The only cinema in Onomichi, the movie town known for Ozu's Tokyo Story and Obayashi's Onomichi trilogy. After the city's last cinema closed in 2001, a group of film lovers founded a nonprofit, raised 27 million yen in donations from residents, renovated the former Onomichi Shochiku theater, and opened Cinema Onomichi in October 2008. One screen, 112 seats.
6-2 Higashigosho-cho, Onomichi, Hiroshima
Sources: pref.hiroshima.lg.jp en.jff.jpf.go.jp movie.jorudan.co.jp ja.wikipedia.org
This moment in the journey
The only cinema in the movie town
On a corner of the arcade stands a small cinema. This is a movie theater that once closed its doors. In 2001 the last cinema in the city shut down, and the movie town was left without one.
The current manager, who I was told was in her twenties at the time, founded a nonprofit with film-loving friends, asked the townspeople for donations, and in 2008 reopened the old theater building as a cinema. It still operates today as the only movie theater in Onomichi.
Beyond the streets reflected in the glass doors hung a round sign. Next Week's Screening, read the board, above a wall covered in posters. Through the glass, a bag of popcorn faced the street. The story felt like something out of a film, and my heart fluttered.
Leaving the cinema, I climbed an alley up the hill and looked up at the drifting clouds.
Watch this scene on YouTube1:11
More notes from this journey
Onomichi, Hiroshima
Onomichi-yaki
Onomichi's okonomiyaki is called Onomichi-yaki.
From: Onomichi ramen and homemade okonomiyaki
Onomichi, Hiroshima
The former Yamato-yu bathhouse
A former public bathhouse in the Onomichi Hondori arcade, with a concrete facade and an arched entrance.
From: Onomichi ramen and homemade okonomiyaki
Onomichi, Hiroshima
Onomichi Hondori Shopping Street
An arcade about 1.6 kilometers long, running east to west between the sea and the hills.
From: Onomichi ramen and homemade okonomiyaki
Onomichi, Hiroshima
Setoda lemons
Hiroshima Prefecture grows more lemons than any other in Japan: 4,861 tons in 2020, or 56% of the national crop.
From: Onomichi ramen and homemade okonomiyaki
Onomichi, Hiroshima
Onomichi ramen
A soy sauce broth combined with stock from Setouchi small fish such as dried sardines, topped with pork back fat.
From: Onomichi ramen and homemade okonomiyaki
Onomichi, Hiroshima
Yakuza 6 and its Onomichi setting
The poster on the ramen shop wall was for Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, released in December 2016.
From: Onomichi ramen and homemade okonomiyaki
More notes from Chugoku & Shikoku
Onomichi, Hiroshima
Octopus rice (tako-meshi)
A regional dish of Hiroshima handed down in Mihara, Onomichi and Fukuyama.
From: Through the Cat Alley to our house in Onomichi
Tadotsu, Kagawa
Shippoku udon
A winter dish found throughout Kagawa.
From: Drawn by the sea breeze and the cats to Sanagi Island
Mitoyo, Kagawa
Niku mosso
A beef version of mossou-meshi, a traditional dish of Mitoyo.
From: A great camphor tree and a garden in the sky: island life in the Seto Inland Sea
Matsuyama, Ehime
Mackerel sandwich with Setouchi lemon
Breakfast in a fishing village on the Seto Inland Sea, made with the region's Setouchi lemon and eaten on the beach in front of the inn.
From: Shimanami Kaido: sea-bream rice and a salty breeze
Matsuyama, Ehime
Jako-ten, prawns and Ehime wagyu on a charcoal grill
Jako-ten is a deep-fried fish-paste cake from the Nanyo region of southern Ehime.
From: Shimanami Kaido: sea-bream rice and a salty breeze
Matsuyama, Ehime
Tai-meshi, sashimi-bowl style
Ehime has two kinds of tai-meshi.
From: Shimanami Kaido: sea-bream rice and a salty breeze