Odani Castle Sengoku Historical Museum

Odani Castle was the stronghold of the Azai clan until 1573, when Oda Nobunaga besieged and took it after three years of fighting. What remains today are earthworks on a 495-meter hilltop above Nagahama, overlooking Lake Biwa. At the base, a museum introduces the Azai family and the complicated politics of the Sengoku period: the last Azai lord was Nobunaga's own brother-in-law, and his daughter later married Nobunaga's vassal Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Exhibits include maps, dioramas, and Japanese-language descriptions of all three Azai generations. The full hilltop circuit is five kilometers and takes about two and a half hours.