160309-0050 - Biwako Hotel

Illustrated advertising postcard for the Biwako Hotel (琵琶湖ホテル) at Yanagasaki Beach (柳ヶ崎), Lake Biwa in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture.

Opened in 1934 (Showa 9), the hotel was designed by prominent Japanese architect Shinichiro Okada (岡田信一郎, 1883–1932), who also designed the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (1926) and the Kabuki-za theater in Tokyo (1924).

The hotel was considered first class and welcomed VIPs like the Japanese emperor, Helen Keller and John Wayne.

The building still exists, albeit at a different location, and is now known as the Biwako Otsukan (びわ湖大津館).

Japanese text: 国際観光 琵琶湖ホテル 大津市 柳ヶ崎