Hikone City is located in the northeastern part of Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan, and has flourished as a core city in the northeastern part of Lake Biwa since it established municipal government on February 11, 1937.

Hikone City, surrounded by lakes and mountains and rich in nature, also has popular gourmet food.

This is the local B-class gourmet food "Omi Chanpon."

Today, we will explain the appeal of Omi Champon, how it differs from Nagasaki Champon, and how to get to Hikone City and get tourist information.

What is "Omi Chanpon", the local B-class gourmet food of Hikone, Shiga Prefecture?

"Omi Chanpon" is a local B-class gourmet dish from Hikone City, and as its name suggests, it is a type of champon that originated in Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture.

The dish "champon" is a well-known dish found in Nagasaki, Akita, Okinawa, and Korea.

The name champon is said to have originally come to Japan via China.

Omi Chanpon has four distinctive features.

① Use Chinese noodles
②The soup is Japanese-style stock
3) Plenty of vegetables instead of seafood
④Finally, add vinegar and eat.

I will explain them in order.

① Use Chinese noodles

The noodles used in Omi Champon are Chinese noodles made with kansui (water soy sauce), and are thicker than those used in ramen.

This allows the soup to coat the noodles well, resulting in a rich flavor.

②The soup is Japanese-style stock

Omi Champon uses a Japanese-style broth made from bonito flakes and kelp.
This is very light, easy to eat, and addictive.

It is a taste that is familiar to us Japanese people.

3) Plenty of vegetables instead of seafood

Nagasaki Champon uses pork, vegetables, and seafood, but Omi Champon does not use any seafood at all and instead uses plenty of vegetables (and sometimes pork).

By simmering cabbage with green onions, bean sprouts, carrots, etc., the flavors of the vegetables are infused into a delicious soup.

Seafood is good, but you can get plenty of vitamins by eating vegetables too.

④Finally, add vinegar and eat.

When making Omi Champon, it is recommended to add about half the amount of vinegar in a spoonful when you have eaten about half the bowl. This allows the sourness of the vinegar to match the soup, making the remaining soup even more delicious.

The history of "Omi Chanpon", a local B-class gourmet dish from Hikone, Shiga Prefecture

Omi Champon was created at Menrui Okabe, which was founded in 1963.

Chanpon, which was popular with customers from the time the restaurant first opened, quickly spread throughout Hikone city and eventually became a local delicacy known as Hikone Chanpon.

After that, it became available throughout Shiga Prefecture, and nowadays, more and more people from all over the country, including the Kansai region, visit Omi Chanpon to try this local B-class gourmet food.

The difference between the local B-class gourmet food of Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, "Omi Champon" and "Nagasaki Champon"

As we have already touched on briefly, there are some differences between Omi Champon and Nagasaki Champon.

First of all, Omi champon is mainly vegetables, while Nagasaki champon is mainly seafood, pork, and vegetables.

In addition, Omi Champon has a Japanese-style stock and soy sauce-flavored soup, while Nagasaki Champon has a cloudy chicken and pork bone-based soup, and the noodles used are generally thicker than those used in Omi Champon, called champon noodles.

When you hear the word "champon," many people probably think of Nagasaki champon, but one of the distinctive features of Omi champon is that it bears almost no resemblance to the original Nagasaki champon.

In addition, Omi Chanpon contains a lot of vegetables and is highly balanced in nutrition, making it a popular B-grade gourmet dish among health-conscious people.

About Hikone City's features and access

Hikone City has a population of 110,000 and once flourished as the castle town of the Hikone domain.

It continues to develop as a core city in Shiga Prefecture today, and is a scenic location with Lake Biwa to the west and the Suzuka Mountains to the east, and is also known as a gourmet city for its Omi beef and Hikone pears.

One of the tourist attractions in Hikone City is Hikone Castle, the symbol of the city. It is designated as a special national historic site and is one of twelve castles with surviving castle towers.

The Hikone Castle Museum, located near Hikone Castle, is also a popular tourist attraction and houses over 45,000 artifacts handed down by the Ii family.

Also not to be missed is Yumekyobashi Castle Road, a replica of an Edo period townscape, with souvenir shops, restaurants, sweets stores and more lined up along the 350m street.

Another must-see is Lake Biwa, the largest in Japan, with an area of approximately 670 square kilometers and is world-famous.

There are many ways to enjoy the area, including camping, swimming in the lake, and fishing.

Hikone City is about 2 hours and 20 minutes by Shinkansen from Tokyo, about 30 minutes from Nagoya, and about 40 minutes from Osaka. By car, it is about 5 hours and 10 minutes from Tokyo, about 1 hour from Nagoya, and about 1 hour and 10 minutes from Osaka.

It is located in the center of the Japanese archipelago, making it easily accessible from any city.

Location of Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture

summary

Today, we explained about "Omi Chanpon," a local B-class gourmet dish from Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture.

It has a different charm from Nagasaki Champon, and Hikone City is easily accessible from both Kansai and Kanto, with many tourist attractions, so it's definitely a place you'll want to visit at least once.

Hikone also has a wide variety of delicious gourmet foods, from meat to sweets, so be sure to enjoy them.

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