Echi

Echi lies east of Lake Biwa, around the river from which its district takes its name. The Nakasendō, the inland highway between Edo and Kyoto, crossed the district at Echigawa. There a post town prospered by serving travellers who had to wait when the river was too high to cross. Inns and officials' lodgings stood along the road, making the crossing a lively stopping place on the journey through Ōmi.