A National Treasure and a Beloved Local Character

A well-preserved castle, Hikone Castle is often praised for its beauty—especially for how it seems to float in the moonlight. The castle's mascot is a samurai helmet-wearing cat named "Hikonyan" that is popular not just in Hikone, but all over Japan. There are usually a great number of visitors to the castle and surrounding castle-town. You can take a ride around the castle's moat in a pleasure boat. In the spring, the fallen cherry blossoms fill the moat and it makes for quite a beautiful scene.