"Floating Temple" - Mangetsu-ji
満月寺 (大津市)
Heian-period temple on Lake Biwa in Otsu, the Floating Temple, built for Amida Butsu and the lake's safety, with an Important Cultural Property statue.
Open every day.
〒 520-0242How to get there
堅田Kosei Line22 min walk from the station
Mangetsu-ji, located in Otsu beside Lake Biwa, is a Buddhist temple said to have been built during the Heian period to honor Amida Butsu and pray for the lake's safety and the well-being of all beings. The temple houses an Important Cultural Property - the Heian period statue of Sho Kannon.
Getting There
Planning a trip? Fit this into a trip and Oni plans the rest around it.
Places nearby
Sagawa Art Museum
Art museum in Moriyama with Japanese-style paintings and sculpture, a water garden, and a historic temple bell (bonsho) designated a National Treasure.
Moriyama · ShigaYou might also like
Enryaku-ji
Founded in 788 by Saicho, this Tendai Buddhist headquarters on Mount Hiei hosts the famous kaihogyo practice and is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Otsu · Shiga
Tofukuji Temple
Tofukuji is one of Kyoto's great Zen temples, celebrated for its sweeping maple valley and the modern garden surrounding the abbot's quarters.
Kyoto
Saikyo-ji Temple
Saikyo-ji, the head temple of the Tendai Shinsei sect, was founded by Prince Shotoku and reorganized in 1486 as the sect's central training site.
Otsu · Shiga
Hyakusaiji Temple and the Buddhist Art of Omi
An autumn exhibition in Shiga where the hidden image of Hyakusaiji, an eleven-headed Kannon of the 8th century, leaves the temple for the first time.
26 Sep – 6 Dec 2026Koka · Shiga
Kaikai Yokai Festival
Uzumasa Kyoto Village (Toei Kyoto Studio Park) fills with yokai every autumn: two evening parades, dance shows, daily yokai greetings and limited yokai food.
12 Sep – 29 Nov 2026Kyoto
Lake Biwa Fireworks
Kansai's spectacular summer fireworks over Japan's largest lake at Otsu, with shells fired low across the water and mirrored on its surface.
6 Aug 2027Exact date not confirmed yetOtsu · Shiga
