Once a vital link in the trade routes connecting Kyoto with the Hokuriku region (central coast of the sea of Japan), Takashima has long been a popular stop for travelers. During its heyday as an Edo Period post town, merchants passing through on business would frequent its lakeside Hatago inns. Today, it is largely known for its pure and delicious mountain meltwater, which underpins its thriving farming and sake brewing communities – as well as for its natural lakeside beauty, rustic tranquility, and historic traditional Funa-zushi cuisine.

The Harie district of Takashima is a quiet village environment where beautiful water and traditional Japanese scenery abound. It is also a designated Japan Heritage site as "Lake Biwa and its Waterside Landscape - A Water Heritage of Prayer and Living."

Founded in Harie in 1865, Kawashima has been producing sake using the traditional kanzukuri method for over a century and a half, brewing only in the winter using the abundant groundwater from the Hiras and high quality locally grown sake rice. Its brewing is based in harmony with and appreciation for the rhythms of nature, producing smooth sake with rich flavor. Its signature brand “Matsu-no-hana” was named after an old pine tree that was cut down at the time of the brewery's founding, which has become an enduring local community symbol of sake brewing.

Company president Tatsuro Kawashima devotes himself to brewing true deliciousness with the health of his drinkers in mind. He also places great value on preserving the local culture and the connections between people fostered by tours and tastings. In recent years he has also branched out into whisky distilling. His Biwako Distillery whisky has attracted attention internationally.

This exclusive Wabunka plan offers a private tour of Kawashima’s sake brewing process, where you'll get to look around the brewhouse with Mr. Kawashima's commentary on its methods, equipment, and the history and culture of sake. Kawashima’s sake is brewed under the supervision of the traditional Noto Toji brewing guild. The refined senses of the guild brewers yield unparalleled instinct-level insights from the temperature and aroma of the tank, catching in their sight every complex and subtle change in the fermentation process. Kawashima Sake Brewery is the only place to witness this masterful ability up-close.

When the tour is complete, the tasting experience takes place in a Japanese traditional room in the renovated old Kawashima brewhouse. Sample three types of kanzukuri sake from Kawashima Sake Brewery, paired with Shiga specialty drinking snacks made of tofu and ayu sweetfish. Enjoy a lineup of Toju, which won the gold medal at the 2007 National New Sake Tasting Competition, “Matsu-no-hana Josen”, a popular brew dating back to the brewery's founding, and “Samukura Tezukuri Junmai Shu”, a handmade junmai sake.

“Toju” is a ginjo type, high quality sake brewed with rice polished down to half off the original mass of the grain and low-temperature long fermentation for a light, fruity aroma. “Matsu-no-hana” is a futsu-shu (table sake), brewed simply with distilled alcohol added to increase the yield. “Samukura Tezukuri Junmai Shu” is a handmade junmai brewed with nothing but rice, rice koji mold, and water – for a clear and neutral flavor that pairs with rich cuisine.

As an additional option, delight in a special paired lunch provided by "Kawashin," a long-established local ryotei restaurant that has served the community for over 140 years. Enjoy the exquisite pairing of delicious local spirits with Lake Biwa country cuisine craft from an assortment of seasonal vegetables and lake fish from this water-rich region.

Before the modern renovations that rebirthed it as the elegant private Japanese villa it is today, the structure of Usagiya began its life as one of the Hatago inns that served travelers passing through the town during its bustling days as a post town. Today, it is a luxury private vacation villa designed for more privacy, freedom, and independence than the more traditional ryokan-style stay. Usagiya is a place where guests can truly enjoy Takashima as if they had a second home here.

Designed from the ground up for the perfect blend of modern luxury and rustic getaway, the only amenity Usagiya doesn’t offer is distraction. There is no television on the property, but there are stunning views of Lake Biwa, Chikubu Island, and Mount Ibuki from its traditional tatami room, western-style bedroom, living and dining room, full kitchen, wooden deck, and two luxurious baths (which can be opened to the lakeside air).

Unplug from the demands of the world and let the sloshing sounds of waves and the calls of wild waterfowl soothe you. If you don’t want to leave your tech pleasures behind completely, you’re covered with Wi-Fi throughout the property and Bluetooth Bose speakers in the living room.

Because Usagiya is a fully private, Japanese lakeside house, it does not offer meal service. Its kitchen, however, is stocked with every cooking utensil you need to make dinner and breakfast just the way you like it. Ingredients can be bought at a local supermarket or brought in with you (basics like salt, sugar, and soy sauce are prepared on-site).

If you’d like to just take it easy and have dinner prepared for you in the comfort of your vacation home, Wabunka can also arrange for a private chef to be dispatched straight to you.*

*Additional fees apply. Dinner only.

Though you might not want to leave the lavish comforts of the Usagiya villa during your stay, there are excellent excuses to stretch your legs and explore the vicinity. Chinaigawa no Namiki Avenue is a beautiful metasequoia-lined riverside road that draws big crowds in peak season, and you can reach it in just 45 minutes from Usagiya by train, 15 minutes by car, or a little over two hours on foot through rustic rural scenery.

Makino Sunny Beach, a similar distance away, is a popular spot for lake campers or local families with children to splash around – or to rent kayaks for a jaunt out on the lake (arrangements not provided by Usagiya or Wabunka). Visitors in springtime shouldn’t miss Kaizu Osaki – one of the top 100 cherry blossom spots in Japan – also within a fifteen-minute drive. If you enjoy a ferry ride, the temple of Hogonji on the sacred Chikubu Island within Lake Biwa itself is certainly worth a trip. Usagiya is a perfect jumping-off point from which to enjoy Biwa in all seasons.