The site visit to the Lake Biwa Museum was well above expectations. When one hears about the plan to visit a museum about a lake the initial reaction, if not particularly interested in limnology, would not be one of high expectations. Afterwards, however, I should say that the Lake Biwa Museum is one of the more interesting and museums I have visited in Japan. This is because of the highly interdisciplinary nature of the museum. Nearly all aspects of lake Biwa were touched upon, from the socio-cultural history to the wide range of ecosystems that inhabit it, from the geological origins of the lake to the modern uses as a source of drinking water. If one looks at a map one can see that my home country, the Netherlands, basically consists of land surrounding one giant artificial lake, het Ijsselmeer, and yet I feel I now know more about lake Biwa then I do about this important feature of my own fatherland. Can there be any better indication about the quality of the museum and its exhibits? As for the Kosei Terminal Treatment Center, while interesting I have in the past visited larger and more advanced water purification facilities and so this visit did not lead to any new insights regarding the process of water purification.