Japan’s Shiga Prefecture to Hold Business Meeting in Paris on Feb. 7 to Promote Local Culture and Tourism

- Taizo Mikazuki, Governor of Shiga Prefecture, to Highlight Shiga's Unique Charms with Four New Tour Plans Helping Visitors Experience its Attractions -

On February 7 (Friday), 2025, the Shiga Prefectural Government will conduct a business meeting at the House of Japanese Culture in Paris to promote the region’s culture and tourism. Governor Taizo Mikazuki will participate in the meeting and introduce four tour plans that feature the prefecture’s attractions.

Enryaku-ji Temple: https://cdn.kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M108533/202501283471/_prw_PI1fl_k3NKbb0U.png

Artworks at ATELIER YAMANAMI: https://cdn.kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M108533/202501283471/_prw_PI2fl_Lmoy0Dv8.png

Nature and activities at Lake Biwa (Shirahige Jinja Shrine): https://cdn.kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M108533/202501283471/_prw_PI3fl_77ywfs4k.png

Gokasho Kondo: https://cdn.kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M108533/202501283471/_prw_PI4fl_krv17F02.png

Shiga Prefecture, in western Japan, has been actively working to promote its culture and tourism to encourage foreign tourists to visit there. This initiative includes organizing and promoting tours for inbound tourists, highlighting the region’s cultural assets, food culture, the agricultural and fisheries industries, and lifestyle. The prefecture’s cultural heritage, traditional practices, natural beauty, cuisine, sake (rice wine), and traditional industries, among others, resonate strongly with people in Europe, especially affluent individuals in France.

The Shiga Prefectural Government has developed four separate tour plans based on the following four themes:

1. Traditional Crafts/Art

2. Nature/Activities

3. Three Head Temples of Tendai Sect

4. Omi Merchants

These tours are designed to provide tourists with unique experiences, such as staying at a temple, participating in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, enjoying standup paddle boarding (SUP) at Lake Biwa, practicing forest yoga, sampling locally brewed sake at a brewery, visiting a Shigaraki ware studio that showcases Shiga’s traditional craft, and enjoying a night tour of the Shiga Museum of Art after hours. The business meeting in Paris will introduce these one-of-a-kind tours filled with attractions that cannot be found elsewhere.

Shiga Prefecture welcomes all interested parties to attend the business meeting.

Overview of business meeting

Date and time: February 7 (Friday), 2025, from 14:00 to 15:45 (local time)

Venue: Reception hall on the fifth floor of House of Japanese Culture in Paris

Address: 101 bis, quai Jacques Chirac 75015 Paris, France