For three days at the end of the year, the Lake Biwa Museum can be visited after hours. Shiga Prefectural Lake Biwa Museum in Kusatsu, Shiga Prefecture, will hold its Night Museum on Friday, December 18, Saturday, December 19 and Sunday, December 20, 2026. Entry is for tour participants only, and day-trip tours from Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Hyogo, Wakayama and elsewhere are already on sale.
Exhibition rooms after dark, and creatures at night
No same-day tickets are sold; you need to book a tour in advance. Inside, visitors can observe the nighttime behavior of living creatures. The exhibition rooms are lit with special lighting, so familiar displays should look different from how they do by day.
Lighting by NAKED, live music in the atrium
There are two main attractions. The first is the lighting design, again by NAKED, Inc., known for light-up events at Heian Jingu Shrine and Nijo Castle. Spotlights and colored lights illuminate the exhibition rooms in a dreamlike way.
The second is a classical concert: a special stage performance by flutist 山本英 (from Otsu) and percussionist 安藤巴, held twice each day in the atrium (18:30–18:50 and 19:30–19:50).
Day-trip bus tours from Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Hyogo and Wakayama
The tours are run by Yomiuri Travel at ¥11,990 per person. The itinerary runs from each departure point to Omi-Hachiman La Collina, Kanefuku Mentai Park Biwako and Omi SueHiRo Main Store, then on to the Lake Biwa Museum and back. It is a day trip that also takes in other stops in Shiga.
Departure points differ by day. The main pick-up points listed are:
- Osaka: Tennoji, Kyobashi, Umeda (Dec 18 and 19) / Kumatori, Kishiwada (Dec 18)
- Kyoto and Shiga: Shijo-Omiya, Kyoto Station Hachijo Exit, Otsu (Dec 18 and 20)
- Nara: Yamato-Saidaiji, JR Nara (Dec 18) / Kashiharajingu-mae, Yamato-Yagi (Dec 19)
- Hyogo: Akashi, Sannomiya, Himeji (Dec 19) / Hanshin Amagasaki, Itami, Kawanishi (Dec 20)
- Wakayama: Wakayama (Dec 19)
- Fukui: Fukui Station, Nishi-Sabae, Takefu contract parking lot, Tsuruga Station (Dec 18)
- Mie: Nabari, Kikyogaoka, Iga Drive-In (Dec 20)
Book through the Yomiuri Travel website. There are separate pages for departures from Osaka/Kyoto/Fukui, Nara/Mie, and Wakayama/Hyogo, so choose the one for your departure point.
Event details
- Dates: Friday, December 18, Saturday, December 19 and Sunday, December 20, 2026
- Venue: Shiga Prefectural Lake Biwa Museum (Kusatsu, Shiga)
- Program: special lighting (NAKED, Inc.), classical concerts (18:30–18:50 and 19:30–19:50 each day, atrium), observing creatures at night
- How to join: tour participants only. No same-day tickets
- Tour: day-trip plan run by Yomiuri Travel, ¥11,990 per person
- Itinerary: departure point – Omi-Hachiman La Collina – Kanefuku Mentai Park Biwako – Omi SueHiRo Main Store – Lake Biwa Museum – departure point
- Booking for Osaka, Kyoto and Fukui departures (Japanese): https://www.yomiuri-ryokou.co.jp/r/tour-search/coursecd-267164271/
- Booking for Nara and Mie departures (Japanese): https://www.yomiuri-ryokou.co.jp/r/tour-search/coursecd-2671642B1/
- Booking for Wakayama and Hyogo departures (Japanese): https://www.yomiuri-ryokou.co.jp/r/tour-search/coursecd-2671642C1/
- Website (Japanese): https://www.biwahaku.jp/
