Hikone

Weekday departures: 140/day in the available timetable data · Sat & holiday departures: 140/day in the available timetable data

Earliest / latest departure in the available data (weekday): 5:04 / 24:41 (00:41 next day)

Busiest hour in the available data: 18:00–19:00 (11)

0:00 ─ 23:00

Figures are typical departures in the timetable data, not a live service count.

Timetable data as of 2 May 2026.

The timetable data is incomplete for some or all lines at this station, so the weekday and Sat & holiday figures are departures in the available timetable data, not totals.

Lines where the timetable data is complete: Tokaido Main Line

Lines where the timetable data is incomplete:

• Ohmi Railway Main Line: no timetable data

• Ohmi Railway Main Line: Maibara
• Tokaido Main Line: Maibara ⇄ Minami-Hikone

Hikone Station opened on 1 July 1889 with the opening of the government railway between the junction later known as Fukaya and Baba (now Zeze). On 1 April 1895 the line-name regulation placed it on the Tōkaidō Line (renamed Tōkaidō Main Line in 1909). The Maibara - Kyoto section was electrified on 19 November 1956. On 14 March 1985 Shinkaisoku trains began calling at Hikone as all-stops; from 1 November 1986 they began running as proper express through-trains terminating at Hikone, calling only at Ōmi-Hachiman and Notogawa, and JNR freight handling here ceased the same day. The station passed to JR West on 1 April 1987, the 'Biwako Line' nickname began on 13 March 1988, automated faregates were installed on 12 April 1998, elevators entered service on 3 March 2001 (when JR and Ohmi Railway faregates were separated), ICOCA service began on 1 November 2003, the East Exit opened on 19 March 2007, and the JR-West Kyoto/Kobe Line Train Management System was introduced on 1 October 2006. The east-side plaza was inaugurated on 29 March 2009. The Midori-no-madoguchi staffed window was withdrawn on 31 May 2023, replaced by 'Midori-no-Ticket-Machine Plus' machines from 8 May 2023. The Ohmi Railway-side history begins with the opening of the Hikone - Echigawa section on 11 June 1898; Hikone - Maibara opened on 15 March 1931, and the Main Line designation was set on 1 March 1944 when the Ohmi Railway absorbed the Yōkaichi Railway. The 'Hikone Tagataisha Line' nickname for the Maibara - Takamiya and Takamiya - Tagataisha-mae sections began on 16 March 2013.

Hikone is a joint station served by JR West and the private Ohmi Railway. The JR section has two opposed side platforms with a service track in between (track 2, used for freight or other holding) and a bridge ticket gate; an east-west pedestrian bridge crosses the tracks. The Ohmi Railway section, accessed from the east end of the bridge, is a single island platform serving two tracks but without automated faregates. JR West's Hikone Station was selected as one of the '4th Top 100 Kinki Stations'. A statue of Ii Naomasa, the first Hikone-han lord, was erected in the west-side roundabout on 21 March 1987. The west-side post box was painted gold under the 'Gold Post Project' celebrating Hikone-born swimmer Yui Ohashi's two gold medals at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics — the first Gold Post in the Kinki region. Notable nearby landmarks include Hikone Castle, the Ohmi Railway head office (relocated to the new east-side ground in March 2010), and the now-closed Ohmi Railway Museum that operated on-site from 21 March 2007 until 8 December 2018.