World Kite Museum

Higashiomi, east of Lake Biwa, has been making giant kites for Children's Day festivals since the early eighteenth century. The rivalry between the villages of Shibahara, Kanaya, and Nakano pushed kite sizes ever larger, and by 1882 one kite measured approximately 396 square meters, still the record. Today the Higashiomi Oodako Hall displays a previously flown 100-tatami kite, detailed sketches of historical designs, and kites from countries around the world. The annex next door is where new giant kites are built, and when one is under construction visitors can see the full bamboo framework and layers of washi paper laid out on the floor. The tradition was designated a national Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 1993.