The "Sanno (Mountain King) Festival" is one of the three major Lake Biwa festivals. It is held annually at Hiyoshi Taisha Shrine, the headquarters of more than 3800 shrines across Japan that still carry the nickname "Sanno-san" to this day. The festival has been designated an Intangible Folk Culture Property of Otsu City. While the festival starts on March 1 and lasts for a month and a half, during that period the main focus is placed on the three days of April 12 - 14.