tour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=592937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/tour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=592937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}