Journeys in photographs and words.

Places we stopped along the way

Onomichi, Hiroshima

Nekonote Pan Kojo

From: Through the Cat Alley to our house in Onomichi

A poster for the picture book Nekonote Panya in the shop window
A poster for the picture book Nekonote Panya in the shop window

A tiny bakery in a renovated old house, tucked into a maze of alleys where cars cannot enter. It was closed on the day I visited; a poster in the window advertised Nekonote Panya, a picture book modeled on this shop.

7-7 Higashi-Tsuchido-cho, Onomichi, Hiroshima

Sources: ononavi.jp

This moment in the journey

The bakery with the intriguing name

Maybe I'll buy lunch at the bakery with the intriguing name. Up an alley of white walls, I found a poster for a picture book, Nekonote Panya, in the shop window: a story set in a real bakery in Onomichi. But the shop I was looking for turned out to be closed that day.

Even so, the sea glittered at the bottom of the cobbled slope, and on the street stood the red sign of a ramen shop, Marubosi. I am enjoying every bit of life in Onomichi.

Watch this scene on YouTube6:07

Read this scene in the full journey

Walking up an alley of white walls and stone
Walking up an alley of white walls and stone
A cobbled slope leading down toward the sea
A cobbled slope leading down toward the sea
The red sign and curtains of the ramen shop Marubosi
The red sign and curtains of the ramen shop Marubosi
Walking past the ramen shop
Walking past the ramen shop