This event is held every year on August 1st at Izaki-ji Temple, located about 9.2 km north of JR Omihachiman Station. A thick wooden beam about 13 meters long extends horizontally over Lake Biwa, commonly called the “sao.” On the day, young men wearing only fundoshi loincloths perform a dramatic dive from the tip of the beam, or hook their feet into an iron ring attached to the tip and then plunge from about 7 meters down into the lake surface. It is said that the sao jumping ceremony is based on a legend from about 1,100 years ago, when Kenritsu Daishi, who was practicing at this temple, threw an empty alms bowl into the lake below and begged passing fishermen for offerings, then jumped into the lake himself to retrieve the bowl. *Please note that the diving event is only open to practitioners and the general public cannot participate.