Getting to Ōmi

Getting to Ōmi

Ōmi is located between Kyōto and Nagoya. The nearest international airports are Kansai and Chūbu Centrair.

The Hikari Shinkansen from Ōsaka, Kyōto, or Nagoya whisks you to Maibara in Ōmi, or you can take the JR train from Kanazawa, Kyōto, or Nagoya to Ōmihachiman, Hikone and Maibara. You can use the Japan Rail Pass if you have it.

The Meishin and Hokuriku Expressways offer access by car.

There’s a night bus from Tōkyō Station and Tōkyō Disneyland to Hikone, arriving at the West Exit of Hikone Station.

From Airport by Train

local_airport Chubu Centrair International Airport

Meitetsu Limited Express 28 minutes

train Nagoya Station

Shinkansen Hikari / Kodama 27 minutes

train Maibara Station

JR Biwako Line 5 minutes

train Hikone Station

local_airport Kansai International Airport

Kankū Express Haruka 50 minutes

train Shin-Osaka Station

JR Kyoto Line / Biwako Line 1 hour 13 minutes

train Hikone Station

local_airport Narita International Airport

Narita Express 1 hour 5 minutes

train Shinagawa Station

Shinkansen Hikari 2 hours 4 minutes

train Maibara Station

JR Biwako Line 5 minutes

train Hikone Station

From Airport by Car

local_airport Chubu Centrair International Airport

Chitaōdan Road, Meishin Expressway 1 hour 38 minutes

train Hikone Station

local_airport Kansai International Airport

Meishin Expressway 2 hours 4 minutes

train Hikone Station

local_airport Narita International Airport

Tōmei, Meishin Expressway 6 hours 10 minutes

train Hikone Station

Getting around Ōmi

We recommend visiting the Tourist Information Centre in the plaza in front of Hikone Station at the West Exit.

You can walk to Hikone Castle or take a taxi from the West Exit of Hikone Station. JR and Ohmi Railway lines are a convenient way to travel between the towns of Ōmi. To get to Chikubu Island in Lake Biwa, there’s a free shuttle bus from the plaza in front of Hikone Station to Hikone Port.

You can hire bicycles at several places showing the Megurinko “Rental bicycle for ecology trip” sign. There’s a shop near the West Exit of Hikone Station.

Ohmi vs. Ōmi

You may notice that while this site refers to Ōmi, the name of our organisation is Ohmi Tourism Board. Ohmi is an older spelling, and we’re gradually updating our brand to reflect the more standard Ōmi.
Japanese has both short and long vowel sounds, and if you use a short vowel sound when you should use a long one, it can change the meaning of the word completely. If it’s a place name and you say it incorrectly, you probably won’t be understood. So it’s important to indicate the pronunciation clearly for people who aren’t familiar with the Japanese language and how to say Japanese words. There are various ways of showing how to pronounce ‘Omi’ properly with a long o. ‘Ohmi’ is one. ‘Oumi’ is another. And ‘Ōmi’ is yet another.
When the Ohmi Tourism Board was established, there was an idea that it would be cute to link the name to “Oh my!” as an expression of the sort of surprised pleasure that visitors to the region experience. And so it was decided to add an h to indicate the long vowel sound. But using an h can be confusing in some situations, so for Ohmi’s English website, it was decided to show all of the long vowels with a bar over the top. So we have Ōmi, Kyōto, and Ōsaka.
Thank you for your understanding, and good luck with your Japanese pronunciation. Remember, practice makes perfect!

OTB Concierge

Ōmi Tourism Board (OTB) manages the tourism resources of Ōmi, the area east of Lake Biwa. We provide tourism information in English on our Visit Ōmi website and develop tours for overseas visitors to Ōmi.

Tourism contributes significantly to the social and monetary economy of the region. But in order to achieve this, we need people who are knowledgeable about the tourism resources of the region, and who can introduce them to visitors in English.

Consequently, we developed the OTB Concierge Program as a means of recruiting and training people who want to work with OTB in our tourism promotion efforts, as content creators and guides. The first step in the program is the Ōmi Tourism Concierge Examination. This is a test with 100 questions. It’s for anyone who wants to learn about the tourism resources of Ōmi – historical, natural, architectural, and culinary.

Most of the answers can be found at www.Visit-Omi.com. You can use the search function to find the relevant articles. It’s best to read the articles through and enjoy learning rather than scanning the articles for the answers. In order to learn about Ōmi thoroughly, it’s best to approach the questions in a block of ten or so a day. Of course, it’s even better if you visit the relevant places yourself to gain first-hand knowledge and experience.

If you get 80% or more of the answers correct, you’ll receive a certificate of completion from the Ōmi Tourism Board. After that, we’ll consider what role you’d like to play in promoting local tourism.

You can access the examination here.

Ōmi Tourism Concierge Examination (Google Form)chevron_right