Kyoto to Hikone End Jan: Snow tires required?

Hi,

I'm planning a trip to Omihachiman and Hikone from Kyoto in end Jan/early Feb, and I'm wondering if it is necessary to opt for snow tires when renting a car?

Some car rental companies don't have the snow tire option, and I feel that the likelihood of snow is quite low (we will only drive during the daytime, but I also understand weather is unpredictable. We have also driven in Japan).

Current plan:
Day 1: pick up car in Kyoto and drive to Omihachiman, explore Omihachiman, overnight at Hikone
Day 2: explore Hikone, drop off car at Hikone, train to Osaka

Thank you.

Best regards,
Whalesings

It definitely snows in Lake Biwa. I travelled back from Kyoto to Tokyo by Shinkansen in early January and on Lake Biwa everything was white. Will it snow when you are there? No one can know. But it is definitely a real possibility

Btw, just wondering for Omi Hachiman and Hikone alone I don’t see the need for a car. I also don’t see the need for 2 days. Obviously if you want to see some other smaller places around these two spots (there are a lot of nice places) then a car makes sense.

Many thanks LikeBike for your insight. I split it over 2 days as I'm still deciding on Koka (will skip it if not driving) for the first day & also plan to go to Chikubu island on the second day.

Still deciding between car (we have old and young ones with us, so a car will be more convenient) vs public transport but we will definitely opt for snow tires if we are going to drive.