Maibara

Maibara is a city in north-central Shiga Prefecture, Japan, on the eastern shore of Lake Biwa and extending inland to the Ibuki Mountains and the border with Gifu Prefecture. Parts of the city lie within the Biwako Quasi-National Park, Mount Ibuki, the highest peak in the prefecture, is in the northeastern part of the prefecture, and about 70 percent of the city is forest. The area was part of ancient Ōmi Province on the route of the Tōsandō highway, and it holds three former post stations, Banba-juku, Samegai-juku and Kashiwabara-juku. The village of Irie became the town of Maihara in 1923, and on 14 February 2005 Maihara merged with the towns of Santō and Ibuki, was raised to city status and took the name Maibara from Maibara Station, well known as a stop on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen Line. The town of Ōmi joined on 1 October 2005. The economy is centred on agriculture and light manufacturing. The estimated population was 38,259 and the area is 250.39 square kilometres.