Summer in Hikone

Sometimes when I think back to moments gone,

To summers past, to lovers lost, to smiles,

I remember a place, Shiga, Nihon;

Lake Biwa, with its shores of emerald miles.

Perched high above is grand Hikonejou;

A stately castle, white and gold and gray;

A national treasure built long ago,

Saved by the emperor Meiji-taitei.

We rode our bicycles aside the moats,

Along the winding paths up to Bell Road

For bento, ramen, sushi, parfait floats,

And sometimes bars where songs and sake flowed.

A summer marked by fireworks, shaved ice;

These memories are still held dear and prized.

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