Otsu, Japan

Otsu is the capital city of Shiga, Japan. As of February 2007 the city has an estimated population of 329,355 with an age average of 40.7 years (15.42% of which are younger than 15 and 16.81% are older than 65) and a density of 880.49 persons per km². The total area is 374.06 km². Since 667 to 672, there was Ômi Ôtsu Palace founded by Emperor Tenji. In 12th century, Battle of Awazu of Genpei War occurred in Awazu, southern area of Ôtsu, and Kiso Yoshinaka was killed there. The city was founded on October 1, 1898. Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan, is in the center of the prefecture and also a site of significant relevance to the Japanese tourism industry. Sightseeing tours in Lake Biwa usually take up to several hours and tourists are given an opportunity to swim and take long strolls around the region. Lake Biwa is also a famous beaching spot in the Summer. Built during the 1890s and later expanded during the Taishô period, the Lake Biwa Canal played an important role in connecting Otsu and the nearby city of Kyoto, facilitating water and passenger transportation and also providing electrical energy to power Japan's first streetcar railroad services. Otsu is famous because of the legendary haiku writer Matsuo Basho. He moved to Otsu after completing his pilgrimage to Ogaki, which was his favorite city. Basho realized that he did not like Otsu but he did not have enough money to go back to Ogaki. His final unpublished haiku was about how Ogaki was a city of beautiful people and Otsu smelled like fish.