---
name: "Lake Biwa Museum"
lat: 35.07383
lng: 135.93478
official_url: "https://www.biwahaku.jp/"
fee: "The permanent exhibition is ¥840 for adults and ¥470 for university students; high school students, anyone under 18, junior high and primary pupils and pre-school children go free. The special exhibition is charged separately: ¥340 adult, ¥270 university student, ¥170 for high school students and under-18s, ¥170 for junior high and primary pupils, free for pre-school children. People aged 65 and over go free for the permanent exhibition only if they live in Shiga, and must show proof of age and address at the counter; from outside the prefecture they pay ¥840. Holders of a disability certificate and their carer go free for both exhibitions. A joint ticket with the Mizu-no-Mori water plant garden next door is ¥920 adult, ¥580 university student — and it is the one ticket that cannot be paid cashless. An annual pass, renamed from Club LBM in 2025, is ¥1,680 adult and ¥940 university student. On the third Sunday of each month, families from within Shiga with a child of high school age or younger see the permanent exhibition free, on showing a Smile Card or anything proving they live in Shiga."
last_verified: "2026-08-15"
---

# Lake Biwa Museum

The permanent exhibition is four rooms: four million years of the lake, twenty thousand years, the lake today, and the aquarium. The aquarium holds almost every native fish of Lake Biwa and its rivers, including the giant Lake Biwa catfish. A microscope bar opens up the 83 percent of lake life that cannot be seen otherwise, and the photo goes to your phone. The Discovery Room is built for children and adults to handle things together. Outside are a canopy trail, a play plaza and the lake itself.

- Area: shiga
- Type: sightseeing
- Average stay: 150 min
- Hours: Open 9:30-17:00, last admission 16:00. The deadlines come in two steps: ordinary tickets are sold, and entry allowed, until 16:00, while the annual pass is sold only until 15:30. Closed every Monday, or the next day when the Monday is a public holiday, and there are extra closures on top of that — the morning of Friday 21 August 2026 (opening at 13:00, with the car park shut until 11:30) and all of Sunday 14 March 2027 for the Lake Biwa marathon.
- Last verified: 2026-08-15

## Family facts (value + conditions + source + verified date)

| Feature | Value | Conditions | Verified | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stroller friendly | Yes | Lifts and ramps run through the building, so you can move around with a pushchair. Drinks may not be taken into the exhibition rooms. | 2026-08-15 (web) | [source](https://www.biwahaku.jp/guide/barrierfree.html) |
| Stroller rental | Yes | Free, from the main reception — but B-type only, the kind for a baby who can already sit up. Numbers are limited. Wheelchairs are lent free from the same desk. | 2026-08-15 (web) | [source](https://www.biwahaku.jp/guide/barrierfree.html) |
| Nursing space | Yes | A nursing room on the first floor, with a bed, a chair and hot water. | 2026-08-15 (web) | [source](https://www.biwahaku.jp/guide/barrierfree.html) |
| Diaper changing table | Yes | Baby beds in every toilet in the building. Used nappies are to be taken home. | 2026-08-15 (web) | [source](https://www.biwahaku.jp/guide/barrierfree.html) |
| Diaper disposal bin | No | Used nappies are to be taken home. | 2026-08-15 (web) | [source](https://www.biwahaku.jp/guide/barrierfree.html) |
| Family restroom | Yes (6) | Six wheelchair-accessible toilets in the building, three of them fitted for ostomates (the one beside the first-floor entrance is a simplified version). A care bed is at the back of the aquarium display on the first floor. | 2026-08-15 (web) | [source](https://www.biwahaku.jp/guide/barrierfree.html) |
| Elevator | Yes | Lifts and ramps run through the building. | 2026-08-15 (web) | [source](https://www.biwahaku.jp/guide/barrierfree.html) |
| Steps & slope caution | Barrier-free | Lifts and ramps throughout. Twelve accessible parking spaces: six under a roof 20 m from the entrance, six more without a roof 80 m away. Guide, service and hearing dogs are welcome inside; other animals cannot come in and cannot be left at the door. If you feel unwell or need help, staff can open a rest room for you. | 2026-08-15 (web) | [source](https://www.biwahaku.jp/guide/barrierfree.html) |
| Indoor / outdoor | Indoor & outdoor | The exhibition rooms are indoors; the outdoor displays, the rooftop plaza on the second floor and the woods around the building are outside. | 2026-08-15 (web) | [source](https://www.biwahaku.jp/exhibition/) |
| Outside food allowed | Not checked yet |  |  |  |
| English support | English menu & signs | The free Pocket Curator app carries a guide in seven languages with text; for languages other than Japanese it is text only, with no spoken audio. The museum also has an English website. | 2026-08-15 (web) | [source](https://www.biwahaku.jp/guide/barrierfree.html) |
| Best-fit ages (guide) | Yes | The permanent exhibition is free for everyone from high school age down, including pre-school children, though the special exhibition is charged separately. The Discovery Room is built as hands-on for children and adults together. At the Micro Bar children look down a microscope themselves and can send the photo to a phone. | 2026-08-15 (web) | [source](https://www.biwahaku.jp/guide/price.html) |
| Stroller access notes | Yes | Coin lockers are at the entrance, ¥100 returned after use. Photography is allowed except where a sign forbids it, but not with flash. The two rest spaces with vending machines — between rooms A and B on the second floor, and in front of the aquarium entrance on the first — ask you not to eat there, and drinks cannot be taken into the exhibition rooms. There is a cafeteria on the second floor with about 20 seats, open to ordinary visitors, plus the Nihonoumi restaurant and the rooftop plaza. | 2026-08-15 (web) | [source](https://www.biwahaku.jp/guide/barrierfree.html) |
| Kids' toilet seat & step stool | Not checked yet |  |  |  |
| Child switch (rider swap) | Not checked yet |  |  |  |