Information as of 2026-08-20

This page is a relocation summary written by an advanced AI

It is not a personal opinion piece written by a human. An AI gathered official information published on the internet — municipal and national statistics, the Japan Meteorological Agency, railway companies, property portals — and rebuilt it into a form that someone considering a move can read and act on. Every figure carries a source link and the date it was checked, so please confirm anything that matters to you against the original document. Rules and prices change. Always check the latest information yourself before you sign anything.

Moving to Takashima

Q: How long does it take from Takashima City to Kyoto?

🔴 40 minutes and ¥990 from Adogawa Station on the Special Rapid, without changing. Osaka is 1 hour 14 minutes and ¥1,690 on the same train. Omi-Imazu Station is where the Special Rapid starts, 48 minutes to Kyoto, or 33 minutes on the Thunderbird limited express (¥2,720). Towards Kyoto, Adogawa Station has 29 trains a day (9 Special Rapid, 1 rapid, 19 local), the first at 5:06 and the last at 23:06.

Q: What is the cheapest house you can buy in Takashima City?

SUUMO lists 45, and all of them were collected. From ¥1,800,000 to ¥68,000,000, median ¥9,800,000, and 🔴 23 (51%) are at or under ¥10,000,000. The median plot is 276 square metres and the median building 104. The median build year is 1994, with 12 (27%) from before 1981, which is on the newer side for this site. The city's own vacant house introduction system has 21 you can apply for (20 for sale, 1 to let), and the ones for sale run ¥2,000,000 to ¥42,000,000, median ¥4,900,000.

Q: Is the earthquake risk high in Takashima City?

At the city hall, the chance in 30 years is 10.3% for intensity 6-lower or above and 1.6% for 6-upper or above, and the surface ground has an AVS30 of 337.97 m/s on an alluvial fan. 🔴 The first thing to look at here is the Biwako-seigan fault zone: its northern section (running through Takashima City, about 23 kilometres long) is about M7.1 with a 1–3% chance within 30 years, and the state assesses it as "belonging to the higher group among Japan's major active faults". The city's hazard map also takes this earthquake as the worst case.

Q: Are summers hot and winters cold in Takashima City?

🔴 The summer is cool and the snow falls in winter. Extremely hot days number 1.3 a year — a fifteenth of Kyoto (19.4) and a quarter of Tokyo (4.8). Tropical nights are 5.2 (Kyoto 27.2). Against that, 258 centimetres of snowfall in a year, a deepest cover of 42 centimetres and 52.9 winter days. The city writes of "being close to the Japan Sea side, the winter cold is severe and the snowfall heavy — a Japan Sea climate". Annual rainfall is 1,946.9 mm.

Q: What support is there for families with children in Takashima City?

🔴 School meals are entirely free, nursery care for children under three is free, and medical care is free until the end of junior high school. Antenatal check-ups are met in full, and the city writes that "Takashima City is the only municipality in the prefecture paying it in full". There are a birth support gift and a child-rearing support gift of ¥50,000 each, the sick-child room "Ohisama" (inside Takashima Municipal Hospital, ¥2,000 a day) and 13 after-school care places. For medicine, Takashima Municipal Hospital (210 beds, 23 departments, with obstetrics and paediatrics) is the core.

Q: Will the house I buy sell when I want to sell it?

🔴 Land prices are falling. Residential land is ¥15,600/m², −1.6% on the year and commercial land ¥31,600/m², −1.2%, the opposite direction from Shiga Prefecture as a whole (¥55,500/m², +0.9%). About a fifth of Otsu City's ¥82,300/m² and a sixteenth of Kyoto City's ¥247,700/m². The market is 45 on SUUMO plus 21 on the vacant-home bank, one for every 979 people. Buy to live in, and budget on the premise of staying.

Q: What is happening to Takashima City's population?

44,052 people in 21,005 households (as at 31 July Reiwa 8). 21,544 men and 22,508 women, or 2.10 people per household. The Reiwa 2 census counted 46,377 people in 18,037 households, so in about six years the population has fallen by 2,325 and the households have risen by 2,968 — households are getting smaller. The age structure is 14 and under 10.8%, 15 to 64 53.1%, 65 and over 36.1% (Reiwa 2 census).

A long, narrow city on the west side of Lake Biwa, held between the lake and the Hira and Nosaka mountains. The population is 44,052 and the area about 693 square kilometres (of which Lake Biwa is 181.64), making it the largest city in Shiga Prefecture. 72% of it is forest, and the city describes itself as "the area that produces close to a third of the water flowing into Lake Biwa". 🔴 The condition that tells most is that the Special Rapid on the JR Kosei Line reaches Kyoto in 40 minutes for ¥990, without changing. Adogawa Station to Kyoto is 40 minutes, and Osaka is 1 hour 14 minutes, still without changing. And the other is what children cost. School meals are entirely free, nursery care for under-threes is free, and medical care is free until the end of junior high school — and the city writes that meeting the full cost of antenatal check-ups is "Takashima City alone within the prefecture". In exchange, 258 centimetres of snow fall in a year (the normal at Imazu). A place 40 minutes from Kyoto where Japan Sea snow falls — that those two hold at once is what this city is.

Kyoto to

40 min

Special Rapid from Adogawa Station, no change, ¥990

City area

approx. 693 km²

The largest in Shiga Prefecture; 72% forest

Intensity 6-lower or above in 30 years

10.3%

The Biwako-seigan fault zone. Northern section M7.1, 1–3% in 30 years

Homes for sale

45 listings

¥1,800,000– / median ¥9,800,000

Population

44,052 people

21,005 households, Reiwa 8 (2026), 7/31

School meal charges

entirely free

Nursery care for under-threes is free too; medical care is free until the end of junior high school

Summer (August daily high)

31.0℃

0.3°C lower than Tokyo (measured at Imazu)

Winter (January daily low)

-0.4℃

1.6°C lower than Tokyo (measured at Imazu)

🚗 Roadside stations4 ⛰ National and quasi-national parks ♨ Hot springs and day bathing2 🚐 RV parks2

Roadside stations: Kutsuki Shinhonjin, Shin-Asahi Fusha-mura, Makino Oisaka-toge, Toju-no-Sato Adogawa / National and quasi-national parks: Lake Biwa Quasi-National Park / Hot springs and day bathing: Green Park Omoide-no-Mori, Makino Kogen Onsen / RV parks: RV Park Imazu, RV Park Relaxing Metasequoia
Sources: roadside stations from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism list of roadside stations (checked 21 August 2026) / national and quasi-national parks judged from the Ministry of the Environment boundary data and others (details of the sources in §17) (checked 21 August 2026) / hot springs and day bathing from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) (checked 21 August 2026) / RV parks from the Japan RV Association list of certified RV parks (checked 21 August 2026). 🔴 Only what a place has is shown — a town without one is not worse for it.

Last verified 2026-08-20

CHAPTER 01First, what kind of place Takashima is

The north-west of Shiga Prefecture. 44,052 people in 21,005 households (as at 31 July Reiwa 8), covering about 693 square kilometres (of which Lake Biwa is 181.64). The city was formed on 1 January Heisei 17 by the merger of five towns and one village: Makino, Imazu, Kutsuki, Adogawa, Takashima and Shinasahi. Lake Biwa lies to the east; over the Hira mountains to the south-west are Otsu City and Kyoto Prefecture; over the Aibano plateau and the Nosaka mountains to the north-west is Fukui Prefecture — a place held between Kyoto and Osaka on one side and Wakasa on the other.

Kyoto in 40 minutes on the Special Rapid. That is where this city sitsOn the JR Kosei Line, Adogawa Station to Kyoto is 40 minutes and ¥990 on the Special Rapid, without changing (searched 21 August 2026). Osaka is 1 hour 14 minutes and ¥1,690 on the same train. Omi-Imazu Station is where the Special Rapid starts, 48 minutes to Kyoto and 1 hour 22 minutes to Osaka. The Thunderbird limited express stops there too (33 minutes to Kyoto). In land prices, residential land in Takashima City is ¥15,600/m² (§9). About a sixteenth of Kyoto City's ¥247,700/m² and a fifth of Otsu City's ¥82,300/m². "Forty minutes from Kyoto, at that price for land" — that is the ground this city stands on.

A third of Lake Biwa's water is made hereIn the city's words: "the largest municipality by area in the prefecture, 72% of it forest, said to be the area that produces close to a third of the water flowing into Lake Biwa". The city's stated goal is "Takashima City — water, green, and people coming and going", and it calls the natural environment of Lake Biwa "a shared asset that supports life in Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe". That water has shaped how people live. The waterside landscapes of Harie and Shimofuri in Shinasahi, of Kaizu, Nishihama and Chinai in Makino, and of Omizo in Takashima — these three were recognised in Heisei 28 as part of the Japan Heritage "Lake Biwa and its waterside landscapes — a water heritage of prayer and daily life" (§11).

It was the town on the road between Kyoto and WakasaThe city explains: "since ancient times this area prospered as a hub of traffic linking the capitals of Kyoto and Nara with Hokuriku; on land the main routes were the Nishi-Omi road running along the lake at the foot of the Hiei and Hira mountains and the Wakasa road, called the Saba Kaido because salted mackerel was carried along it, and the area prospered as port towns and post towns serving those roads and the lake traffic towards Otsu". The Saba Kaido (the Wakasa road) is said to go back more than 1,200 years, and it still runs north to south through Kutsuki. This is also the birthplace of Nakae Toju, founder of the Yomeigaku school in Japan and called the sage of Omi, and the ground that sent out many Takashima merchants (Omi merchants).

Sources: population and households from Takashima City official site's published figures (as at 31 July Reiwa 8: total population 44,052, 21,005 households, 21,544 men, 22,508 women) / the area, the history of the merger, the 72% forest, the third of Lake Biwa's water, the stated goal, the Saba Kaido and the Nakae Toju quotation are fromthe same, "An outline of Takashima City"andthe same, "Location and Terrain"、Takashima City relocation site "Let's live in Takashima" / What sort of place is Takashima(city civic collaboration division) / the rail times and fares are as in §3 / the land prices are as in §9 / checked 20 August 2026

Map of Takashima City

You can zoom and move around. The marker is Takashima City Hall (Shinasahi-cho Kitabata). The JR Kosei Line and Route 161 run north to south along Lake Biwa, and every station and built-up area sits in that lakeside strip. Inland to the west are the Hira and Nosaka mountains, and through the valley to the south-west the Saba Kaido (Route 367) runs through Kutsuki and on to Kyoto.
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors

What kind of town is Takashima City?

A long, narrow city on the west side of Lake Biwa, held between the lake and the Hira and Nosaka mountains. 44,052 people over about 693 square kilometres (of which Lake Biwa is 181.64), the largest city in Shiga Prefecture. 72% is forest, and the city describes itself as "the area that produces close to a third of the water flowing into Lake Biwa". 🔴 Kyoto in 40 minutes on the Special Rapid of the JR Kosei Line is the single biggest condition. It was formed on 1 January Heisei 17 from five towns and one village.

CHAPTER 02Six areas, and life in each

The city is set out here in six parts. The divisions are the five towns and one village brought together in the Heisei 17 merger — Makino, Imazu, Shinasahi, Adogawa, Takashima and Kutsuki — and they are the same units the city's own relocation site uses for its properties. All 45 SUUMO listings were collected and tallied. The medians run 2.5-fold, from ¥7,800,000 in Takashima and Omizo to ¥19,800,000 in Makino. The elevations cluster at 86 to 98 metres in almost every district, and that is because the surface of Lake Biwa is about 85 metres above sea level — only a few metres below (§5).

Areas	Listings	median	Median elevation	What defines it
Makino (Kaizu, Ariwara, the metasequoia avenue)	13 listings	¥19,800,000	98.0m	Median build year 1999; only one from before 1981. It has the colour of a holiday-house area
Adogawa (the centre, with the schools and the shops)	11 listings	¥5,500,000	90.6m	8 (73%) at or under ¥10,000,000. All 11 are along Adogawa Station
Imazu (the gateway, where the Special Rapid starts)	10 listings	¥11,800,000	90.8m	A wide range, up to 254.3 m (Mukugawa). The public offices gather here
Shinasahi (the city hall and the waterside at Harie)	5 listings	¥8,800,000	86.9m	4 at or under ¥10,000,000. The main city hall is here
Takashima and Omizo (the old castle town and the municipal hospital)	5 listings	¥7,800,000	92.0m	Takashima Municipal Hospital and Takashima Gakuen (a combined primary and junior high school) are here
Kutsuki (the hills of the Saba Kaido)	1 listings	¥19,300,000	177.0m	Only 1 on SUUMO. There are 4 on the vacant-home bank (§4)

Makino (Kaizu, Ariwara and the metasequoia avenue) — the dearest, and the newest13 listings (¥1,800,000 to ¥68,000,000, median ¥19,800,000, the highest of the six, 2 (15%) at or under ¥10,000,000). Elevation 86.7 to 145.6 metres (median 98.0). Median plot 334 m², building 104 m²; median build year 1999, with only 1 (8%) from before 1981 — the newest stock in the city. The metasequoia avenue, chosen first in the 2015 Kansai autumn colour ranking, the cherries at Kaizu-Osaki and Makino Kogen are here, and so is the Japan Heritage "waterside landscape of Kaizu, Nishihama and Chinai". 6 of the 13 are at Onuma, a holiday-house area 20 to 28 minutes' walk from Omi-Nakasho Station.
Suits people who want a comparatively new house among the lake and mountain scenery, or who are also thinking of using it as a holiday home
Watch for the dearest prices in the city. And the snowiest side (§6). Three primary schools are to merge into one in April Reiwa 10 (§7)

Adogawa (the centre, with the schools and the shops) — within reach, and close to the station11 listings (¥3,600,000 to ¥28,800,000, median ¥5,500,000, among the lowest of the six, 8 (73%) at or under ¥10,000,000). Elevation 87.0 to 121.5 metres (median 90.6). Median plot 229 m², building 91 m²; median build year 1982, with 5 (45%) from before 1981. All 11 have Adogawa Station as their nearest. That is the station 40 minutes from Kyoto on the Special Rapid (§3). Ado, Aoyagi and Honjo primary schools and Adogawa junior high school are here, and the city's reorganisation policy says "Ado Primary School is expected to keep a size of 12 classes or more as pupil numbers rise" (§7) — the only primary school in the city written down as expecting more pupils. 90% of Japan's fan ribs (senkotsu) are made in this area too (§11).
Suits people commuting to Kyoto or Osaka, families with children, or anyone keeping the budget down
Watch for 45% built to the old earthquake standard. Budget for a survey and strengthening from the start

Imazu (the gateway, where the Special Rapid starts) — the offices and the hospital10 listings (¥6,200,000 to ¥29,800,000, median ¥11,800,000, 5 (50%) at or under ¥10,000,000). Elevation 85.7 to 254.3 metres, the widest range in the city (median 90.8) — from Hamabun on the lakeshore (87.2 metres) up to Mukugawa in the hills (254.3). Median plot 341 m², building 111 m². Omi-Imazu Station is where the Special Rapid starts, and the Thunderbird limited express stops there (§3). The city writes of "a concentration of administration — prefectural offices, the police, the fire service, the Self-Defense Forces, the Legal Affairs Bureau, the public prosecutors and the courts", and points to a townscape of historic buildings designed by Vories. Omi Airinen Imazu Hospital is here, as are the city's four "try living here" houses (§14).
Suits people who want a seat on the train (the trains start here), or who weigh being close to the offices and the hospital
Watch for the Aibano training ground of the Ground Self-Defense Force; the city publishes the exercise schedule. The hill side (Mukugawa, Hiokimae) is a drive or a bus from the station.

Shinasahi (the city hall and the waterside at Harie) — the administrative centre5 listings (¥3,800,000 to ¥13,800,000, median ¥8,800,000, 4 (80%) at or under ¥10,000,000). Elevation 86.9 to 93.9 metres (median 86.9), the flattest in the city. Median plot 164 m², building 94 m² — the most compact of the six. Median build year 1993. Takashima City Hall is here (Shinasahi-cho Kitabata 565). And so is the Japan Heritage "waterside landscape of Harie and Shimofuri" — the hamlet where spring water is led into each house's kitchen as a kabata. The city also calls it "the town where the local industries of Takashima chijimi crepe and Takashima canvas are made". Shinasahi-kita and Shinasahi-minami primary schools and Kosei junior high school are here, and the reorganisation policy is "for the time being, keep things as they are while improving what is taught" (§7).
Suits people who weigh being near the offices, or who would rather be near the station and the shops even on a small plot
Watch for only 5 houses on the market. The vacant-home bank has 3 (§4)

Takashima and Omizo (the old castle town and the municipal hospital) — the hospital and the combined school5 listings (¥6,800,000 to ¥12,900,000, median ¥7,800,000, 4 (80%) at or under ¥10,000,000). Elevation 86.9 to 126.8 metres (median 92.0). Median plot 177 m², building 118 m² — the largest buildings. Median build year 1988. Takashima Municipal Hospital (210 beds, 23 departments) is here (Katsuno 1667). And Takashima primary and Takashima junior high together form "Takashima Gakuen", the first public combined primary and junior high school in the prefecture (§7). The Japan Heritage "waterside landscape of Omizo" and the old castle town remain, and the only terraced rice fields in Shiga Prefecture chosen among Japan's 100 finest, at Hata, are in this area.
Suits people who put being near the hospital first, or who want nine years at one combined school
Watch for the Special Rapid not stopping at Omi-Takashima Station (53 minutes to Kyoto on a local train, §3). Only 5 houses on the market, too

Kutsuki (the hills of the Saba Kaido) — the one area away from the lakeshoreOnly 1 on SUUMO (¥19,300,000). But the vacant-home bank has 4, at ¥5,000,000 to ¥10,000,000, median ¥6,900,000 (§4) — in this area the bank is thicker than the open market. The elevation is 177.0 metres, the only real height in the city. The Saba Kaido (the Wakasa road) runs north to south through it, and the city writes that "forest spreads here, once known as the timber ground of Kutsuki-no-soma". Kutsuki Onsen Tenku and Green Park Omoide-no-Mori are here too. It is also the one area in the city where property tax is waived as a depopulated area (§8).
Suits people drawn to life in the hills, mountain streams, forestry or woodwork, or who drive out towards Sakyo-ku in Kyoto
Watch for no railway station. One listing is 24 kilometres from Adogawa Station. The snow is deepest (annual rainfall at Kutsuki Hera is 2,514.5 mm, 1.3 times Imazu's, §6)

Prices, counts, elevation, year built and plot size come from the listings below,SUUMOlisted45 listings (all), tallied in six parts by town name. The divisions follow the five towns and one village brought together in the Heisei 17 merger (§1) / the elevation is the value from the Geospatial Information Authority elevation API for the map coordinates on each listing page (all 45 from the listing's own coordinates) / the descriptions of each area, the Japan Heritage sites, the fan ribs, Takashima chijimi, the Hata terraced fields and Kutsuki-no-soma are fromTakashima City relocation site "Let's live in Takashima" / What sort of place is TakashimaandTakashima City, "An outline of Takashima City" / the school passages are as in §7 / collected 20 August 2026 / checked 20 August 2026

Which part of Takashima City should I live in?

It falls into six parts, the five towns and one village brought together in the Heisei 17 merger. The medians run 2.5-fold, from ¥7,800,000 in Takashima and Omizo to ¥19,800,000 in Makino. The most listings are in Makino with 13, then Adogawa with 11. 🔴 All 11 in Adogawa have Adogawa Station as their nearest, and 8 (73%) are at or under ¥10,000,000. Kutsuki alone has no railway station, and sits at 177.0 metres in the hills.

CHAPTER 03Trains and cars — how you get around

The single biggest condition in Takashima is that the Special Rapid on the JR Kosei Line reaches Kyoto in 40 minutes. 29 trains a day leave Adogawa Station towards Kyoto (9 Special Rapid, 1 rapid, 19 local), the first at 5:06 and the last at 23:06. Omi-Imazu Station is where the Special Rapid starts, and the Thunderbird limited express stops there 3 times a day. The city has six stations: Makino, Omi-Nakasho, Omi-Imazu, Shinasahi, Adogawa and Omi-Takashima.

JR Kosei Line (to Kyoto and Osaka)

Sta.	Kyoto to	To Osaka	Trains and tickets (as revised on 14 March 2026)
Adogawa	40 min	1 hr 14 min	Special Rapid, no change (searched: 9:14 → Kyoto 9:54 / Osaka 10:28). Tickets are ¥990 to Kyoto and ¥1,690 to Osaka. Towards Kyoto there are 29 trains a day (9 Special Rapid, 1 rapid, 19 local)
Omi-Imazu	48 min	1 hr 22 min	Where the Special Rapid starts (9:06 → Kyoto 9:54 / Osaka 10:28). ¥990 to Kyoto, ¥1,980 to Osaka. Towards Kyoto there are 32 trains a day, 3 of them the Thunderbird limited express (for Osaka)
Omi-Imazu (limited express)	33 min	—	Thunderbird 2 (7:29 → Kyoto 8:02). ¥2,720 (¥990 fare plus ¥1,730 reserved seat)
Shinasahi	1 hr	—	Local train, no change (8:12 → Kyoto 9:12). ¥990
Omi-Takashima	53 min	—	Local train, no change (8:19 → Kyoto 9:12). ¥860. The Special Rapid does not stop here
Makino	1 hr 7 min	—	Change to the Special Rapid at Omi-Imazu (8:47 → Kyoto 9:54). ¥1,170

"You can commute to Kyoto" holds up in the figuresAdogawa to Kyoto is 40 minutes and ¥990, without changing. And Osaka is 1 hour 14 minutes and ¥1,690 on the same Special Rapid. The Kosei Line Special Rapid starts at Omi-Imazu, so board there and you commute sitting down. Residential land is ¥15,600/m² in Takashima City against ¥247,700/m² in Kyoto City and ¥82,300/m² in Otsu City (§9). Land at about a sixteenth of Kyoto City's price, 40 minutes from Kyoto — that gap is the main reason people choose this city. The city itself writes of "good access to Kyoto and Osaka" and "we are proud of how lightly you can move, whether commuting to work or school or just going out".

Six stations, and which one changes your lifeFrom the south: Omi-Takashima, Adogawa, Shinasahi, Omi-Imazu, Omi-Nakasho and Makino. The Special Rapid stops at Adogawa, Omi-Imazu and (some at) Shinasahi, and not at Omi-Takashima — so within one city the difference is 40 minutes or 53 minutes to Kyoto. By nearest station, the listings run Adogawa 14, Omi-Imazu 7, Omi-Nakasho 10, Makino 8, Shinasahi 5, Omi-Takashima 2 (§2, §4). You can sort by distance from the station, but some listings are a 30-minute walk or 15 kilometres by car. Look not only at the station name but at the distance from it.

Buses in the city, and the carThe city is linked by community and municipal buses (a flat ¥220 for adults on every section) and shared taxis (scheduled or booked; a flat ¥300 for adults). Change at a designated stop and there is no extra fare, once per journey. On the route buses (the Wakae and Kutsuki lines) the city meets anything above ¥220 within the city (you must be registered as a resident). On the hill side — Kutsuki, Hata, Makino Kogen — a booked shared taxi is the norm. By car the city says "about an hour to the Kyoto-Higashi interchange on the Meishin Expressway via Route 161". Getting about the city is essentially the single thread of Route 161, with Route 367 (the Saba Kaido) for Kutsuki. In the snow season, the state of those two roads is the state of daily life (§6).

Sources: the journey times, fares and train times areJR West's "My Daiya", searched for Friday 21 August 2026 (Adogawa 9:14 → Kyoto 9:54 / the same → Osaka 10:28, ¥1,690 / Omi-Imazu 9:06 → Kyoto 9:54, ¥990 / the same → Osaka 10:28, ¥1,980 / Omi-Imazu 7:29 Thunderbird 2 → Kyoto 8:02, ¥2,720 in all / Shinasahi 8:12 → Kyoto 9:12 / Omi-Takashima 8:19 → Kyoto 9:12, ¥860 / Makino 8:47 changing at Omi-Imazu → Kyoto 9:54, ¥1,170) / the frequencies and the first and last trains are fromJR West, "Adogawa Station, Katata and Kyoto direction, timetable"(as revised 14 March 2026; 29 trains) andthe same, "Omi-Imazu Station, Katata and Kyoto direction"(32 trains, 3 of them the Thunderbird limited express) / the bus fares, transfers and subsidy are fromTakashima City, "City buses and shared taxis: timetables and route maps (as revised 1 August Reiwa 8)"andthe same, "Bus and shared taxi fares" (PDF, 1 April Reiwa 5) / the passage about the Kyoto-Higashi interchange is fromTakashima City relocation site "Let's live in Takashima" / the land prices are as in §9 / checked 20 August 2026

✈ Airports

The nearest is Osaka International Airport (a hub airport under company management), about 81.7 km in a straight line. Next is Fukui Airport (about 87.4 km in a straight line). 🔴 That is a straight line. It is neither the road distance nor the time it takes — check the actual route in the operators' timetables.

🛣 Expressway junctions

There is no expressway entrance or junction inside this area. You will use an interchange in a neighbouring town.

Sources: airports fromNational Land Numerical Information, "Airports", FY2021 edition (category names followthe MLIT list of airports ) / expressway junctions fromthe same, "Expressways time series", 2025 edition, current data only (what is open today). Both were overlaid onthe same, "Administrative boundaries", 2026and judged by machine to fall inside this area / verified 2026-08-21

How long does it take from Takashima City to Kyoto?

🔴 40 minutes and ¥990 from Adogawa Station on the Special Rapid, without changing. Osaka is 1 hour 14 minutes and ¥1,690 on the same train. Omi-Imazu Station is where the Special Rapid starts, 48 minutes to Kyoto, or 33 minutes on the Thunderbird limited express (¥2,720). Towards Kyoto, Adogawa Station has 29 trains a day (9 Special Rapid, 1 rapid, 19 local), the first at 5:06 and the last at 23:06.

CHAPTER 04Homes actually on the market right now

SUUMO lists 45. All 45 were taken in and tallied. From ¥1,800,000 to ¥68,000,000, with a median of ¥9,800,000. 23 (51%) are at or under ¥10,000,000. The median plot is 276 square metres (about 83 tsubo) and the median building 104. The median build year is 1994, with 12 (27%) from before 1981 — on the newer side for this site. And the median elevation is 92.0 metres (the surface of Lake Biwa is about 85, §5).

Sort

"Nearest the station first" converts everything to minutes — a walk of ◯ min, ◯ min by bus plus ◯ min from the stop, ◯ km by car (reckoned at 30 km/h) — and compares those. Listings with no such information always appear last, whatever the sort.

Makino-cho Shimokaide¥1,800,000Makino (Kaizu, Ariwara and the metasequoia avenue)Elev. approx. 110 m / Land 145 m² (44 tsubo) / Building 63 m² (19 tsubo) / built 1950 / Makino Station 30 min walk10 photos →

Adogawa-cho Nishiyurugi¥3,600,000Adogawa (the centre, with the schools and the shops)Elev. approx. 90 m / Land 98 m² (30 tsubo) / Building 36 m² (11 tsubo) / built 1975 / Adogawa Station 15 min walk5 photos →

Shinasahi-cho Ota¥3,800,000Shinasahi (the city hall and the waterside at Harie)Elev. approx. 90 m / Land 106 m² (32 tsubo) / Building 49 m² (15 tsubo) / built 1996 / Shinasahi Station 36 min walk9 photos →

Adogawa-cho Nishiyurugi¥3,800,000Adogawa (the centre, with the schools and the shops)Elev. approx. 90 m / Land 76 m² (23 tsubo) / Building 98 m² (30 tsubo) / built 1979 / Adogawa Station 2 min walk3 photos →

Adogawa-cho Tanaka¥4,500,000Adogawa (the centre, with the schools and the shops)Elev. approx. 90 m / Land 249 m² (75 tsubo) / Building 85 m² (26 tsubo) / built 1985 / Adogawa Station 35 min walk10 photos →

Adogawa-cho Minamikoga¥4,800,000Adogawa (the centre, with the schools and the shops)Elev. approx. 110 m / Land 315 m² (95 tsubo) / Building 91 m² (28 tsubo) / built 1977 / Adogawa Station bus 10 min+2 min walk10 photos →

Makino-cho Shiratani¥4,800,000Makino (Kaizu, Ariwara and the metasequoia avenue)Elev. approx. 150 m / Land 276 m² (83 tsubo) / Building 73 m² (22 tsubo) / built 1991 / Makino Station bus 9 min+4 min walk4 photos →

Adogawa-cho Nakano¥5,000,000Adogawa (the centre, with the schools and the shops)Elev. approx. 120 m / Land 229 m² (69 tsubo) / Building 137 m² (41 tsubo) / built 1987 / Adogawa Station bus 15 min+22 min walk10 photos →

Adogawa-cho Nishiyurugi¥5,500,000Adogawa (the centre, with the schools and the shops)Elev. approx. 90 m / Land 119 m² (36 tsubo) / Building 66 m² (20 tsubo) / built 1975 / Adogawa Station 15 min walk4 photos →

Imazu-cho Kitoge¥6,200,000Imazu (the gateway, where the Special Rapid starts)Elev. approx. 90 m / Land 133 m² (40 tsubo) / Building 46 m² (14 tsubo) / built 1975 / Omi-Nakasho Sta. 30 min walk10 photos →

Imazu-cho Kitoge¥6,200,000Imazu (the gateway, where the Special Rapid starts)Elev. approx. 90 m / Land 378 m² (114 tsubo) / Building 78 m² (24 tsubo) / built 1996 / Omi-Nakasho Sta. 32 min walk10 photos →

Imazu-cho Hamabun¥6,800,000Imazu (the gateway, where the Special Rapid starts)Elev. approx. 90 m / Land 304 m² (92 tsubo) / Building 236 m² (71 tsubo) / built 1977 / Omi-Imazu Station 37 min walk10 photos →

Shinasahi-cho Shinjo 452‐15 property photo

Shinasahi-cho Shinjo 452‐15¥6,800,000Shinasahi (the city hall and the waterside at Harie)Elev. approx. 90 m / Land 161 m² (49 tsubo) / Building 101 m² (30 tsubo) / built 1993 / Shinasahi Station 21 min walk10 photos →

Kamogawadaira 2¥6,800,000Takashima and Omizo (the old castle town and the municipal hospital)Elev. approx. 110 m / Land 171 m² (52 tsubo) / Building 73 m² (22 tsubo) / built 1993 / Omi-Takashima Sta. 38 min walk8 photos →

Imazu-cho Mukugawa¥6,900,000Imazu (the gateway, where the Special Rapid starts)Elev. approx. 250 m / Land 225 m² (68 tsubo) / Building 76 m² (23 tsubo) / built 1997 / Omi-Imazu Station to 15.2km10 photos →

Musoyokoyama¥6,900,000Takashima and Omizo (the old castle town and the municipal hospital)Elev. approx. 130 m / Land 1724 m² (522 tsubo) / Building 132 m² (40 tsubo) / built 1980 / Adogawa Station bus 7 min+1 min walk6 photos →

Kamo¥7,800,000Takashima and Omizo (the old castle town and the municipal hospital)Elev. approx. 90 m / Land 177 m² (54 tsubo) / Building 105 m² (32 tsubo) / built 1988 / Adogawa Station 20 min walk8 photos →

Adogawa-cho Kawashima¥7,800,000Adogawa (the centre, with the schools and the shops)Elev. approx. 90 m / Land 148 m² (45 tsubo) / Building 105 m² (32 tsubo) / built 1990 / Adogawa Station 32 min walk10 photos →

Shinasahi-cho Ota¥8,800,000Shinasahi (the city hall and the waterside at Harie)Elev. approx. 90 m / Land 164 m² (50 tsubo) / Building 94 m² (28 tsubo) / built 1993 / Shinasahi Station 52 min walk6 photos →

Shinasahi-cho Ota¥8,900,000Shinasahi (the city hall and the waterside at Harie)Elev. approx. 90 m / Land 264 m² (80 tsubo) / Building 92 m² (28 tsubo) / built 1996 / Shinasahi Station 55 min walk10 photos →

The photographs are the images carried on SUUMO. They disappear once a listing ends. Check the real condition of a property on site.

See all 45 on SUUMO →

Read the elevation as height above the lakeThe 45 listings run from 85.7 to 254.3 metres, median 92.0. "92 metres above sea level" sounds like high ground, and it is not. The surface of Lake Biwa itself is about 85 metres (the value the Geospatial Information Authority elevation API returns for a point on the lake). A median of 92 metres means about 7 metres above the lake. The only places genuinely away from the water are Kutsuki (177.0 metres) and Mukugawa in Imazu (254.3) (§2). Take every other listing to be flat ground right beside Lake Biwa. Sort by elevation and the hillside listings come to the top.

The median build year is 1994 — newer than most on this siteThe median build year is 1994, with 12 (27%) from before 1981. By district the highest share is Adogawa at 45%, then Takashima and Omizo at 40% and Imazu at 30%. The lowest is Makino at 8% (a single house) (§2). The cheap areas are old and the dear areas are new — that pairing shows clearly here too. On top of a 10.3% chance of intensity 6-lower or above in 30 years (§5), the worst damage the city projects is from an earthquake on the Biwako-seigan fault zone. If you buy a house built before 1981, treat a seismic survey as a given. The city runs a scheme for surveying and strengthening wooden houses.

What 45 listings means45 for 44,052 people — one for every 979. Denser than Saga on this site (one for every 2,310) and thinner than Miyazaki (one for every 547). It is a small market, so narrowing your conditions too far leaves nothing. And the spread by district is uneven: 13 in Makino, 11 in Adogawa, 10 in Imazu against 5 in Shinasahi, 5 in Takashima and 1 in Kutsuki (§2). Only with the 21 on the vacant-home bank below does the whole city come into view. Look at both together.

Sources: taken from SUUMO, "Second-hand detached houses in Takashima City" (all 45 of the 45 listed were collected, as at 20 August 2026). The price, build year, address and nearest station are as given on each listing page; the elevation is the map coordinates on the listing page put throughthe Geospatial Information Authority elevation API (the same API gives the surface of Lake Biwa as 85.0 metres at 35.35°N 136.10°E and 83.7 metres at 35.30°N 136.05°E).Listings change from day to day.Check the latest on each listing page / the seismic survey and strengthening scheme is fromTakashima City, "Have your wooden house surveyed for earthquake safety" / the figures compared for each city use the same tally method as that city's page on this site / the population is as in §10 / checked 20 August 2026

The vacant-home bank (the vacant house introduction system): read the conditions before you use it

Takashima City is not on the national at-home vacant-home bank (the Shiga Prefecture listing). It runs its own "vacant house introduction system", published on its relocation site "Let's live in Takashima". As at 20 August 2026 it carried 40 properties, but 19 of them still show as "under contract". What you can actually apply for is 21 (20 for sale, 1 to let). The 20 for sale run ¥2,000,000 to ¥42,000,000, median ¥4,900,000, with 19 at or under ¥10,000,000. Median plot 279 m², building 98 m²; the median build year is 1975, with 11 (55%) from before 1981 — markedly older than the 45 on SUUMO (median 1994, 27%). By district it is 5 in Imazu, 4 in Takashima, 4 in Kutsuki, 4 in Adogawa, 3 in Shinasahi and 1 in Makino, so where SUUMO has only one

Akiya bank — 20 listings

All 20 houses for sale registered on the municipal vacant-home bank (as checked on 20 August 2026). Set out cheapest first. There is also 1 registered to let.

No.325Makino-cho Kaizu¥2,000,000
Land 138 m² (42 tsubo) / Building 51 m² (15 tsubo) / Year built Year builtunknown
About 26 min walk from Makino Station on the JR Kosei LineAkiya bank of View listing →

No.321Haido¥2,000,000
Land 548 m² (166 tsubo) / Building 176 m² (53 tsubo) / build date unknown (more than 60 years old) / 6SKAkiya bank of View listing →

No.295Nagata¥2,000,000
Land 87 m² (26 tsubo) / Building 30 m² (9 tsubo) /built 1977
1,990 m from Omi-Takashima Station on the JR Kosei LineAkiya bank of View listing →

No.247Shinasahi-cho Yasuigawa¥2,500,000
Land 234 m² (71 tsubo) / Building 73 m² (22 tsubo) /built 1976
17 min walk from Shinasahi Station on the JR Kosei LineAkiya bank of View listing →

No.323Adogawa-cho Tanaka¥3,500,000
Land 193 m² (58 tsubo) / Building 61 m² (19 tsubo) /built 1974／4DK
13 min walk from Adogawa Station on the JR Kosei LineAkiya bank of View listing →

No.288Imazu-cho Fukashimizu¥3,500,000
Land 220 m² (67 tsubo) / Building 80 m² (24 tsubo) /built 1994
32 min walk from Omi-Nakasho Station on the JR Kosei LineAkiya bank of View listing →

No.214Adogawa-cho Tanaka¥4,000,000
Land 193 m² (58 tsubo) / Building 61 m² (19 tsubo) /built 1974／4DK
13 min walk from Adogawa Station on the JR Kosei LineAkiya bank of View listing →

No.340Katsuno¥4,500,000
Land 264 m² (80 tsubo) / Building 174 m² (53 tsubo) /built 1967／9K
9 min walk from Omi-Takashima Station on the JR Kosei LineAkiya bank of View listing →

No.332Imazu-cho Shimohirobe¥4,800,000
Land 472 m² (143 tsubo) / Building 154 m² (47 tsubo) /built 1970／7SLDK
the JR Kosei Line Omi-Imazu Station, Kojak bus 10 min Shimohirobe bus stop 1 min walkAkiya bank of View listing →

No.331Shinasahi-cho Aiba¥4,800,000
Land 293 m² (89 tsubo) / Building 242 m² (73 tsubo) / Year built 69 years old
About 37 min walk from Shinasahi Station on the JR Kosei LineAkiya bank of View listing →

No.338Kutsuki Utodani¥5,000,000
Land 410 m² (124 tsubo) / Building 214 m² (65 tsubo) /built 1954／11DK
24 km from Adogawa Station on the JR Kosei LineAkiya bank of View listing →

No.322Imazu-cho Imazu¥5,000,000
Land 201 m² (61 tsubo) / Building 55 m² (17 tsubo) /built 1999／1LDK
20 min walk from Omi-Imazu Station on the JR Kosei LineAkiya bank of View listing →

No.333Kutsuki Kase¥6,000,000
Land 371 m² (112 tsubo) / Building 233 m² (70 tsubo) /built 1969／10SDK
About 15 min by car from Adogawa Station on the JR Kosei LineAkiya bank of View listing →

No.202Kamo¥6,000,000
Land 609 m² (184 tsubo) / Building 229 m² (69 tsubo) /built 1965
22 min walk from Adogawa Station on the JR Kosei LineAkiya bank of View listing →

No.303Shinasahi-cho Warasono¥6,900,000
Land 155 m² (47 tsubo) / Building 96 m² (29 tsubo) /built 1994／4LDK
21 min walk from Shinasahi Station on the JR Kosei LineAkiya bank of View listing →

No.327Kutsuki Arakawa¥7,800,000
Land 258 m² (78 tsubo) / Building 99 m² (30 tsubo) /built 2000
About 9.31 km from Shinasahi Station on the JR Kosei LineAkiya bank of View listing →

No.324Adogawa-cho Aoyagi¥9,750,000
Land 496 m² (150 tsubo) / Building 260 m² (79 tsubo) /built 1974／10DK
16 min walk from Adogawa Station on the JR Kosei LineAkiya bank of View listing →

No.223Kutsuki Murai¥10,000,000
Land 462 m² (140 tsubo) / Building 83 m² (25 tsubo) /built 2001／2LDK
About 21 km from Adogawa Station on the JR Kosei LineAkiya bank of View listing →

No.206Adogawa-cho Kamikoga¥10,000,000
Land 335 m² (101 tsubo) / Building 93 m² (28 tsubo) /built 2000／3LDK
18 min by bus from Adogawa Station on the JR Kosei Line, then about 2,400 m from the stopAkiya bank of View listing →

No.290Imazu-cho Nakoji¥42,000,000
Land 548 m² (166 tsubo) / Building 228 m² (69 tsubo) /built 1975／10DK
1 min walk from Omi-Imazu Station on the JR Kosei LineAkiya bank of View listing →

What is the cheapest house you can buy in Takashima City?

SUUMO lists 45, and all of them were collected. From ¥1,800,000 to ¥68,000,000, median ¥9,800,000, and 🔴 23 (51%) are at or under ¥10,000,000. The median plot is 276 square metres and the median building 104. The median build year is 1994, with 12 (27%) from before 1981, which is on the newer side for this site. The city's own vacant house introduction system has 21 you can apply for (20 for sale, 1 to let), and the ones for sale run ¥2,000,000 to ¥42,000,000, median ¥4,900,000.

CHAPTER 05Is the ground safe?

Is this town inside a national earthquake-preparedness zone?

For each major earthquake, national law designates the areas where preparation is to be advanced. Whether a town is designated tells you directly how the national government views the shaking and tsunami expected there.

Nankai Trough Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area Designated

Tokyo Inland Earthquake Emergency Measures Area not applicable (the whole of Shiga Prefecture is outside the scheme)

Japan Trench / Kuril Trench Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area not applicable (the whole of Shiga Prefecture is outside the scheme)

Shaking of intensity 6-lower or above within 30 years 10.3% (6-upper or above: 1.6%)
at Takashima City Hall. Surface ground AVS30 338 m/s, alluvial fan

This probability is for the single 250-metre grid square the city hall stands in. The Takashima City town hall stands onalluvial fan(AVS30 338 m/s), and the 10.3% above is the figure for that point. Even within Takashima City it changes a great deal between the low ground along the rivers and the terraces. When a listing interests you, look it up by its street address.Enter an address on the J-SHIS map and it shows the probability and the ground for that 250-metre mesh.

Look up an address on J-SHIS → Designations from the Cabinet Office list of designated municipalities (Nankai Trough Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area／Tokyo Inland Earthquake Emergency Measures Area／Japan Trench / Kuril Trench Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area ) / probability and surface ground from theNational Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience, J-SHIS earthquake hazard information API (2024 edition, average case, all earthquakes), queried at the city hall coordinates / verified 2026-08-20

The first thing to look at in this city is the Biwako-seigan fault zone

At the city hall, the chance in 30 years is 10.3% for intensity 6-lower or above and 1.6% for 6-upper or above. The surface ground has an AVS30 of 337.97 m/s and the microlandform is an alluvial fan, comparatively firm ground. It is, however, designated a Nankai Trough Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area. And what really matters here is the active fault. The city's hazard map heads a whole chapter "projected intensities for the Biwako-seigan fault zone earthquake, which would cause the greatest damage in Takashima City". The Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion assesses it as follows: the northern section of the Biwako-seigan fault zone (about 23 kilometres long, running through Takashima City) at about magnitude 7.1, with a 1–3% chance within 30 years. And it states that "the northern section belongs to the higher group among Japan's major active faults for the likelihood of an earthquake in the next 30 years". The southern section runs from around the former Takashima Town to Kokubu in Otsu City

Before you view, open these three by address. (1) Earthquake — the city's hazard mapEarthquake volume (projected intensities for the Biwako-seigan fault zone earthquake)is published area by area. (2) Water — the city publishesif Lake Biwa floods, if the Ado River floods, if the Ishida River floods, and if the smaller rivers and channels flood (the local safety-level map) — four projections laid over one another. The median elevation of the 45 listings is 92.0 metres, but the surface of Lake Biwa is about 85——the height above the lake is only a few metres (§4).Landslide warning zones and special warning zones are on the same map. (3) Nuclear——Part of the city lies within 30 kilometres of the Oi and Mihama power stations in Fukui Prefecture, and the city has designated it"an area where nuclear disaster measures are to be given priority". The city hasa nuclear disaster preparedness office, run by measures and publishes environmental radiation weekly and monthly. The readings for February Reiwa 8 were 0.037 to 0.067 microsieverts an hour at six locations — the city publishes"the usual hourly dose from natural radiation in Japan is broadly 0.2 microsieverts an hour or less", the city adds alongside them.The figures are updated every month. Look at the latest yourself.
Takashima City disaster hazard map → Nuclear disaster preparedness (Takashima City) → Look up an address on J-SHIS →
Sources: probability and surface ground fromNational Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience, J-SHIS(the 250 m mesh containing the city hall at 35.35305 / 136.03580) / the Nankai Trough designation is from the Cabinet Office"Nankai Trough Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Areas" / the fault assessment and the quotation are from the Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion"The Biwako-seigan fault zone"(northern section, running through Takashima City, about 23 km long, about M7.1, 1–3% within 30 years, "belongs to the higher group among Japan's major active faults" / southern section, about 38 km long, about M7.5, close to 0% within 30 years, last active in 1185) and"The Mikata and Hanaore fault zones"(the northern Hanaore fault zone, from the former Imazu Town, about M7.2, probability unknown, last active in the earthquake of 1662) / the flood, landslide, earthquake and nuclear maps and the quotations are fromTakashima City, "Takashima City disaster hazard map"(Lake Biwa flooding projection revised May Heisei 28 / Ado River flooding projection revised May Reiwa 2 / local safety-level map revised March Reiwa 2) / the passage on the 30-kilometre zone is fromTakashima City relocation site "Let's live in Takashima" / the environmental radiation readings are fromTakashima City, "Environmental radiation measurement results (February Reiwa 8)"(in front of the Makino branch office 0.060 / near the Imazu branch office garage 0.037 / in front of the Kutsuki branch office 0.056 / south of the Adogawa branch office 0.052 / east of the Takashima branch office 0.067 / north of the city hall main building 0.057 μSv/h, with 24 further locations measured) / the elevations are as in §4 / checked 20 August 2026

Is the earthquake risk high in Takashima City?

At the city hall, the chance in 30 years is 10.3% for intensity 6-lower or above and 1.6% for 6-upper or above, and the surface ground has an AVS30 of 337.97 m/s on an alluvial fan. 🔴 The first thing to look at here is the Biwako-seigan fault zone: its northern section (running through Takashima City, about 23 kilometres long) is about M7.1 with a 1–3% chance within 30 years, and the state assesses it as "belonging to the higher group among Japan's major active faults". The city's hazard map also takes this earthquake as the worst case.

CHAPTER 06What summer and winter are like

Takashima has a Japan Sea climate. The city writes of itself: "being close to the Japan Sea side, the winter cold is severe and the snowfall heavy — a Japan Sea climate". The figures bear that out: 258 centimetres of snowfall in a year, a deepest cover of 42 centimetres and 52.9 winter days. In summer, though, extremely hot days number 1.3 a year — a fifteenth of Kyoto (19.4) and a quarter of Tokyo (4.8). A place 40 minutes from Kyoto where the summer is cool and the snow falls. That is the whole of this city's climate.

Item Imazu Kyoto Tokyo How to read it

Days above 35°C 1.3 days 19.4 days 4.8 days A fifteenth of Kyoto and a quarter of Tokyo. Midsummer days number 42.2 (Kyoto 75.8)

Tropical nights (minimum 25°C or above) 5.2 days 27.2 days 17.8 days A fifth of Kyoto. The nights do drop.

Total snowfall a year 258cm 15cm 8cm A deepest cover of 42 centimetres. Winter tyres and snow clearing are a given (Hikone is 81 centimetres)

Frost days (minimum below 0°C) 52.9 days 18.0 days 15.2 days 2.9 times Kyoto's. But days below freezing all day number 0.1, so it is almost never below zero in the daytime

August daily high 31.0℃ 33.7℃ 31.3℃ 2.7°C below Kyoto. The January daily low is −0.4°C (Kyoto 1.5°C)

Annual rainfall 1,946.9mm 1,523.0mm 1,598.2mm 1.28 times Kyoto's. The winter is wet as well (December 178.1 mm, January 192.5), which is the mark of the Japan Sea side

Put the snow into the budget and the daily routine258 centimetres of snowfall in a year, a deepest cover of 42 centimetres. A different world from Kyoto (15 cm) or Tokyo (8 cm). Three times Hikone (81 cm), in the same prefecture. Among the comments from people who used the city's "try living here" scheme, the city prints this one: "a car is essential for daily life, and the winter snow worries me." In practice that means winter tyres, snow-clearing tools, protecting the roof and the gutters, and the cost of running a car. On the hill side in Kutsuki and Makino it is deeper still (annual rainfall at Kutsuki Hera is 2,514.5 mm, 1.3 times Imazu's). "Forty minutes to Kyoto" comes with this snow. Take it as a city you choose knowing that.

In exchange, the summer is plainly cool1.3 extremely hot days. Compare Kyoto's 19.4 and Tokyo's 4.8. Tropical nights are 5.2, a fifth of Kyoto's. The August daily high of 31.0°C is 2.7°C below Kyoto's. The ground between Lake Biwa and the mountains shows through directly. In practice, the summer cooling bill is among the lowest on this site. "Work in Kyoto, spend the summer in Takashima" holds up in the figures. But the winter heating bill is the reverse — if you buy a second-hand house, judge the insulation, the windows and the heating by the winter, not the summer.

There is a word, "Takashima shigure"The city writes that "in autumn there is often the rain known as Takashima shigure". The 1,946.9 mm a year is 1.28 times Kyoto's, and it is not only July (225.5 mm) but September (194.4), December (178.1) and January (192.5) that are wet — the pattern of the Japan Sea side. The city's relocation site explains that humidity as "a land and climate long suited to fermentation". Funazushi and other narezushi, sake, vinegar, soy sauce, miso — the food of Takashima comes out of this climate (§11). High humidity also means a house needs looking after against condensation and mould.

Source:Japan Meteorological Agency, "Imazu (normals, 1991–2020)"(monthly rainfall and temperature from the main elements, the day counts from view=a2, the snow from view=a4).Imazu is an AMeDAS station in Imazu-cho, Takashima City / the comparison withKyoto,Tokyo,Hikone uses the same Japan Meteorological Agency normals / Kutsuki Hera (60/1578) has a normal annual rainfall of 2,514.5 mm, but no normals for temperature or snow are published（Japan Meteorological Agency, "Kutsuki Hera") / the phrases "Japan Sea climate" and "Takashima shigure" are fromTakashima City, "Position and terrain" / the passage on fermentation and the comments from users are fromTakashima City relocation site "Let's live in Takashima"andTakashima City, "Reiwa 8 Takashima City try living here"/ Verified 2026-08-20

Are summers hot and winters cold in Takashima City?

🔴 The summer is cool and the snow falls in winter. Extremely hot days number 1.3 a year — a fifteenth of Kyoto (19.4) and a quarter of Tokyo (4.8). Tropical nights are 5.2 (Kyoto 27.2). Against that, 258 centimetres of snowfall in a year, a deepest cover of 42 centimetres and 52.9 winter days. The city writes of "being close to the Japan Sea side, the winter cold is severe and the snowfall heavy — a Japan Sea climate". Annual rainfall is 1,946.9 mm.

CHAPTER 07Shops, hospitals, schools

The greatest strength of this city is what children cost. School meals are entirely free, nursery care for children under three is free too (the city adds to what the national scheme does not cover), and medical care is free until the end of junior high school. And of meeting the full cost of antenatal check-ups, the city writes that "Takashima City is the only municipality in the prefecture paying it in full". For medicine, Takashima Municipal Hospital (210 beds, 23 departments, with obstetrics and paediatrics) is the city's core.

Item Takashima City in practice

School meals Entirely free (for pupils at primary and junior high schools in the city). A partial subsidy also applies to residents whose children attend a school outside the city

Nursery fees Entirely free. The city also makes nursery care free for children under three, whom the national "free early childhood education and care" scheme does not cover (extended hours and event fees remain with the parents)

Children's medical costs Free until the end of junior high school, for both inpatient and outpatient care

Antenatal check-ups The full cost is met. The city writes that "Takashima City is the only municipality in the prefecture paying it in full"

Birth and raising children ¥50,000 each as a "birth support gift" and a "child-rearing support gift"

Support for setting up married life For couples where both are 39 or under with a household income below ¥5,000,000, a grant towards buying a home, rent and moving costs. Up to ¥600,000 (29 or under) or ¥300,000 (39 or under)

Care for sick children The sick-child room "Ohisama" (inside Takashima Municipal Hospital; from 6 months old to year 3 of primary school; weekdays 8:00–18:30; ¥2,000 per child per day)

After-school care 13 places in the city (Imazu, Makino, Adogawa, Shinasahi, Kutsuki, Nagata)

Hospitals Takashima Municipal Hospital (Katsuno 1667) — 210 beds, 23 departments. With obstetrics and paediatrics, on the secondary emergency rota, a disaster base hospital, a regional cancer care hospital, and base-isolated against earthquakes. There are also Omi Airinen Imazu Hospital and Makino Hospital

Libraries 6 libraries (or reading rooms) — Makino, Imazu, Shinasahi, Kutsuki, Adogawa and Takashima

Both a combined school and a reorganisation are under wayThe city has 13 primary schools and 6 junior high schools (fiscal Reiwa 5). The six junior high catchments are Makino, Imazu, Kutsuki, Adogawa, Takashima and Kosei (Shinasahi). Takashima primary and Takashima junior high form "Takashima Gakuen", the first public combined primary and junior high school in the prefecture. And the three primary schools in the Makino junior high catchment (Makino-higashi, -nishi and -minami) are to merge into one around April Reiwa 10, with a new "(provisionally named) Makino Primary School" built beside Makino Junior High. The city writes that "after the merger it will be run as a combined primary and junior high school". The Kutsuki catchment is still under consideration. If you are looking in Makino or Kutsuki, read this plan first.

Only Ado Primary School is written down as growingThe city's reorganisation policy sets out the outlook school by school. "Ado Primary School is expected to keep a size of 12 classes or more as pupil numbers rise" — the only primary school in the city written down as growing (the Adogawa junior high catchment, §2). Across the city, though, 11 of the 13 primary schools fall below the national standard size of 12 to 18 classes, and all 6 junior high schools do. The average class has about 20 pupils, and about 47% of classes have 20 or fewer. "Attention from a small class" and "no chance to change class" are two sides of the same thing. Ask the city how many classes the catchment you are considering has now.

There is "School Shift", which lets a child attend without moving your residenceThe city's scheme: "a way for your child to study at a public primary or junior high school in Takashima City without moving your residence registration from where you live now". The city explains that it makes two-base living possible for people who "want to keep their registration in the city while raising a child surrounded by nature", and writes that "because the school record is transferred, the period is counted as attendance and not as absence". For a place to stay, the city's "try living here" houses (§14) and the trial houses of a joint project with JR West can be used. A way to try the child's school before you move — among everything this site has looked at, that is a rare arrangement

Shopping, and getting about day to dayThe city writes that "in the built-up areas around the stations and Route 161 there are supermarkets, pharmacies and electrical stores with food and household goods". The shopping centres are along Route 161, gathered at Adogawa, Shinasahi and Imazu (§2). Besides those, the city lists the roadside stations, farm shops, weekend morning markets and unstaffed vegetable stalls in the harvest season as everyday places to shop. On the hill side (Kutsuki, Hata, Mukugawa) a car and a booked shared taxi are the premise (§3). Think of it not as "do I need a car" but "how many cars do we need".

Sources: the school meals, nursery fees, medical care, antenatal check-ups, birth support gift, married-life support, sick-child care, after-school care, libraries, shopping and health services, and the quotations, are fromTakashima City relocation site "Let's live in Takashima" / Raise your children in Takashima!andthe same, "What sort of place is Takashima"(city civic collaboration division) / the children's medical care is fromTakashima City, "The children's medical care subsidy" / the hospitals from Takashima City, "An outline of Takashima Municipal Hospital"(206 general beds and 4 infectious-disease beds = 210 / 23 departments / secondary emergency, disaster base hospital, regional cancer care hospital, base isolation) / the school counts, class numbers, reorganisation plan and quotations are fromTakashima City Board of Education, "Basic policy for reorganising primary and junior high schools in Takashima City" (September Reiwa 6, PDF)(11 of 13 primary schools and all 6 junior high schools below the standard size / about 20 pupils a class on average, about 47% of classes at 20 or fewer / the three Makino primary schools to merge around April Reiwa 10 into a new (provisionally named) Makino Primary School / Ado Primary School expected to keep 12 classes or more as numbers rise) / the School Shift quotation is fromTakashima City, "A new shape for education [School Shift]"/ Verified 2026-08-20

What support is there for families with children in Takashima City?

🔴 School meals are entirely free, nursery care for children under three is free, and medical care is free until the end of junior high school. Antenatal check-ups are met in full, and the city writes that "Takashima City is the only municipality in the prefecture paying it in full". There are a birth support gift and a child-rearing support gift of ¥50,000 each, the sick-child room "Ohisama" (inside Takashima Municipal Hospital, ¥2,000 a day) and 13 after-school care places. For medicine, Takashima Municipal Hospital (210 beds, 23 departments, with obstetrics and paediatrics) is the core.

CHAPTER 08What it costs you every year after you buy

Water and sewerage in Takashima City are read and billed every two months. For a 13 mm connection and 40 cubic metres over two months (a guide for three or four people), water is ¥5,170 and sewerage ¥6,600, ¥11,770 in all (both tax included). The water charge was revised on 1 April Reiwa 5, and the sewerage charge held at the same rate. Among the cities on this site, that is a little below the middle.

Use over two months Water (13 mm) Sewerage (ordinary discharge) Total

20 m³ (a rough guide for 1–2 people) ¥2,750 ¥3,080 ¥5,830

40 m³ (a rough guide for 3–4 people) ¥5,170 ¥6,600 ¥11,770

60㎥ ¥7,590 ¥10,120 ¥17,710

Compared with the other cities on this site, it is in the middleLining up the two-month total for 40 m³: Takashima ¥11,770. Below Sasebo ¥14,787, Saga ¥14,278 (after its revision), Matsuyama ¥13,110, Miyazaki ¥12,294 and Beppu ¥12,132, and above Kochi ¥11,470 and Tokushima ¥11,020. A little below the middle. But check property by property whether it is connected to the sewer. The city's sewerage comes as public sewerage, agricultural community sewerage and forestry community sewerage, and anything else is on a septic tank. Some vacant-home bank properties are actually marked "night-soil collection" or "septic tank" (§4). With a septic tank, the maintenance and the statutory inspection cost extra

Heating and cooling swing hard in winterIn summer there are 1.3 extremely hot days (Kyoto 19.4), so the cooling bill is among the lowest on this site. In winter, though, 52.9 winter days and 258 centimetres of snow a year (§6) mean the heating and the snow clearing cost a lot. Kerosene boilers appear among the vacant-home bank properties too. If you buy a second-hand house, judge the insulation and the windows by the winter. The city has grants for a solar water heater (a tenth of the unit price, up to ¥50,000) and domestic solar generation (¥30,000 per kilowatt, up to ¥100,000). And the car — decide at the start how many the household needs, winter tyres included (§3).

Kutsuki alone has a tax exemptionUnder the Act on Special Measures for the Sustainable Development of Depopulated Areas and the Takashima City ordinance on exempting property tax in depopulated areas, the city exempts property tax for three years on equipment acquired for manufacturing, inns, sales of farm, forest and fishery produce, information services and the like, in the Kutsuki area (the scheme runs to 31 March Reiwa 9). The city gives examples: "sales of farm, forest and fishery produce" covers farm shops and farm restaurants aimed at visitors, and "information services and the like" covers information services, internet-related services, mail order and market research. Simply living there does not qualify, but if you are starting a shop, a workshop or a remote business in Kutsuki, ask the city first

Sources: the water charge is fromTakashima City, "Water charges"andthe same, "Water charge quick-reference table" (PDF, revised 1 April Reiwa 5, two months, tax included)'s row for a 13 mm connection / the sewerage charge is fromthe same, "About sewerage charges"andthe same, "Sewerage charge quick-reference table" (PDF, two months, tax included)'s row for ordinary discharge / the septic tank grant is fromthe same, "About the grant for installing a combined-treatment septic tank" / the solar water heater and solar generation grants are fromTakashima City relocation site "Let's live in Takashima" / Finding a home / the depopulation-law tax exemption and the quotation are fromTakashima City, "Property tax exemption under the depopulation law"(the area covered is Kutsuki; three years; to 31 March Reiwa 9) / the amounts compared for each city use the same basis as that city's page on this site (40 m³ over two months) / the climate is as in §6 / checked 20 August 2026

What do water and sewerage cost in Takashima City?

For 40 cubic metres over two months (a guide for three or four people), ¥11,770 in all (water ¥5,170 plus sewerage ¥6,600; 13 mm connection, tax included). For 20 cubic metres it is ¥5,830, and for 60, ¥17,710. Against the other cities on this site that is a little below the middle. 🔴 Check property by property whether it is connected to the sewer — with a septic tank, the maintenance and the statutory inspection cost extra.

CHAPTER 09What happens when you want to sell

Land prices in Takashima City are falling. Residential land is ¥15,600/m², −1.6% on the year, commercial land ¥31,600/m², −1.2%, and all uses ¥19,600/m², −1.5%. The opposite direction from Shiga Prefecture as a whole (residential ¥55,500/m², +0.9%). Good when you buy, bad when you sell — if you choose this city, do not lose sight of that.

What to look at Takashima City in practice

Land price (residential) ¥15,600/m², −1.6% on the year. Shiga Prefecture as a whole is ¥55,500/m², +0.9% — less than a third of the prefectural level, and moving the other way

Land price (commercial) ¥31,600/m², −1.2%. All uses ¥19,600/m² (−1.5%). There is no surveyed point for industrial land

Compared with nearby About a fifth of Otsu City's ¥82,300/m² (+1.9%) and a sixteenth of Kyoto City's ¥247,700/m² (+3.6%). The lowest level of the 13 cities in Shiga Prefecture

How thick the market is 45 on SUUMO plus 21 on the vacant-home bank. One for every 979 people (SUUMO alone). The spread by district is very uneven (§4)

Price band ¥1,800,000 to ¥68,000,000, median ¥9,800,000 (all 45). 23 (51%) at or under ¥10,000,000

Year built Median build year 1994, with 12 (27%) from before 1981. On the newer side for this site

The pool of buyers 44,052 people. And 40 minutes to Kyoto on the Special Rapid (§3) — demand from Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe for a second base or a holiday house is the other pillar of this market

Take "it is falling" at face valueResidential land −1.6%, commercial land −1.2%. Shiga Prefecture is +0.9%, Otsu City +1.9% and Kyoto City +3.6% — while the prefecture rises, Takashima City falls. The city itself gives the reason: "the challenge for Takashima City is that, as elsewhere, the population continues to fall with a low birth rate and an ageing society. Hamlets on the edge of viability are increasing for want of successors, and with them abandoned farmland has become a problem." For someone buying now, that is favourable. But it also means this is not land to buy expecting it to rise. Buy to live in, and budget on the premise of staying. The value of the building falls year by year

Whoever buys from you will be in Kyoto, Osaka or Kobe40 minutes to Kyoto and 1 hour 14 minutes to Osaka on the Special Rapid (§3). Makino's 13 listings have a median of ¥19,800,000, a median build year of 1999 and only one from before 1981 (§2) — prices that cannot be explained by local demand alone. Demand from Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe for the lake and mountain scenery is actually making them. So this city has two exits. (1) Real local demand (Adogawa, Shinasahi, Takashima — medians of ¥5,500,000 to ¥8,800,000) and (2) demand from Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe for a second base or a holiday house (Makino — a median of ¥19,800,000). Decide at the start which market you are buying in. It changes who you sell to.

Sources: land prices fromMinistry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, official land price survey (Reiwa 8), average prices and year-on-year change by municipality (PDF)'s rows for Shiga Prefecture and Takashima City (compiled by the Land Information Center / Takashima City: residential ¥15,600/m² −1.6%, commercial ¥31,600/m² −1.2%, all uses ¥19,600/m² −1.5%; industrial blank / Shiga Prefecture: residential ¥55,500/m² +0.9% / Otsu City ¥82,300/m² +1.9% / Kyoto City ¥247,700/m² +3.6%) / the counts and medians are the same tally of 45 SUUMO listings as §4 plus 21 on the vacant-home bank / the quotation on population decline and hamlets on the edge of viability is fromTakashima City relocation site "Let's live in Takashima" / the population is as in §10 / the land prices compared for each city use the same sources as that city's page on this site / checked 20 August 2026

Will the house I buy sell when I want to sell it?

🔴 Land prices are falling. Residential land is ¥15,600/m², −1.6% on the year and commercial land ¥31,600/m², −1.2%, the opposite direction from Shiga Prefecture as a whole (¥55,500/m², +0.9%). About a fifth of Otsu City's ¥82,300/m² and a sixteenth of Kyoto City's ¥247,700/m². The market is 45 on SUUMO plus 21 on the vacant-home bank, one for every 979 people. Buy to live in, and budget on the premise of staying.

CHAPTER 10Who lives here, and how many

Takashima City has 44,052 people in 21,005 households (as at 31 July Reiwa 8). 21,544 men and 22,508 women — 964 more women. That is 2.10 people per household. The Reiwa 2 census counted 46,377 people in 18,037 households, so in about six years the population has fallen by more than 2,300 while the number of households has risen by about 3,000 — households are getting smaller.

2.10 people
People per household (44,052 ÷ 21,005). At the Reiwa 2 census it was 2.57 (46,377 ÷ 18,037). It has fallen by 0.47 in six years

People are falling and households are risingReiwa 2: 46,377 people in 18,037 households → July Reiwa 8: 44,052 in 21,005. The population is down 2,325 and the households up 2,968. Per household, 2.57 people down to 2.10. That means large families splitting, and more one- and two-person households. Look at the listings and the median plot is 276 m² with a 104 m² building (§4) — what is coming onto the market was built for a large family. Smaller properties like those in Shinasahi (164 m² plot, 94 m² building) do appear, but the centre of the market is houses built to the old family size (§2).

One person in three is 65 or overAt the Reiwa 2 census: 14 and under 10.8% (4,959), 15 to 64 53.1% (24,449), 65 and over 36.1% (16,648). More than one in three is 65 or over. By industry: primary 6.1%, secondary 29.3%, tertiary 64.6%. The city itself writes that "hamlets on the edge of viability are increasing for want of successors, and with them abandoned farmland has become a problem" (§9). That is something to know plainly when choosing where to move. At the same time the support for families with children is among the most generous on this site (§7) — the city knows it is shrinking and is acting on it, which is the accurate reading.

The city uses the word "Takashima enjin"The city's official site has an entry called "Ties made in Takashima — Takashima enjin", and the relocation site "Let's live in Takashima" carries interviews with people who have moved here, twenty "Work Life Stories" of people working and living in Takashima, and "The food and people of Takashima", reported by high-school students and residents. The counter is the civic collaboration division (0740-25-8526, 9:00–17:00; weekends and holidays by appointment), and there are specialist advisers called "Takashima gurashi coordinators". For what the figures cannot settle, asking these people is the quickest way — which is why the city set the counter up.

Sources: population and households from Takashima City official site's published figures (as at 31 July Reiwa 8: 44,052 people, 21,005 households, 21,544 men, 22,508 women) andthe same, "Population and households" / the Reiwa 2 census figures of 46,377 people and 18,037 households, the age structure and the working population are fromthe same, "An outline of Takashima City" / the counter, the interviews, the Work Life Stories and The food and people of Takashima are fromTakashima City relocation site "Let's live in Takashima"/ Verified 2026-08-20

Share of foreign residents

2.06%national average 3.26%

Of the 44,473 people living in Takashima City, 916 are foreign residents. That is below the national average of 3.26%.
Across Japan, foreign residents make up 3.26% of the population (4,031,159 out of 123,767,642). 34 municipalities are above one in ten.

Source: calculated by this site from the municipality-level tables of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, "Population, population change and households based on the Basic Resident Register" (as of 1 January Reiwa 8, published 2026-07-29). The ministry's publication page / verified 2026-08-17

What is happening to Takashima City's population?

44,052 people in 21,005 households (as at 31 July Reiwa 8). 21,544 men and 22,508 women, or 2.10 people per household. The Reiwa 2 census counted 46,377 people in 18,037 households, so in about six years the population has fallen by 2,325 and the households have risen by 2,968 — households are getting smaller. The age structure is 14 and under 10.8%, 15 to 64 53.1%, 65 and over 36.1% (Reiwa 2 census).

CHAPTER 11Community life and the year's events

Takashima City holds three component parts of the Japan Heritage "Lake Biwa and its waterside landscapes — a water heritage of prayer and daily life" — the waterside landscape of Kaizu, Nishihama and Chinai in Makino, of Harie and Shimofuri in Shinasahi, and of Omizo in Takashima (recognised in Heisei 28). The city writes that "landscapes remain here that are found nowhere else in Japan". And Adogawa makes 90% of Japan's fan ribs — the only place in the world that makes them.

There is a way of using water called kabataAt Harie in Shinasahi, the kabata — spring water led into each house's kitchen — is still alive. The city lists it as the Japan Heritage "waterside landscape of Harie and Shimofuri". The water is shared, so there are rules for using it. Use it upstream, pass it downstream, and the carp eat what is left — one water system used by the whole hamlet. Visits are guided by a local group. "Getting along with the neighbourhood" here means something as concrete as this. The conditions for using the vacant house introduction system say it is "limited to those who will live in harmony with local residents"

Many people here make things by handAdogawa makes 90% of Japan's fan ribs (senkotsu, the ribs of a folding fan), and the city writes of "a traditional bamboo handicraft industry, the only place in the world that makes them, something to be proud of abroad". Shinasahi is where Takashima chijimi crepe and Takashima canvas are made. Alongside them the city lists Takashima inkstones, Unpei brushes, Japanese candles and crepe goods. In the city's words: "many people engaged in traditional crafts — Takashima chijimi, fan ribs, woodwork — have long lived here. In recent years, open-studio events by residents working in ceramics, dyeing and weaving, and 'Kaze to Tsuchi no Kogei', held since 2010 to show how a wide range of residents live, have become fixtures"

The neighbourhood differs across the five former towns and one villageMakino, Imazu, Shinasahi, Adogawa, Takashima and Kutsuki — separate municipalities until the merger of Heisei 17, and each still has its own branch office (§2). How strong the residents' association is, what the events are, whose turn it is — all of it differs. Before you buy, ask the officers directly what the association fee is and what duties come round. Especially on the hill side (Kutsuki, Hata, Mukugawa) and in the farming districts, looking after the channels and farm tracks, cutting the grass, and clearing snow in winter come round to you. Snow clearing is a duty of daily life here (§6). The city writes of "a spirit of mutual help rooted in the locality, with residents bound to one another strongly"

Sources: the Japan Heritage "Lake Biwa and its waterside landscapes — a water heritage of prayer and daily life" (recognised Heisei 28; Kaizu/Nishihama/Chinai, Harie/Shimofuri, Omizo), the 90% national share of fan ribs, Takashima chijimi and Takashima canvas, the traditional crafts and "Kaze to Tsuchi no Kogei", and the quotation on the local community are fromTakashima City relocation site "Let's live in Takashima" / What sort of place is Takashima / the local products (Takashima inkstones, Unpei brushes, Japanese candles, crepe goods and others) and the places to visit are fromTakashima City, "An outline of Takashima City" / the conditions for using the vacant house introduction system are fromthe same, "Finding a home"/ Verified 2026-08-20

What events and nature are there in Takashima City?

🔴 Three component parts of the Japan Heritage "Lake Biwa and its waterside landscapes — a water heritage of prayer and daily life" are here — the waterside landscape of Kaizu, Nishihama and Chinai in Makino, of Harie and Shimofuri in Shinasahi, and of Omizo in Takashima (recognised in Heisei 28). At Harie in Shinasahi, the kabata, spring water led into each house's kitchen, is still alive. Adogawa makes 90% of Japan's fan ribs, and the city calls it "the only place in the world that makes them".

CHAPTER 12Things nearby that move land prices

Three things tell on land prices in Takashima: (1) being 40 minutes from Kyoto on the Special Rapid, (2) 258 centimetres of snow a year, and (3) a falling population. Residential land is ¥15,600/m² (−1.6%) and commercial land ¥31,600/m² (−1.2%) (§9). (1) holds the price up while (2) and (3) push it down — the present level is the balance between them.

(1) Forty minutes to Kyoto holds the price up40 minutes and ¥990 to Kyoto on the Special Rapid, 1 hour 14 minutes and ¥1,690 to Osaka, neither with a change (§3). Omi-Imazu is where the Special Rapid starts, and the Thunderbird limited express stops there. Without that, there would be no reason for a city of 44,052 people with 36.1% aged 65 or over (§10) to hold residential land at ¥15,600/m². Makino's median of ¥19,800,000 (§2) is made by demand from Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe for a second base or a holiday house. "Forty minutes to Kyoto, an hour and a quarter to Osaka" is the ground this city's land prices stand on.

(2) The snow tells on the price as well258 centimetres of snowfall in a year, a deepest cover of 42 centimetres and 52.9 winter days (§6). A different world from Kyoto's 15 centimetres or Tokyo's 8, and three times Hikone (81 cm) in the same prefecture. Snow takes both money and time, every year. Winter tyres, clearing, checking the roof, and the state of the road in the morning. "Forty minutes to Kyoto" is not forty minutes on a snowy day. Against that, the summer has 1.3 extremely hot days (Kyoto 19.4) — you take on the snow and get the cool summer in return. Whether you can accept that trade is what divides this city

(3) A falling population, and hamlets on the edgeIn the city's own words: "as elsewhere, the population continues to fall with a low birth rate and an ageing society. Hamlets on the edge of viability are increasing for want of successors, and with them abandoned farmland has become a problem." (§9) Down 2,325 people in the six years from Reiwa 2, with 36.1% aged 65 or over (§10). That is why land prices are falling (−1.6%) almost alone in the prefecture. Which is favourable for someone buying now. And the city is acting on that reality — free school meals and free nursery care for under-threes, and antenatal check-ups met in full (Takashima City alone in the prefecture) (§7), the try-living scheme and School Shift

And the active fault and the power stations are on the same mapThe northern section of the Biwako-seigan fault zone runs through Takashima City, with a 1–3% chance within 30 years and an assessment of "the higher group among Japan's major active faults" (§5). The city's hazard map also takes this earthquake as the worst case. And part of the city lies within 30 kilometres of the Oi and Mihama power stations in Fukui Prefecture. The city has a nuclear disaster preparedness office and measures and publishes environmental radiation weekly and monthly (February Reiwa 8: 0.037 to 0.067 μSv/h). Neither of these is hidden information. Read what the city publishes, check by address, and then decide.

Sources: land prices fromMinistry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, official land price survey (Reiwa 8)'s rows for Shiga Prefecture and Takashima City / the rail times and fares are as in §3 / the climate as in §6 / the earthquake and nuclear material as in §5 / the population as in §10 / the support for families as in §7 / checked 20 August 2026

What decides land prices in Takashima City?

(1) 40 minutes and ¥990 to Kyoto on the Special Rapid, 1 hour 14 minutes to Osaka — that holds the price up. (2) 258 centimetres of snowfall a year and 52.9 winter days. (3) A falling population — the city writes that "hamlets on the edge of viability are increasing for want of successors, and with them abandoned farmland has become a problem". (1) holding it up against (2) and (3) pushing it down leaves residential land at ¥15,600/m² (−1.6%).

CHAPTER 13What this place makes

What a place earns its living from shows up both at your dinner table and in your work once you live there. The amount raised through the hometown tax scheme is a rough measure of how many products a place has that people all over Japan choose.

¥465,720,000
Hometown tax receipts for fiscal Reiwa 7 (8,454 donations).
622nd of the 1,788 municipalities in Japan, and 10th within Shiga Prefecture

What this town names as its own products

What Takashima City lists as its local specialities is funazushi, salted-mackerel narezushi, eel, ayu simmered in soy, shiitake, fuyu persimmons, Fusha melons, Yurugi turnips, preserved mountain vegetables, tochimochi, detchi yokan, Takashima inkstones, Unpei brushes, Takashima fan ribs, crepe goods, Japanese candles and local sake.

This municipality also publishes its own hometown tax page. Furusato support donations "Biwako Takashima Enmusubi" (Takashima City)
Source:Takashima City, "An outline of Takashima City"／the same, "Takashima City specialities (vegetables and fruit)"/ Verified 2026-08-20

You can support a town without living there

Even if a move is still some way off, you can be involved from today through the hometown tax scheme. Your donation goes straight to the municipality, and you choose what it is spent on. A way to give something back to a place you got to know here.

Support Takashima City through the hometown tax scheme →
Source:Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, "Survey on the state of the hometown tax scheme (conducted FY Reiwa 8)", the table of amounts and numbers received (provisional FY Reiwa 7 settlement), tallied by this site. The rank is out of all 1,788 municipalities in that table / verified 2026-08-14

What does Takashima City earn its living from?

72% of the city is forest, and it produces close to a third of the water flowing into Lake Biwa. In industry there are Adogawa's fan ribs (90% of the national total), Shinasahi's Takashima chijimi and Takashima canvas, and Takashima inkstones, Unpei brushes and Japanese candles. In farming, Yurugi turnips, makuwauri melons, Adberry, Fusha melons and the fuyu persimmons of Imazu-cho. Hometown tax receipts came to ¥465,720,000 from 8,454 donations, 622nd in Japan and 10th within Shiga Prefecture.

CHAPTER 14A message from Takashima City

What stands out most in Takashima City's support for people moving in is that you can live here and try it before you decide. The city has a "try living here" scheme using 4 vacant municipal flats (one to three months) and "School Shift", which lets a child attend a public primary or junior high school in the city without moving your residence registration. The housing grant is for renovation after you buy (up to ¥500,000, paid over five years).

Scheme What it is Main conditions

Try living here 4 municipal flats (on the 2nd and 3rd floors of a block in Imazu-cho) to live in for one to three months You must live outside the city and want to move here / be under 65 / be a first-time user / an interview and questionnaire at the viewing, during the stay and on leaving are compulsory. A "Takashima gurashi coordinator" supports you. No pets. For Reiwa 8, a second round of applications is open (one to three months between June Reiwa 8 and March Reiwa 9)

School Shift Attend a public primary or junior high school in the city without moving your residence registration Because the school record is transferred, the period is counted as attendance and not as absence (the city's words). It assumes two-base living. For a place to stay you can use the try-living flats or the trial houses of a joint project with JR West

Settlement housing renovation grant A quarter of the eligible cost (up to ¥500,000) or an eighth (up to ¥250,000). Paid in five equal yearly instalments New settlers (living outside the city for a year or more before moving in, and within three years of moving) qualify at any age (a quarter for those under 40 and for those 40 or over supporting a child up to year 6; an eighth for those 40 or over). Work of ¥500,000 or more carried out by a contractor in the city / apply before work starts / register as a resident within 30 days of completion

Flat 35 interest reduction 0.25% a year off for the first five years Where you use the settlement housing renovation grant above to acquire a home in the city. The city has an agreement with the Japan Housing Finance Agency under the Flat 35 child-rearing support and regional revitalisation schemes

Grant for using timber from the city ¥20,000 per cubic metre of sawn timber (up to 30 cubic metres, ¥600,000) For new building or extension by a contractor in the city using a cubic metre or more of timber from within the city. For sheds and the like it is ¥15,000/m³ (up to ¥450,000). Apply before work starts

Finding work The city's free job placement service The city runs the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's free job placement service for local authorities, and a relocation and settlement concierge introduces work from the job centre's vacancies and from what firms tell the city directly

Home loan Kansai Mirai Bank's "Takashima City relocation and settlement support home loan" It has started through a tie-up between the city and the bank. Check the conditions with the bank

The order is "try, then look, then repair". The schemes in this city are shaped so thata grant comes for renovation after you buy (there is no grant towards building or buying itself). Andthe vacant house introduction system requires you to register before you can view, and for the first three months after registration, a property goes first to people moving in and to residents under 40 (§4). So turning up to look at a property alone gets you nowhere. First contact the civic collaboration division (0740-25-8526) and talk to a "Takashima gurashi coordinator" — the city has made that counterthe single way in to all three: the try-living scheme, the vacant house introduction system and the free job placement service. The city writes:"A try-living stay goes by in no time. To make the most of it, tell your Takashima gurashi coordinator at the pre-stay interview what you would like to experience while you are here.".
Relocation site "Let's live in Takashima" → Try living here → Housing support schemes for younger people →

The "try living here" flats are fullLooking at the availability the city publishes (June Reiwa 8 to March Reiwa 9), of the four flats the only openings are flats 1 and 2 in February Reiwa 9 and flat 4 in March Reiwa 9 — all but full. The stay cannot be extended. They come without a television, bedding, crockery, cooking utensils or Wi-Fi (some furniture and appliances are provided). You move in at the start of a month and leave by the 25th of the month you leave. One stay per financial year. If you want one, you need to apply now. And check first that you meet the under-65 condition.

The renovation grant is paid over five yearsThe cap is ¥500,000, but it is paid in five equal yearly instalments — you do not receive the whole sum in year one. And you must apply again every year from the second onwards. You have to find the whole cost of the work yourself up front. The conditions are detailed: work of ¥500,000 or more by a construction firm in the city / starting before the grant is approved is not allowed (about three weeks from application to approval) / the work and the payment must be finished within the same financial year (by the end of March) / work spanning two years is not allowed / you must own at least a half share / register as a resident within 30 days of completion. Settle the schedule with the city

The amounts and the conditions change every yearThe figures on this page were checked on the city's official pages on 20 August 2026. The try-living notice was updated on 16 April 2026 and the housing support schemes for younger people on 31 March 2026. The property tax exemption under the depopulation law (the Kutsuki area) is stated to run to 31 March Reiwa 9 (§8). The city's relocation site also announces a stand at "Find it by theme! Relocation Fair 2026 and the Community Revitalisation Volunteer Fair" and at "Furusato Kaiki Fair 2026" (12 September, Tokyo). If you would rather just talk to someone first, going through one of those is a way in. Before you apply

Sources: the content, conditions, availability and quotation for the try-living scheme are fromTakashima City, "Second round of applications for the Reiwa 8 Takashima City try living here!"(updated 16 April 2026 / 4 flats on the 2nd and 3rd floors of a block in Imazu-cho / under 65 / one to three months / once per financial year / no television, bedding, crockery, cooking utensils or Wi-Fi / no pets) / the School Shift quotation is fromthe same, "A new shape for education [School Shift]" / the rate, cap, five-year instalments and application process for the settlement housing renovation grant are fromthe same, "About the housing support schemes for younger people"(updated 31 March 2026; the Takashima City ordinance to promote settlement by younger people) / the Flat 35 interest reduction and the grant for using timber from the city are fromTakashima City relocation site "Let's live in Takashima" / Finding a homeandTakashima City, "We have signed an agreement with the Japan Housing Finance Agency on Flat 35…" / the free job placement service is fromthe same, "For those moving to Takashima City and looking for work" / the home loan is fromthe same, "Kansai Mirai Bank has started its Takashima City relocation and settlement support home loan!" / the relocation fair announcements are fromthe news page of the relocation site/ Verified 2026-08-20

What support is there if I move to Takashima City?

🔴 What marks this city out is that you can live here and try it before you decide. There is the try-living scheme (4 municipal flats in Imazu-cho for one to three months, under-65s) and "School Shift", which lets a child attend a public primary or junior high school in the city without moving your residence registration. The housing grant is the settlement housing renovation grant (a quarter of the eligible cost up to ¥500,000, or an eighth up to ¥250,000, paid in five equal yearly instalments). Using timber from within the city brings ¥20,000 per cubic metre (up to ¥600,000) as well.

CHAPTER 15A year in Takashima

A year in Takashima turns above all on the winter snow. 258 centimetres of snowfall a year, a deepest cover of 42 centimetres and 52.9 winter days. In exchange, the summer has 1.3 extremely hot days (Kyoto 19.4). The 1,946.9 mm of rain a year peaks not only in summer but in winter as well. Think of it as a Japan Sea year and prepare on that basis.

Season The climate figures Everyday life

Winter (December to February) January daily low −0.4°C
52.9 winter days, 258 cm of snow a year
deepest cover 42 cm The season this place turns on. Winter tyres, snow clearing, and looking after the roof and the gutters. In some hamlets clearing snow comes round as a duty (§11). But days below freezing all day number 0.1, so it is almost never below zero in the daytime

Spring (March to May) April daily high 16.9°C The cherries at Kaizu-Osaki (Makino). The skunk cabbage colony (Imazu) is February and March. The season when the meltwater runs down to Lake Biwa.

Rainy season (June to July) July 225.5 mm (the year's highest) The time when the information on the Ado and Ishida rivers and the smaller rivers and channels matters (§5). The Adberry harvest (Adogawa) lasts just two weeks from the middle of June.

Summer (August) August daily high 31.0°C
1.3 extremely hot days, 5.2 tropical nights 1.3 extremely hot days against Kyoto's 19.4. A summer between Lake Biwa and the mountains. Fusha melons (Shinasahi) come around July, and makuwauri melons (Imazu) are the summer snack.

Autumn (September to November) September 194.4 mm
November daily high 15.2°C The rain known as "Takashima shigure" comes often (the city's words). The metasequoia avenue (Makino; first in the 2015 Kansai autumn colour ranking), the fuyu persimmons of Imazu-cho and the Yurugi turnips of Adogawa come around November

To sum up: 40 minutes and ¥990 to Kyoto on the Special Rapid, 1 hour 14 minutes to Osaka, neither with a change. School meals and nursery care for under-threes entirely free, and medical care free until the end of junior high school. Antenatal check-ups met in full, Takashima City alone in the prefecture. 1.3 extremely hot days in summer, and residential land at ¥15,600/m². In exchange, 258 centimetres of snow a year, a population down 2,325 in six years and land prices falling at −1.6%. The northern Biwako-seigan fault zone is in "the higher group among Japan's major active faults", and part of the city lies within 30 kilometres of the Oi and Mihama power stations — that is Takashima City in figures. The strengths are "40 minutes to Kyoto" and what children cost; the weaknesses are the snow and the shrinking. Both come from the same Lake Biwa
Sources: the climate fromJapan Meteorological Agency, "Imazu (normals, 1991–2020)" / the location, land prices, earthquake, nuclear material, population and family support are as in §3, §9, §5, §10 and §7 / the cherries at Kaizu-Osaki, the skunk cabbage colony and the metasequoia avenue are fromTakashima City, "An outline of Takashima City"andTakashima City relocation site "Let's live in Takashima" / the farm produce is fromthe same, "Takashima City specialities (vegetables and fruit)"/ Verified 2026-08-20
The information on this site is gathered by an AI that visits primary sources — municipalities, the Japan Meteorological Agency, national statistics — on a regular cycle, and it is updated with a source and a date of verification attached.

What is a year in Takashima City like?

🔴 The winter snow is the biggest event of the year. 258 centimetres of snowfall a year, a deepest cover of 42 centimetres and 52.9 winter days, so winter tyres and snow clearing are a given. But days below freezing all day number 0.1, so it is almost never below zero in the daytime. In exchange, the summer has 1.3 extremely hot days (Kyoto 19.4). Spring brings the cherries at Kaizu-Osaki, and autumn the metasequoia avenue and the rain known as "Takashima shigure".

CHAPTER 16The people who run this city

When you are thinking of moving, who is running this city and where they are taking it is, I think, something the people about to live there want to know even more than those already living there. This chapter sets out, with sources, only what Takashima City publishes itself. 🔴 As of 22 August 2026, following the official site, I (the AI) found 5 of the 6 below.

What is published Published What you can read

About the mayor The mayor's web room Name, career, greeting

Policy address Policy statement What they say they will do this year

List of council members List of council members Who the members are, and their groupings

Council broadcasts and recordings Council meetings broadcast online Whether you can watch the council in session

Searchable minutes Minutes and reports Whether you can search past debates by wording

Master plan Could not find one How many years ahead this town has decided

🔴 I (an AI) could not find the name of the mayor of Takashima City88 pages of Takashima City's official site were followed, butcould not take the name from anywhere I could say with certainty was the page introducing the current mayor。That does not mean there is none, or that it is not published.Guessing at a name would be the greater discourtesy, so nothing is recorded. 🔴 To municipalities and local organisations — tell us the URL of the introduction page and we will put it here with a source and the date it was checked.Get in touch here →

How much of the council can you see?A list of members, live or recorded broadcasts of full sessions, and searchable minutes — where these three are published, you can read a town's debates for yourself before you ever move there.
🔴 The names, photographs and social media of individual council members are not carried on this site. We point you to where you can read them.
Once you have moved, when your own turn to decide comes round is something those three will tell you.

🔴 We could not find a master planFollowing the official site, we could not find a page for a master plan or basic vision (checked 2026-08-22).That does not mean there is none.🔴 To municipalities and local organisations — tell us the URL and we will put it here.Get in touch here →

🔴 What I will not do in this chapter1. I will not guess gender or age from a name. Only what is published appears here. 2. I will not write that anything is good or bad. Only what is being put forward, and where it comes from. 3. I will not compare election candidates.
🔴 And mayors change. This site always records the date it checked (2026-08-22), and reopens the original page each time to confirm by machine that the name is still there. If you notice something has nonetheless gone out of date, please let us know.

Source: allofficial site (Takashima City ), followed on 2026-08-22. What this site counted wasonly whether something is published or not ; the content has not been judged / verified 2026-08-22

Who runs Takashima City now?

🔴 I (the AI) could not find the name of the mayor of Takashima City on the official site (checked 22 August 2026). Guessing seemed worse than leaving it out, so it is not written here. What this site looks for is the 6 things: an introduction to the head of the authority, the policy statement, the list of council members, the broadcasting of council meetings, a search for the minutes, and the comprehensive plan. 🔴 No judgement of good or bad is made here. Only whether something is published or not.

CHAPTER 17Where to go on a day off

What does not show up in the numbers of a house search, yet bears directly on how satisfied you are once you live somewhere, is days off. This chapter counts, on the same measure for every area, the places you can go on a day off around Takashima and the places family and friends can stay when they visit. This is a town with Lake Biwa Quasi-National Park. The area currently has 2 hot spring and day bathing facilities, 4 roadside stations and 2 RV parks. 🔴 All the counts are the numbers registered in the map data (OpenStreetMap) — in reality there may be more.

What Number counted, and names

⛰ National and quasi-national parks Lake Biwa Quasi-National Park

♨ Hot springs and day baths Green Park Omoide-no-Mori / Kutsuki Onsen Tenku and Makino Kogen Onsen / Sarasa (2)

🏯 Castles and castle sites the Isogawa castle site, Taizanji castle and the Omizo castle keep site (3)

🎡 Amusement parks, zoos and aquariums Not found in the map data

🖼 Museums, galleries and memorial halls the Hira Art Museum, the Omi Sage Nakae Toju Memorial Museum, the Takashima City Kutsuki Folk Culture Museum, the Takashima Historical Folk Museum and the Biwako Shuko-no-Uta Museum (5)

⛩ Shrines and temples 65 shrines and 89 temples. Those with a Wikipedia article are Warasono Shrine, Hiyoshi-Ninomiya Shrine, Mio Shrine, Saisho-ji, Tomomusubi Shrine, Amida-ji and Shirahige Shrine

🚗 Roadside stations Kutsuki Shinhonjin, Shin-Asahi Fusha-mura, Makino Oisaka-toge and Toju-no-Sato Adogawa (4)

🐕 Dog runs Not found in the map data

🛣 Expressway service and parking areas No expressway service or parking area was found in this area

Somewhere to stay — for family and friends, and for your own travels

What Number counted

🏨 Hotels and ryokan 10

🏠 Guesthouses and hostels 5

⛺ Campsites and auto-campsites Takarabune Onsen Family Campsite, New Shirahama Auto Camping Ground, Kutsuki Auto Camping Ground, Mutsuyazakihama Auto Camping Ground, Villa Dest Imazu and Gulliver Youth Travel Village (6)

🏕 Glamping Not found among the campsite or hotel names

🚐 RV parks (overnight in your vehicle) RV Park Imazu, RV Park Relaxing Metasequoia

This table is the result of me (an AI) putting the same question to the map data for every area (areas are retrieved in batches, so the verification date on some pages is a day apart). Facilities not registered on the map are not counted. "Not found" does not mean "there are none" — nor that the town is any the lesser for it.
Sources: the counts and names of facilities fromOpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL) / RV parks fromJapan RV Association, list of certified "Kuruma-tabi" RV parks / roadside stations fromMinistry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, list of "michi-no-eki" roadside stations / national parks judged from the overlap of the Ministry of the Environment Biodiversity Center boundary data with the National Land Numerical Information administrative boundaries (for quasi-national parks the municipalities concerned were confirmed on the page the park name links to) / checked 21 August 2026

Are there places to go on a day off, and places to stay?

This is a town with Lake Biwa Quasi-National Park. Counting from the map data (OpenStreetMap) and the lists of the RV Association and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, there are 2 hot spring and day bathing facilities, 4 roadside stations, 10 hotels and inns and 2 RV parks. Facilities not on the map are not counted, so in reality there may be more (details in §17).

What I (an AI) was able to find on this town's official site

This site reads the official sites of every area it covers on the same 30 items, out of 100, to measure how quickly someone thinking of moving can reach the information they need. The site measured was that of Takashima City, and the total was 84 points (measured 20 August 2026).

"Not found" does not mean "there is none." It means I followed the official site and could not find it. Tell us the published page and the next measurement will reflect it.

Area Score What was found

Getting started with a move 20 / 20 There is a relocation and settlement page, a dedicated relocation site, and a counter (department, telephone and opening hours), plus 3 more
Housing 11 / 15 There is an akiya bank; listings carry photographs, price, year built and floor area; completed deals are organised
The money side of living here 10 / 15 Water and sewerage charges are readable from a rate table; child-raising support is specific about amounts and scope; there are explanations of national health insurance tax and fixed asset tax; and 1 more
Disaster information 18 / 20 Hazard maps are published by district; flood, landslide and earthquake are all covered; the year the assumptions were last reviewed is stated; and 2 more
Industry and local produce 8 / 10 A list of local speciality products is on the official site; hometown tax results are published year by year; there are support schemes for businesses and industry
Transport 10 / 10 There is a community bus timetable; fares are stated; the date of the last revision is given
Can an AI read it? 7 / 10 Every page carries an updated date; there is a sitemap.xml; statistics are published as Excel or CSV; and 1 more

See all 30 items and the pages used to judge them
3 / 3　There is a relocation and settlement page
Moving house, relocation and settlement　Go and see → 3 / 3　There is a dedicated relocation site
Finding work – Let's live in Takashima　Go and see → 3 / 3　A contact point (department, telephone, opening hours)
3 of department, telephone and opening hours were stated　Go and see → 5 / 5　Support schemes state amounts and conditions
Both amounts and conditions　Go and see → 3 / 3　There is trial housing or a trial-stay scheme
Second round of applications for the "Reiwa 8 Takashima City try living here"!　Go and see → 3 / 3　Vacancies in trial housing are published
　Go and see → 4 / 4　There is an akiya bank
There is a municipal akiya bank 3 / 4　Listings carry photographs, price, year built and floor area
17 of 21 (81%) have all 4 items 4 / 4　Completed deals are organised
No completed deals appear in the list 0 / 3　The conditions of use are stated
Not found 4 / 5　Water and sewerage charges are readable from a rate table
The charges are given as figures in the text　Go and see → 3 / 5　Child-raising support is specific about amounts and scope
Grants are described　Go and see → 1 / 3　There are explanations of national health insurance tax and fixed asset tax
There is a tax page　Go and see → 2 / 2　Tie-ups with banks for mortgages and the like
　Go and see → 5 / 5　Hazard maps are published by district
65 documents by area　Go and see → 5 / 5　Flood, landslide and earthquake are all covered
Flood / landslide / earthquake　Go and see → 3 / 3　The year the assumptions were last reviewed is stated
The "Takashima City general disaster map" was produced in Heisei 27　Go and see → 2 / 4　Is it machine-readable (a map system or a text PDF)?
It appears to be a scanned-image PDF　Go and see → 3 / 3　Disasters are announced through more than one channel
Disaster email / social media / disaster radio / TV and radio　Go and see → 5 / 5　A list of local speciality products is on the official site
17 items (the city's official site)　Go and see → 1 / 3　Hometown tax results are published year by year
Not found　Go and see → 2 / 2　There are support schemes for businesses and industry
Industry promotion　Go and see → 4 / 4　There is a community bus timetable
　Go and see → 3 / 3　Fares are stated
　Go and see → 3 / 3　The date of the last revision is given
as revised 1 August Reiwa 8　Go and see → 3 / 3　Every page carries an updated date
18 of the 20 pages read　Go and see → 2 / 2　There is a sitemap.xml
　Go and see → 0 / 2　Site search runs on the server side
We could not find a search form　Go and see → 1 / 2　Statistics are published as Excel or CSV
There is a statistics page　Go and see → 1 / 1　Open data is published
　Go and see →

Compare with other towns → 　For municipalities and local organisations (get in touch here) →
Measurement by this site. The URL of each official site was taken from the municipal information published by Furusato Choice. The score is a score for publishing information, not a score for how good the place is to live / verified 2026-08-20

Compare with other areas

Every page has the same 17 chapters in the same order. Move between them and you can compare the same line.

Areas in Kinki
Kameoka (the Kyoto basin)Kameoka City, Kyotolistings85 listings / ¥1,800,000–NaraNara Nara Citylistings442 listings / ¥1,800,000–Himeji (the World Heritage Himeji Castle; 28 minutes to Shin-Osaka by shinkansen)Hyogo Prefecture, Himeji Citylistings618 listings / ¥1,800,000–Wakayama (1 hr 10 min to Tennoji by rapid, the city of Wakayama Castle and the Kinokawa)Wakayama Wakayama Citylistings288 listings / ¥1,800,000–

Places you could look at for a similar price
Fukushima (prefectural capital; 1 hr 16 min to Tokyo by Shinkansen)Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecturelistings253 listings / ¥1,800,000–Himeji (the World Heritage Himeji Castle; 28 minutes to Shin-Osaka by shinkansen)Hyogo Prefecture, Himeji Citylistings618 listings / ¥1,800,000–Kameoka (the Kyoto basin)Kameoka City, Kyotolistings85 listings / ¥1,800,000–NaraNara Nara Citylistings442 listings / ¥1,800,000–

Compare areas by budget and region →

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Nankai Trough Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area	Designated
Tokyo Inland Earthquake Emergency Measures Area	not applicable (the whole of Shiga Prefecture is outside the scheme)
Japan Trench / Kuril Trench Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area	not applicable (the whole of Shiga Prefecture is outside the scheme)
Shaking of intensity 6-lower or above within 30 years	10.3% (6-upper or above: 1.6%) at Takashima City Hall. Surface ground AVS30 338 m/s, alluvial fan

Item	Imazu	Kyoto	Tokyo	How to read it
Days above 35°C	1.3 days	19.4 days	4.8 days	A fifteenth of Kyoto and a quarter of Tokyo. Midsummer days number 42.2 (Kyoto 75.8)
Tropical nights (minimum 25°C or above)	5.2 days	27.2 days	17.8 days	A fifth of Kyoto. The nights do drop.
Total snowfall a year	258cm	15cm	8cm	A deepest cover of 42 centimetres. Winter tyres and snow clearing are a given (Hikone is 81 centimetres)
Frost days (minimum below 0°C)	52.9 days	18.0 days	15.2 days	2.9 times Kyoto's. But days below freezing all day number 0.1, so it is almost never below zero in the daytime
August daily high	31.0℃	33.7℃	31.3℃	2.7°C below Kyoto. The January daily low is −0.4°C (Kyoto 1.5°C)
Annual rainfall	1,946.9mm	1,523.0mm	1,598.2mm	1.28 times Kyoto's. The winter is wet as well (December 178.1 mm, January 192.5), which is the mark of the Japan Sea side

Item	Takashima City in practice
School meals	Entirely free (for pupils at primary and junior high schools in the city). A partial subsidy also applies to residents whose children attend a school outside the city
Nursery fees	Entirely free. The city also makes nursery care free for children under three, whom the national "free early childhood education and care" scheme does not cover (extended hours and event fees remain with the parents)
Children's medical costs	Free until the end of junior high school, for both inpatient and outpatient care
Antenatal check-ups	The full cost is met. The city writes that "Takashima City is the only municipality in the prefecture paying it in full"
Birth and raising children	¥50,000 each as a "birth support gift" and a "child-rearing support gift"
Support for setting up married life	For couples where both are 39 or under with a household income below ¥5,000,000, a grant towards buying a home, rent and moving costs. Up to ¥600,000 (29 or under) or ¥300,000 (39 or under)
Care for sick children	The sick-child room "Ohisama" (inside Takashima Municipal Hospital; from 6 months old to year 3 of primary school; weekdays 8:00–18:30; ¥2,000 per child per day)
After-school care	13 places in the city (Imazu, Makino, Adogawa, Shinasahi, Kutsuki, Nagata)
Hospitals	Takashima Municipal Hospital (Katsuno 1667) — 210 beds, 23 departments. With obstetrics and paediatrics, on the secondary emergency rota, a disaster base hospital, a regional cancer care hospital, and base-isolated against earthquakes. There are also Omi Airinen Imazu Hospital and Makino Hospital
Libraries	6 libraries (or reading rooms) — Makino, Imazu, Shinasahi, Kutsuki, Adogawa and Takashima

Use over two months	Water (13 mm)	Sewerage (ordinary discharge)	Total
20 m³ (a rough guide for 1–2 people)	¥2,750	¥3,080	¥5,830
40 m³ (a rough guide for 3–4 people)	¥5,170	¥6,600	¥11,770
60㎥	¥7,590	¥10,120	¥17,710

What to look at	Takashima City in practice
Land price (residential)	¥15,600/m², −1.6% on the year. Shiga Prefecture as a whole is ¥55,500/m², +0.9% — less than a third of the prefectural level, and moving the other way
Land price (commercial)	¥31,600/m², −1.2%. All uses ¥19,600/m² (−1.5%). There is no surveyed point for industrial land
Compared with nearby	About a fifth of Otsu City's ¥82,300/m² (+1.9%) and a sixteenth of Kyoto City's ¥247,700/m² (+3.6%). The lowest level of the 13 cities in Shiga Prefecture
How thick the market is	45 on SUUMO plus 21 on the vacant-home bank. One for every 979 people (SUUMO alone). The spread by district is very uneven (§4)
Price band	¥1,800,000 to ¥68,000,000, median ¥9,800,000 (all 45). 23 (51%) at or under ¥10,000,000
Year built	Median build year 1994, with 12 (27%) from before 1981. On the newer side for this site
The pool of buyers	44,052 people. And 40 minutes to Kyoto on the Special Rapid (§3) — demand from Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe for a second base or a holiday house is the other pillar of this market

Scheme	What it is	Main conditions
Try living here	4 municipal flats (on the 2nd and 3rd floors of a block in Imazu-cho) to live in for one to three months	You must live outside the city and want to move here / be under 65 / be a first-time user / an interview and questionnaire at the viewing, during the stay and on leaving are compulsory. A "Takashima gurashi coordinator" supports you. No pets. For Reiwa 8, a second round of applications is open (one to three months between June Reiwa 8 and March Reiwa 9)
School Shift	Attend a public primary or junior high school in the city without moving your residence registration	Because the school record is transferred, the period is counted as attendance and not as absence (the city's words). It assumes two-base living. For a place to stay you can use the try-living flats or the trial houses of a joint project with JR West
Settlement housing renovation grant	A quarter of the eligible cost (up to ¥500,000) or an eighth (up to ¥250,000). Paid in five equal yearly instalments	New settlers (living outside the city for a year or more before moving in, and within three years of moving) qualify at any age (a quarter for those under 40 and for those 40 or over supporting a child up to year 6; an eighth for those 40 or over). Work of ¥500,000 or more carried out by a contractor in the city / apply before work starts / register as a resident within 30 days of completion
Flat 35 interest reduction	0.25% a year off for the first five years	Where you use the settlement housing renovation grant above to acquire a home in the city. The city has an agreement with the Japan Housing Finance Agency under the Flat 35 child-rearing support and regional revitalisation schemes
Grant for using timber from the city	¥20,000 per cubic metre of sawn timber (up to 30 cubic metres, ¥600,000)	For new building or extension by a contractor in the city using a cubic metre or more of timber from within the city. For sheds and the like it is ¥15,000/m³ (up to ¥450,000). Apply before work starts
Finding work	The city's free job placement service	The city runs the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's free job placement service for local authorities, and a relocation and settlement concierge introduces work from the job centre's vacancies and from what firms tell the city directly
Home loan	Kansai Mirai Bank's "Takashima City relocation and settlement support home loan"	It has started through a tie-up between the city and the bank. Check the conditions with the bank

Season	The climate figures	Everyday life
Winter (December to February)	January daily low −0.4°C 52.9 winter days, 258 cm of snow a year deepest cover 42 cm	The season this place turns on. Winter tyres, snow clearing, and looking after the roof and the gutters. In some hamlets clearing snow comes round as a duty (§11). But days below freezing all day number 0.1, so it is almost never below zero in the daytime
Spring (March to May)	April daily high 16.9°C	The cherries at Kaizu-Osaki (Makino). The skunk cabbage colony (Imazu) is February and March. The season when the meltwater runs down to Lake Biwa.
Rainy season (June to July)	July 225.5 mm (the year's highest)	The time when the information on the Ado and Ishida rivers and the smaller rivers and channels matters (§5). The Adberry harvest (Adogawa) lasts just two weeks from the middle of June.
Summer (August)	August daily high 31.0°C 1.3 extremely hot days, 5.2 tropical nights	1.3 extremely hot days against Kyoto's 19.4. A summer between Lake Biwa and the mountains. Fusha melons (Shinasahi) come around July, and makuwauri melons (Imazu) are the summer snack.
Autumn (September to November)	September 194.4 mm November daily high 15.2°C	The rain known as "Takashima shigure" comes often (the city's words). The metasequoia avenue (Makino; first in the 2015 Kansai autumn colour ranking), the fuyu persimmons of Imazu-cho and the Yurugi turnips of Adogawa come around November

What is published	Published	What you can read
About the mayor	The mayor's web room	Name, career, greeting
Policy address	Policy statement	What they say they will do this year
List of council members	List of council members	Who the members are, and their groupings
Council broadcasts and recordings	Council meetings broadcast online	Whether you can watch the council in session
Searchable minutes	Minutes and reports	Whether you can search past debates by wording
Master plan	Could not find one	How many years ahead this town has decided

What	Number counted, and names
⛰ National and quasi-national parks	Lake Biwa Quasi-National Park
♨ Hot springs and day baths	Green Park Omoide-no-Mori / Kutsuki Onsen Tenku and Makino Kogen Onsen / Sarasa (2)
🏯 Castles and castle sites	the Isogawa castle site, Taizanji castle and the Omizo castle keep site (3)
🎡 Amusement parks, zoos and aquariums	Not found in the map data
🖼 Museums, galleries and memorial halls	the Hira Art Museum, the Omi Sage Nakae Toju Memorial Museum, the Takashima City Kutsuki Folk Culture Museum, the Takashima Historical Folk Museum and the Biwako Shuko-no-Uta Museum (5)
⛩ Shrines and temples	65 shrines and 89 temples. Those with a Wikipedia article are Warasono Shrine, Hiyoshi-Ninomiya Shrine, Mio Shrine, Saisho-ji, Tomomusubi Shrine, Amida-ji and Shirahige Shrine
🚗 Roadside stations	Kutsuki Shinhonjin, Shin-Asahi Fusha-mura, Makino Oisaka-toge and Toju-no-Sato Adogawa (4)
🐕 Dog runs	Not found in the map data
🛣 Expressway service and parking areas	No expressway service or parking area was found in this area

What	Number counted
🏨 Hotels and ryokan	10
🏠 Guesthouses and hostels	5
⛺ Campsites and auto-campsites	Takarabune Onsen Family Campsite, New Shirahama Auto Camping Ground, Kutsuki Auto Camping Ground, Mutsuyazakihama Auto Camping Ground, Villa Dest Imazu and Gulliver Youth Travel Village (6)
🏕 Glamping	Not found among the campsite or hotel names
🚐 RV parks (overnight in your vehicle)	RV Park Imazu, RV Park Relaxing Metasequoia

Area	Score	What was found
Getting started with a move	20 / 20	There is a relocation and settlement page, a dedicated relocation site, and a counter (department, telephone and opening hours), plus 3 more
Housing	11 / 15	There is an akiya bank; listings carry photographs, price, year built and floor area; completed deals are organised
The money side of living here	10 / 15	Water and sewerage charges are readable from a rate table; child-raising support is specific about amounts and scope; there are explanations of national health insurance tax and fixed asset tax; and 1 more
Disaster information	18 / 20	Hazard maps are published by district; flood, landslide and earthquake are all covered; the year the assumptions were last reviewed is stated; and 2 more
Industry and local produce	8 / 10	A list of local speciality products is on the official site; hometown tax results are published year by year; there are support schemes for businesses and industry
Transport	10 / 10	There is a community bus timetable; fares are stated; the date of the last revision is given
Can an AI read it?	7 / 10	Every page carries an updated date; there is a sitemap.xml; statistics are published as Excel or CSV; and 1 more