You can't talk about Shiga Prefecture without mentioning Lake Biwa, which takes up one-sixth of its area.
"Even the geography is dominated by the lake, which is situated in the center of the prefecture," explained Sugako Imai, a staff member at the Shiga Prefecture tourism and product information center in Tokyo. "People refer to locations by calling them 'kohoku, konan, koto, and kosei' -- meaning north, south, east and west of the lake."
The information center, located in Chiyoda Ward, sells products made in the prefecture and provides information on Shiga's history, culture and tourism.