Meihan is a
kanji acronym of two characters. The first character represents Nagoya (
名古屋) and the second character represents
Osaka (大
阪). Higashi (東) means east; together with the
Meihan Expressway and
Nishi-Meihan Expressway, it forms a corridor linking the greater Nagoya and Osaka areas. Officially, the route is designated as the
Kinki Expressway Nagoya Osaka Route, however this designation does not appear on any signage. In some areas, signs on the route are written in Japanese as 東名阪道 or ひがし名阪道; this is to prevent confusion with the
Tōmei Expressway which looks similar when written in Japanese. ==Route description==