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(Redirected from Ōtsu)

is the capital city of Shiga, Japan.
As of February, 2007, the city has an estimated population of 329, 355, with an age average of 40.7 years (15.42% of which have less than 15 years of age and 16.81% are over 65) and a density of 880.49persons per km². The total area is 374.06 km².

The city was founded on October 1, 1898. Prior to the existence of a settlement called "Ōtsu", the location was known as "Awazu"; one of the battles of the 12th century Genpei War occurred there.
Lake Biwa, the biggest lake in Japan, is in the center of the prefecture and also a site of significant relevance to the Japanese tourism industry. Sightseeing tours in Lake Biwa usually take up to several hours and tourists are given an opportunity to swim and take long strolls around the region. Lake Biwa is also a famous beaching spot in the Summer.
Built during the 1890s and later expanded during the Taisho Period, the Lake Biwa Canal played an important role in connecting Ōtsu and the nearby city of Kyoto, facilitating water and passenger transportation and also providing eletrical energy to power Japan's first streetcar railroad services.

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References in popular culture

Sister cities

Gallery

External links

References in popular culture

★ In Rurouni Kenshin "''Recollection''", following the thwarted attempt to set Kyoto on fire by the Miyabe faction of the Chōshū Clan, Kenshin Himura and Yukishiro Tomoe are instructed by Kido Takayoshi to flee the capital and head for Ōtsu City where the two would live as a married couple in order to avoid suspicion by Pro-Shogunate spies.

Sister cities

★ Lansing, Michigan, USA

★ Würzburg, Bavaria, Germany

★ Interlaken, Bern, Switzerland

★ Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang, China

★ Kumi, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea

Gallery

External links

★ Official website in Japanese